1908 Dixie tornado outbreak

The 1908 Dixie tornado outbreak was one of the worst tornado disasters in United States history. The outbreak produced tornadoes in 13 states on April 23, April 24, and April 25, 1908, with the worst loss of life in the Southeastern United States.^[1]

Outbreak description

Tornado activity began on April 23, with a number of tornadoes reported at various locations from South Dakota to Texas. A total of 13 deaths were produced by these storms, which included one F5 tornado (near Pender, Nebraska), an F4 storm that devastated the town of Deport, Texas, and two F3 storms that produced serious damage elsewhere in Iowa and Texas.

The deadliest of the storms developed the following day, to the south and east. The worst of these left 143 people dead in its wake, making it one of the 10 deadliest American tornadoes. Many of these deaths occurred in Purvis, Mississippi, where the casualties were: 83 dead, 340 injured, and 1,935 homeless. In the rural Washington Parish community of Pine, Louisiana, 9 people died in this tornado. The parishes/counties affected by this string of tornadoes were: Livingston Parish, St. Helena Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Washington Parish, Marion County, Lamar County, Forrest County, Perry County, and Wayne County.

Elsewhere, 91 were killed by a tornado family that left F4 damage along a 90 mile long path through four Louisiana parishes and three counties in Mississippi. Three hours after the Purvis, Mississippi tornado, another F4 tornado (or tornado family) killed an additional 35 people along a damage path that stretched for 105 miles in central Alabama.

Other tornadoes on the 24th and 25th produced 31 additional deaths, along with damage at various locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

References