Tornadoes · United States
Tornadoes of 1912
Grazulis's record has 99 significant tornadoes in the United States in 1912, which killed 175 people and injured 1,095. 23 were rated F4 or above, 1 of them F5. Before 1950 the record is Thomas P. Grazulis’s list of significant tornadoes: those rated F2 or stronger, and weaker ones that killed somebody.
1911 1913
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. Grazulis rated these tornadoes on the Fujita scale decades after the fact, from written accounts of the damage. The scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
Grazulis gave no rating: the surviving account records a tornado without enough about the damage to rate it. Almost all of these are before 1880.
The violent tornadoes of 1912
- F5, SW Adrian to NE Creighton, MOJune 15, 19125 killed
- F4, Bush, ILApril 21, 191211 killed
- F4, La Cygne, KS to Bates City, MOJune 15, 191211 killed
- F4, Almyra, ARFebruary 25, 19129 killed
- F4, N Crescent City, IL to NE Morocco, INApril 21, 19129 killed
- F4, Lugert, OKApril 27, 19127 killed
- F4, Skiatook, OKMay 27, 19127 killed
- F4, Newborn, GAApril 22, 19126 killed
- F4, Butler, OKApril 27, 19126 killed
- F4, SE Kirkland, TX to NE El Dorado, OKApril 27, 19125 killed
- F4, W Colony to S Geary, OKApril 27, 19125 killed
- F4, S Boonville to Boyd, TXApril 20, 19124 killed
- F4, Sentinel, OKApril 27, 19124 killed
- F4, SE Henderson to Tatum, TXApril 28, 19124 killed
- F4, NE Shawnee Mound to Pettis City, MOJune 15, 19124 killed
- F4, SE Perry to SW Ralston, OKApril 20, 19123 killed
- F4, Bison, KSApril 20, 19122 killed
- F4, Hennessey, OKApril 20, 19122 killed
- F4, E Erick to Elk City, OKApril 27, 19122 killed
- F4, W Yukon to E Edmond, OKApril 20, 19121 killed
- F4, W Roanoke to S Lewisville, TXApril 20, 19121 killed
- F4, Ponca City, OKApril 25, 19121 killed
- F4, S Bartley to Cambridge, NEApril 27, 191210.1 mi (16 km)
- F4, Bush, ILApril 21, 191211 killed, 83 injured
- F4, La Cygne, KS to Bates City, MOJune 15, 191211 killed, 60 injured
- F4, Almyra, ARFebruary 25, 19129 killed, 35 injured
- F4, N Crescent City, IL to NE Morocco, INApril 21, 19129 killed, 22 injured
- F3, Shreveport/Abner, LAFebruary 20, 19128 killed, 50 injured
- F3, Hartford/Wicksburg/Headland, ALMarch 15, 19128 killed, 50 injured
- F4, Lugert, OKApril 27, 19127 killed, 25 injured
- F4, Skiatook, OKMay 27, 19127 killed, 30 injured
- F4, Newborn, GAApril 22, 19126 killed, 20 injured
- F4, Butler, OKApril 27, 19126 killed, 20 injured
February 20 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| February 20 | 3:00 PM CST | F3 | Shreveport/Abner, LA | 15.2 | 200 | 8 | 50 | |
| February 20 | 4:00 PM CST | F2 | W Homer/S Camp/Colquitt, LA | 15.6 | 100 | 3 | 15 | |
| February 20 | 11:00 PM CST | F2 | NNE Meridian/Klondike, MS | | | | 15 | |
February 21 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| February 21 | 8:10 PM EST | F2 | W Bremo Bluff, VA | 3.8 | 300 | | 5 | |
February 25 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| February 25 | 4:30 PM CST | F4 | Almyra, AR | 35.4 | 400 | 9 | 35 | |
| February 25 | 6:00 PM CST | F2 | S Forrest City, AR | | | 5 | 6 | |
