Hurricane Carla tornado outbreak

Hurricane Carla triggered a destructive and deadly outbreak of 21 tornadoes in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Michigan that occurred from September 10–13, 1961. A total of 11 tornadoes touched down in Louisiana, and eight more in Texas. The strongest tornado of the outbreak was a 1 mile (1.6 km) long, 100 yards (91 m) wide F4 tornado that moved across Galveston Island in the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 12, 1961, killing eight people. This was the first of only two known violent tornadoes ever spawned by a hurricane with the other one happening during Hurricane Hilda in 1964. By the time it was over, the outbreak had killed 14 people, injured 337 others, and caused over $3.461 million in damage.

Hurricane Carla tornado outbreak

Radar image showing Hurricane Carla approaching landfall in Port O'Connor, Texas as seen from WSR-57 in Galveston, Texas.
Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	September 10–13, 1961
Tornadoes confirmed	21[1]
Max. rating^1	F4 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak^2	3 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes
Damage	≥$3.461 million[2]
Casualties	14 fatalities, 337 injuries
Areas affected	Southern United States, Midwest
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 1961 ^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale ^2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Meteorological synopsis

Map plotting the track and the intensity of Hurricane Carla, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale.

As Hurricane Carla moved northwestward over the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, its outer rainbands began to spread over the Gulf Coast. Favorable shear profiles led to scattered tornadoes touching down across the region with one F3 tornado that causing numerous casualties in Kaplan, Louisiana. More tornadoes touched down the next day as the system made landfall in Port O'Connor, Texas at peak intensity with 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) winds and a pressure of 931 mbar (27.5 inHg). September 12 was the worst day of the outbreak with six significant (F2+) tornadoes touching down, including a violent F4 tornado in Galveston, Texas and an intense F3 tornado in Jonesboro, Louisiana, causing widespread destruction and 250 casualties. By September 13, a weaker Tropical Storm Carla was accelerating northward into Canada. Some scattered tornado activity occurred on this day before the outbreak came to an end.[3][4]

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	1	6	6	7	1	0	21

September 10 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, September 10, 1961[nb 1][nb 2]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max. width	Summary	Refs.
F1	Alabama Port	Mobile	AL	35.15°N 89.92°W	20:55–?	0.5 miles (0.80 km)	10 yards (9.1 m)	A waterspout moved northwestward over Mobile Bay before moving ashore, damaging two homes and a store. Losses totaled $2,500.	[3][6][7]
F3	Kaplan to Cossinade	Vermilion	LA	30.00°N 92.30°W	22:50–?	5.7 miles (9.2 km)	283 yards (259 m)	1 death – This intense tornado touched down just outside of Kaplan and caused heavy damage as it moved over 21 blocks of the town. A total of 21 homes were destroyed while 55 others were damaged. It moved almost due north after that, passing near the town of Cossinade before dissipating. In all, 73 homes were destroyed or extensively damaged, while 175 others received minimal damage. A total of 55 people were injured and damage was estimated at $2.5 million.	[8][9][10] [11]
F1	NE of Intracoastal City	Vermilion	LA	29.8°N 92.1°W	00:09–?	2 miles (3.2 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Tornado moved through sparsely populated areas, causing $25,000.	[8][12][13]
F1	S of Gueydan	Vermilion	LA	29.70°N 91.20°W	00:12–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Tornado moved through sparsely populated areas, causing $25,000 in damage.	[8][14][15]
F2	Downtown Morgan City	St. Mary	LA	29.70°N 91.20°W	04:20–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Approximately 55 homes were unroofed or otherwise damaged. Losses totaled $25,000 and 16 people were injured.	[8][16][17]
F1	N of Patterson	St. Mary	LA	29.7°N 91.3°W	04:20–?	0.3 miles (0.48 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Damage was estimated at $2,500.	[8][18][19]

September 11 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Monday, September 11, 1961[nb 1][nb 2]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max. width	Summary	Refs.
F1	SE of Oldfield	Livingston	LA	30.6°N 90.78°W	17:10–?	3.6 miles (5.8 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Tornado caused heavy tree damage with losses totaling $250,000.	[8][20][21]
F2	Alton to N of Colt	St. Tammany	LA	30.33°N 89.77°W	17:30–?	4.3 miles (6.9 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Strong tornado moved west along the north side of Slidell. Two people were injured and damage was estimated at $25,000.	[8][22][23]
F2	Van Vleck	Matagorda	TX	29°N 95.9°W	17:47–?	0.4 miles (0.64 km)	50 yards (46 m)	Several buildings were damaged and two radio towers were destroyed northeast of Bay City. No damage estimate was given.	[3][24][25]
F0	Springfield	Tangipahoa, Livingston	LA	30.43°N 90.5°W	19:00–?	5.6 miles (9.0 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Tornado moved west, passing south of Rosaryville and Pumpkin Center before crossing the Natalbany River and moving through Springfield. There was $25,000 in damage.	[8][26][27]
F3	Southern Jacksonville	Cherokee	TX	31.92°N 95.28°W	19:20–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	10 yards (9.1 m)	Four homes were damaged, including one that was destroyed. Three people were injured and losses totaled $25,000.	[3][28][29]
F3	Channelview	Harris	TX	29.77°N 95.13°W	23:50–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	83 yards (76 m)	Six commercial buildings and 18 homes were destroyed by this intense tornado. At least 40 additional homes were damaged as well. A total of 22 people were injured and losses totaled $200,000.	[3][30][31]

