Tornado outbreak of April 1919

The tornado outbreak of April 1919 occurred on April 8–9, 1919, in the Southern Great Plains of the US, producing numerous strong tornadoes and killing at least ninety-two people. The entire outbreak occurred overnight.[1]

Tornado outbreak of April 1919

Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	April 8–9, 1919
Tornadoes confirmed	12
Max. rating^1	F4 tornado
Damage	Unknown
Casualties	≥ 92 deaths, 412 injuries
Areas affected	Southern Great Plains
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	0	0	5	3	4	0	12

List of known tornadoes during the tornado outbreak of April 8–9, 1919[1][nb 1]

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start coord.	Date	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Summary
F4	Near Blue Ridge to NE of Ravenna	Collin, Fannin	TX	N/A	April 8	0545	30 miles (48 km)	N/A	Eighteen deaths, sixty injuries – Violent nocturnal tornado moved north-northeastward and due north at times, devastating such rural communities as Blue Ridge, Delba, Trenton, and Ector. Near Blue Ridge six of eight family members died. At Ector two boys died running from the tornado in a field. 25% of Ravenna was destroyed.[1]
F2	E and NE of Bells	Grayson	TX	N/A	April 9	0630	12 miles (19 km)	N/A	Two deaths, twenty injuries – Two dozen homes destroyed east of Bells in Canaan community. Moved mostly due north. The tornado hit and derailed a freight train, killing one worker.[1]
F4	SE of Whitewright to Yarnaby, OK	Grayson (TX), Fannin (TX), Bryan (OK)	TX, OK	N/A	April 9	0645	25 miles (40 km)	N/A	Eight fatalities, fifty injuries – Tornado moved north-northeast. Devastated Mulberry, Texas, and Yarnaby.[1]
F2	Near Albany	Bryan	OK	N/A	April 9	0700	N/A	N/A	One death, three injuries – Woman killed when home was destroyed in Albany
F2	Near Mullin	Mills	TX	N/A	April 9	0710	2 miles (3.2 km)	N/A	One injury; damage to twenty homes and a bank in Mullin
F3	SW of Roberta to NW of Durant	Bryan	OK	N/A	April 9	0745	10 miles (16 km)	N/A	Nine deaths, thirty-five injuries – All deaths in Roberta, where damage was significant
F2	Armstrong area	Bryan	OK	N/A	April 9	0800	N/A	N/A	Five injuries; houses and oil tanker hit. Trees downstream were coated with oil.[1]
F3	NW of Bromide to E of Stonewall	Coal, Pontotoc	OK	N/A	April 9	0830	20 miles (32 km)	N/A	One death, four injuries – Homes damaged southeast of Jesse
F4	N of Eustace to SE of Grand Saline	Henderson, Van Zandt	TX	N/A	April 9	0930	30 miles (48 km)	~2,640 yd (2,410 m)[nb 2]	Seventeen deaths, sixty injuries – Most of Eustace was wiped out.
F4	SE of Mineola to W of Mount Pleasant	Wood, Camp, Titus	TX	N/A	April 9	1015	50 miles (80 km)	1,760 yd (1,610 m)	Twenty-four deaths, one hundred injuries – Continuous path of catastrophic destruction up to 1 mi (1.6 km) wide. Entire families were injured or killed as hundreds of homes were obliterated.[1]
F2	SW to NE of Oak Grove	Red River, Bowie	TX	N/A	April 9	1100	10 miles (16 km)	N/A	Four deaths, fifteen injuries – Significant damage in Oak Grove. Three more people may have later died from injuries.[1]
F3	NW of Texarkana to N of Columbus, AR	Bowie (TX), Little River (AR), Hempstead (AR), Howard (AR)	TX, AR	N/A	April 9	1315	30 miles (48 km)	N/A	Eight deaths, fifty-nine injuries – Killed two in Texas before crossing into Arkansas and devastating the community of Ogden. Four more died in Saratoga.[1]

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

Notes

1. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.
2. Tornado may have been up to 1.5 mi (2.4 km) wide or had multiple funnels.[1]

References

1. Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. pp. 157–8. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.