March 15 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| March 15 | 3:00 AM CST | F3 | Hartford/Wicksburg/Headland, AL | 30.2 | | 8 | 50 | |
| March 15 | | F2 | S Cheraw, SC | | | | | |
March 19 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| March 19 | 10:40 AM CST | F2 | S New Douglas/N Greenville/S Mulberry Grove, IL | 21.7 | 100 | | 20 | |
April 1 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 1 | 10:00 PM CST | F2 | W Dickson, TN | | 200 | | | |
April 2 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 2 | 9:00 PM EST | F2 | Dagsboro, DE | | | 1 | 2 | |
April 12 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 12 | 5:30 PM CST | F3 | E O'Neill, NE | 5.5 | 200 | | 4 | |
| April 12 | 6:30 PM CST | F3 | Redbird Creek/Eagle Creek/N O'Neill, NE | 6.0 | 400 | 1 | 7 | |
April 13 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 13 | 2:50 PM CST | F2 | New Cambria, MO | | 150 | | | |
| April 13 | 4:00 PM CST | F3 | Moingona, IA | 7.6 | 50 | | 2 | |
April 20 14 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 20 | | F1 | Taylor, TX | | | 1 | 1 | |
| April 20 | 3:00 PM CST | F4 | Bison, KS | 14.6 | 400 | 2 | 15 | |
| April 20 | 3:00 PM CST | F3 | Alvord/W Greenwood to S Rosston, TX | 22.4 | 150 | | 10 | |
| April 20 | 3:45 PM CST | F4 | W Yukon to E Edmond, OK | 15.3 | 200 | 1 | 1 | |
| April 20 | 3:45 PM CST | F3 | E Nashville to Willowdale, KS | 15.1 | 100 | | 4 | |
| April 20 | 4:00 PM CST | F3 | NW Waldron/S Corunna, KS | 11.7 | 200 | 1 | 8 | |
| April 20 | 4:20 PM CST | F3 | NW Arcadia to N Fallis, OK | 14.3 | 300 | | | |
| April 20 | 4:30 PM CST | F4 | Hennessey, OK | 11.3 | 800 | 2 | 6 | |
| April 20 | 5:00 PM CST | F2 | Rochester/Penalosa/Eureka, KS | 24.9 | | | | |
| April 20 | 5:30 PM CST | F4 | SE Perry to SW Ralston, OK | 30.4 | 800 | 3 | 12 | |
| April 20 | 5:30 PM CST | F3 | S Princeton to Farmersville, TX | 9.3 | 300 | 2 | 7 | |
| April 20 | 5:30 PM CST | F3 | NW Orlando to Perry, OK | 10.9 | | | 14 | |
| April 20 | 6:00 PM CST | F4 | S Boonville to Boyd, TX | 15.2 | 300 | 4 | 10 | |
| April 20 | 9:00 PM CST | F4 | W Roanoke to S Lewisville, TX | 18.0 | 800 | 1 | 10 | |
April 21 11 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 21 | 4:00 PM CST | F3 | NE Streator/N Kinsman/N Verona to N Coal City, IL | 22.6 | 200 | | 37 | |
| April 21 | 4:30 PM CST | F2 | N Salt Creek/E Clinton, IL | 9.7 | 70 | | 1 | |
| April 21 | 4:35 PM CST | F3 | SW Dwight/Reddick to W Kankakee, IL | 25.4 | 200 | 5 | 16 | |
| April 21 | 5:35 PM CST | F2 | S Chatsworth, IL | 5.9 | 50 | | 10 | |
| April 21 | 6:00 PM CST | F2 | St. George, IL/Grant Park, IL | 15.1 | 100 | | 20 | |
| April 21 | 6:00 PM CST | F4 | N Crescent City, IL to NE Morocco, IN | 25.5 | 200 | 9 | 22 | |
| April 21 | 6:05 PM CST | F4 | Bush, IL | 25.1 | 400 | 11 | 83 | |
| April 21 | 7:00 PM CST | F2 | S Wellington, IL | 10.1 | 70 | | 5 | |
| April 21 | 7:00 PM CST | F3 | NNW Rensselaer/Union Township, IN | 6.7 | | 1 | 4 | |
| April 21 | 7:10 PM CST | F2 | S Willisville, IL | 6.9 | 70 | 3 | 23 | |
| April 21 | 8:30 PM CST | F2 | S Dale, IL | 8.2 | 200 | 1 | 8 | |
April 22 6 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 22 | 5:00 AM EST | F2 | Sargent/NW Newnan, GA | 6.4 | | 1 | 2 | |
