1953 Flint–Beecher tornado
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | June 8, 1953, 8:30 pm EST (UTC−01:30) |
F5 tornado | |
on the USD)[2] | |
Areas affected | Flint and Beecher, Michigan (part of a larger outbreak) |
Part of the '1953 Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence and tornado outbreaks of 1953' |
On Monday, June 8, 1953, an exceptionally violent
This was the deadliest tornado in Michigan history and the 10th deadliest in United States history.[4] Most of the casualties and damage occurred in the unincorporated community of Beecher. The tornado was one of eight tornadoes that touched down the same day in eastern lower Michigan and northwest Ohio.[3] It was also part of the larger Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak that began over Nebraska and Iowa, before moving east across the upper Great Lakes states and Ontario, and on to New York and New England causing more deadly tornadoes.
Event
Just prior to the tornado touching down eyewitness accounts recalled that an approaching thunderstorm with several intense lightning strikes turned the northwest sky a dark "black-yellow-green" color.[5] The US Weather Bureau (predecessor of today's National Weather Service) observations that evening recorded a temperature of 78 °F (26 °C) with a dew point of 71 °F (22 °C) and a barometric pressure reading that fell to 28.89 inches of mercury (97.8 kPa).[2] Surface map analysis showed a frontal system associated with a strong low pressure moving west across lower Michigan.[6] At 7:30 p.m. (00:30 UTC) the Weather Bureau's Severe Storms Unit issued a Severe Weather Bulletin alerting of the threat of hazardous weather for southeast lower Michigan.[3]
At approximately 8:30 p.m. the tornado touched down in Mt. Morris Township north of Flushing near the intersection of Webster and Coldwater Roads. The first reported observation from the Weather Bureau's Flint station came just minutes after the tornado touched down, "...unconfirmed Tornado reported 2 mi N Flushing heading ENE possibly hitting Flint 2033 E."[2] It began to take a path directly east down the Coldwater Road corridor, entering the residential neighborhoods of the Beecher district—a Flint suburb. Moving at approximately 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), the tornado cut a path 833 yards (762 m) wide.[3]
In a time before the routine issuance of
After leaving Beecher the tornado took an east-northeast path, following just south of the Flint River where it ravaged farms, causing more casualties and destruction near the rural communities of Genesee, Richfield Center and Columbiaville.[3][10] The tornado stayed on the ground for 18.6 miles (29.9 km) and ultimately dissipated north of Lapeer near Five Lakes Road in Lapeer County's Deerfield Township. Within minutes, a second tornado formed near where the original Flint-Beecher tornado left the ground. That tornado reached F4 wind speeds and continued east through rural farm lands in Lapeer and St. Clair Counties causing more injuries and damage before moving out over Lake Huron.[3]
Aftermath
While most of the tornado's 18.6-mile-path (29.9 km) went through rural farmland, the majority of the devastation was concentrated in the Beecher district.[3] 113 of the 116 fatalities from the tornado occurred in Beecher, including 54 children under the age of 18 with multiple deaths occurring in 20 families. The two greatest losses were exacted to the families of Pedro Gatica and Thomas Gensel; both men survived, but lost their entire families. Gatica, a worker at General Motors, had been at work when the tornado struck, while his small home was directly in the path of the storm. His wife Cecilia, who was eight months pregnant with their third child, was killed, as were their two small children and a niece who lived with them.[11] Gensel had been at home with his wife Vanessa and their four children when their home was blown apart; only Thomas survived.[12] Eight area hospitals, including three in Saginaw, were involved in treating victims.[2]
Some accounts recalled employees of Flint's automobile industry leaving factories to head to the site to discover whether or not their families had survived.
It was debated in the U.S. Congress at the time whether recent atomic bomb testing in the upper atmosphere had caused tornadoes, including this one. Congressman
See also
- Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence
- 1953 Worcester tornado
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
Notes
- ^ https://absolutemichigan.com/michigan/june-8-1953-remembering-flint-beecher-tornado/#:~:text=The%20Flint%2DBeecher%20tornado%20was%20rated%20as%20an%20F5%2C%20the,through%20Genesee%20and%20Lapeer%20counties.
- ^ a b c d e f "Detroit/Pontiac, MI". weather.gov.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g "Detroit/Pontiac, MI". weather.gov.
- ^ Timothy W. Martin And Robert Lee Hotz (24 May 2011). "Tornado Season Is Deadliest Since 1953 – WSJ". WSJ.
- ^ "The Staff: Beecher Tornado". Archived from the original on 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
- ^ "Detroit/Pontiac, MI". weather.gov.
- ^ a b c "People share their memories of the Beecher tornado". MLive.com. 8 June 2008.
- ^ ISBN 1560370467
- ^ Beecher Tornado – Flint Public Library
- ^ "Flint, MI Tornado, Jun 1953". gendisasters.com.
- ^ "Pedro Gatica rebuilt his life, family after Beecher tornado of 1953". mlive. April 29, 2008.
- ^ "June 7–9, 1953 — The Flint – Worcester Outbreak". September 5, 2013.