September 12 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, September 12, 1961[nb 1][nb 2]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max. width	Summary	Refs.
F4	Galveston (1st tornado)	Galveston	TX	29.32°N 94.78°W	09:15–?	1 mile (1.6 km)	100 yards (91 m)	8 deaths – This rare, violent tornado caused widespread destruction between 19th and 25th Street. 200 buildings suffered severe damage, including 60-75 that were destroyed, although no damage estimate was given. Several homes in the path of the tornado in Galveston were leveled to the ground, but hurricane-force winds may have weakened the structures beforehand. 200 people were injured. This tornado was the first of only two violent F4 tornadoes ever spawned by a tropical cyclone with the other coming from Hurricane Hilda in 1964.	[3][11][32] [33]
F3	Galveston (2nd tornado)	Galveston	TX	29.27°N 94.87°W	12:00–?	2 miles (3.2 km)	10 yards (9.1 m)	Strong tornado caused extensive damage to several commercial buildings and other structures and destroyed six homes, although no monetary damage value was given. Grazulis classified the tornado as an F2.	[3][11][34] [35]
F3	Hardin	Liberty	TX	30.15°N 94.73°W	16:30–?	0.5 miles (0.80 km)	17 yards (16 m)	Six homes were damaged, although no damage value was given.	[3][36][37]
F3	Jonesboro to Hodge	Jackson	LA	32.23°N 92.70°W	19:00–?	2 miles (3.2 km)	400 yards (370 m)	5 deaths – This devastating tornado, which was the largest of the outbreak, impacted Jonesboro before reaching its peak intensity when it moved through Hodge. Approximately 75 homes were severely damaged with 20 of them being destroyed, while 115 others received minimal damage before the tornado quickly dissipated. A total of 37 people were injured and damage was estimated at $250,000.	[8][11][38] [39]
F2	S of Taylortown, LA to Blanchard Springs, AR	Union (LA), Union (AR)	LA, AR	32.97°N 92.6°W	21:00–?	7.1 miles (11.4 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Tornado caused some damage in Rum Center, Louisiana before moving into Arkansas east of Junction City, Louisiana and Junction City, Arkansas, where a home was destroyed and other homes and buildings were damaged. Losses were estimated at $50,000	[8][3][40] [41][42]
F3	NW of Fulbright	Red River	TX	33.57°N 95.27°W	21:45–?	0.5 miles (0.80 km)	300 yards (270 m)	Several structures were impacted by this intense tornado, although no damage estimate was given.	[3][43][44]

September 13 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, September 13, 1961[nb 1][nb 2]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max. width	Summary	Refs.
F1	E of Roy	Bienville	LA	32.22°N 93.12°W	14:30–?	0.3 miles (0.48 km)	100 yards (91 m)	Weak tornado occurred southeast of Castor, causing $250 in damage.	[8][45][46]
F2	Acme to Williamsburg to N of Kalkaska	Grand Traverse, Kalkaska	MI	44.77°N 85.50°W	20:12–?	14.4 miles (23.2 km)	10 yards (9.1 m)	Strong tornado touched down on the eastern shore of Grand Traverse Bay east of Traverse City and northeast of Fivemile Corner and moved due east. Multiple homes were damaged and numerous trees uprooted, including several cherry trees. Losses totaled $25,000.	[3][47][48]
F2	Latex	Harrison	TX	32.37°N 94.10°W	23:05–?	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	10 yards (9.1 m)	Two homes and three garages were damaged. Two people were injured and losses totaled $5,000. The NCDC says the tornado caused $2,500 in damage.	[3][49][50]

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• Hurricane Rita tornado outbreak

Notes

1. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
2. Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[5]

References

1. "Carla Tornadoes (exclude Georgia)". www.tornadohistoryproject.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
2. "Tornado Summaries". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
3. Luther Hodges. Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena: December 1961 (PDF). United States Department of Commerce (Report). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 120. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
4. "Hurricane Carla Aftermath, no. 1". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
5. Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. Boston: American Meteorological Society. 19 (2): 310. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
6. "Alabama F1". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
7. Alabama Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
8. "Storm Data Publication | IPS | National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)". www.ncdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
9. "Louisiana F3". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
10. Louisiana Event Report: F3 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
11. Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. p. 1038. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
12. "Louisiana F1". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
13. Louisiana Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
14. "Louisiana F1". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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32. "Texas F4". www.tornadohistoryproject.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
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34. "Texas F3". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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36. "Texas F3". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
37. Texas Event Report: F3 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Center for Environmental Information. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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39. Louisiana Event Report: F3 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Center for Environmental Information. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
40. "Louisiana-Arkansas F2". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
41. Louisiana Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Center for Environmental Information. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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43. "Texas F3". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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47. "Michigan F2". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
48. Michigan Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Center for Environmental Information. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
49. "Texas F2". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
50. Texas Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Center for Environmental Information. Retrieved 17 August 2020.