| April 22 | 7:00 AM EST | F2 | N Hampton/N Locust Grove/McDonough, GA | 9.4 | 200 | | 3 | |
| April 22 | 7:30 AM EST | F4 | Newborn, GA | 20.2 | 800 | 6 | 20 | |
| April 22 | 11:15 AM EST | F2 | Aiken, SC | | 300 | | | |
| April 22 | | F2 | Waldron, KS | | | 1 | 8 | |
| April 22 | | F2 | Pinkney City/Adamsville/Brookside, AL | 3.6 | | 1 | 50 | |
April 25 6 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 25 | | F2 | W Dearing, KS | | 30 | | 2 | |
| April 25 | | F2 | NW Arkansas City/Pleasant Valley, KS | 15.7 | | | 1 | |
| April 25 | | F2 | Elk City, KS | 7.3 | | | | |
| April 25 | 4:45 PM CST | F4 | Ponca City, OK | 24.8 | 400 | 1 | 10 | |
| April 25 | 5:30 PM CST | F2 | NW North Loup, NE | | 100 | | 16 | |
| April 25 | 6:10 PM CST | F3 | N Hewins/Lowe/Rodgers to N Sedan, KS | 16.4 | 400 | 2 | 20 | |
April 26 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 26 | 1:45 PM CST | F2 | Carbondale, IL | 7.2 | 100 | 1 | 3 | |
April 27 17 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 27 | 10:30 AM CST | F4 | SE Kirkland, TX to NE El Dorado, OK | 39.2 | 800 | 5 | 23 | |
| April 27 | | F2 | SW Sallisaw, OK | 9.4 | | | | |
| April 27 | 12:30 PM CST | F4 | Lugert, OK | 20.4 | 800 | 7 | 25 | |
| April 27 | 1:15 PM CST | F3 | E Rocky, OK | 19.7 | 800 | | 2 | |
| April 27 | 2:00 PM CST | F4 | W Colony to S Geary, OK | 27.4 | 800 | 5 | 15 | |
| April 27 | 2:30 PM CST | F3 | W Altus/E Martha/W Blair, OK | 10.1 | 250 | | 1 | |
| April 27 | 3:00 PM CST | F3 | Hinton/Calumet to NW El Reno, OK | 22.2 | 400 | 3 | 4 | |
| April 27 | 4:00 PM CST | F4 | S Bartley to Cambridge, NE | 10.1 | | | 4 | |
| April 27 | 4:45 PM CST | F4 | E Erick to Elk City, OK | 29.9 | 150 | 2 | 15 | |
| April 27 | 6:30 PM CST | F4 | Butler, OK | 21.3 | 150 | 6 | 20 | |
| April 27 | 8:20 PM CST | F2 | Granite, OK | 7.9 | | | | |
| April 27 | 8:30 PM CST | F3 | NW Stafford to SE Butler, OK | 4.7 | | 1 | | |
| April 27 | 8:45 PM CST | F4 | Sentinel, OK | 19.6 | 600 | 4 | 15 | |
| April 27 | 8:45 PM CST | F3 | S Granite/NW Lone Wolf, OK | 11.1 | | 1 | 5 | |
| April 27 | 11:45 PM CST | F2 | Crescent/Mulhall, OK | 5.2 | | | | |
| April 27 | 11:45 PM CST | F2 | W Butler, OK | | | | | |
| April 27 | 11:45 PM CST | F2 | SW Guthrie, OK | 5.2 | | | | |
April 28 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 28 | 11:00 AM CST | F2 | N Bono/S Joshua, TX | 5.9 | 50 | | | |
| April 28 | 1:30 PM CST | F4 | SE Henderson to Tatum, TX | 30.3 | 200 | 4 | 14 | |
| April 28 | 7:00 PM CST | F1 | S Texarkana, TX | | | 2 | 10 | |
April 29 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 29 | | F2 | S Liddieville/N Winnsboro, LA | 9.9 | 400 | 3 | 15 | |
May 1 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| May 1 | 8:00 PM CST | F2 | Minera, TX | 2.0 | | 1 | 3 | |
May 3 6 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| May 3 | | F2 | Albert, KS | 9.0 | | | 5 | |
| May 3 | | F2 | SW Sentinel, OK | 7.1 | | | | |
| May 3 | 4:30 PM CST | F2 | Offerle, KS | 5.2 | | | 4 | |
| May 3 | 4:30 PM CST | F2 | NW Mullinville, KS | 3.5 | | | | |
| May 3 | 6:30 PM CST | F3 | Larned, KS | 10.0 | 200 | | | |
| May 3 | 6:40 PM CST | F3 | N Belpre/Larned, KS | 11.0 | 70 | | 1 | |
May 11 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| May 11 | 8:00 PM CST | F2 | Talladega, AL | 0.9 | 500 | | 5 | |
May 27 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| May 27 | 5:20 PM CST | F2 | N Blackwell, OK | 8.2 | | 1 | | |
| May 27 | 8:30 PM CST | F4 | Skiatook, OK | 7.4 | 300 | 7 | 30 | |
June 14 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| June 14 | 6:00 PM CST | F3 | Pleasant Dale/NE Hallam/E Pickrell/Filley/S Lewiston, NE | 51.1 | 400 | 1 | 5 | |
June 15 6 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| June 15 | | F2 | E Mont Ida/W Parker, KS | 15.1 | | | 15 | |
| June 15 | 4:00 PM CST | F3 | N Pawhuska/Nelagony, OK | 19.5 | | 1 | 15 | |
| June 15 | 6:00 PM CST | F2 | Collinsville, OK | 20.5 | | | 3 | |
| June 15 | 6:30 PM CST | F4 | La Cygne, KS to Bates City, MO | 15.4 | 1,200 | 11 | 60 | |
| June 15 | 7:00 PM CST | F5 | SW Adrian to NE Creighton, MO | 29.3 | 600 | 5 | 30 | |
| June 15 | 8:00 PM CST | F4 | NE Shawnee Mound to Pettis City, MO | 15.2 | | 4 | 15 | |
June 16 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| June 16 | 1:00 PM EST | F2 | N Otsego, OH | 3.4 | 100 | | | |
| June 16 | 3:30 PM EST | F3 | N Wind Ridge/W Nineveh to Old Concord, PA | 7.7 | 100 | 1 | 10 | |
July 9 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| July 9 | 5:30 PM CST | F2 | W Little Sioux/SE Blencoe, IA | 14.5 | | | | |
July 13 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| July 13 | 3:10 AM CST | F2 | Bristol/S Kenosha, WI | 8.4 | 300 | | 1 | |
September 15 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| September 15 | 5:25 PM EST | F2 | N Syracuse/E Long Branch, NY | 9.8 | 150 | 3 | 40 | |
October 11 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| October 11 | 11:45 PM EST | F2 | SW Alma, MI | 4.5 | | 1 | 1 | |
November 12 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| November 12 | 5:52 PM CST | F2 | S Sparta/Eden, IL | 5.6 | 80 | | 5 | |
| November 12 | 10:05 PM CST | F2 | S Martinsville, IL | 6.8 | 50 | 1 | 6 | |
About the record before 1950
- Significant tornadoes only
- Grazulis listed tornadoes rated F2 or stronger, and weaker ones that killed somebody. Most tornadoes are weaker than F2, so the list holds a fraction of the tornadoes that happened.
- The early years are thin
- A tornado is on record only where somebody saw it and wrote it down. The count rises through the 1800s with settlement and newspapers, not with the weather.
- Rated from accounts
- Grazulis rated each tornado decades later from newspaper reports, Weather Bureau records and local histories, not from a damage survey.
- The tracks are reconstructed
- Tornado Archive drew each path through the places Grazulis names, most often as a straight line from the first to the last. A track can miss a town it hit, and a tornado with one named place is a point. The counties are today’s.
- A separate record
- SPC’s database, from 1950, counts every confirmed tornado of any strength. The two are kept apart on every page and never added together.
Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 and Significant Tornadoes 1880-1989, as digitized by Tornado Archive (Maas and others, 2024). Public domain. Counties assigned by this site from today’s NWS county lines.