Tornado outbreak of March 30–31, 1962
Type | Tornado outbreak |
---|---|
Duration | ~15 hours |
Highest winds |
|
Tornadoes confirmed | 11 confirmed |
Max. rating1 | F3 tornado |
Duration of tornado outbreak2 | 15 hours |
Largest hail | 2 inches (5.1 cm) |
Fatalities | 17 fatalities (+2 non-tornadic), 105 injuries (+3 non-tornadic) |
Damage | $3.38 million[1] |
Areas affected | Southeastern United States |
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 1962 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado |
A small but damaging outbreak of 11 tornadoes impacted the Southeastern United States on the last two days of March 1962. The outbreak was highlighted by a catastrophic, mid-morning F3 tornado that destroyed multiple neighborhoods in Milton, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 100 others. It was the deadliest tornado ever recorded in Florida until 1998. Overall, the outbreak killed 17 people, injured 105 others, and caused $3.38 million in damage. Lightning caused another two deaths and three injuries.
Background
Multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms struck the
In the
Confirmed tornadoes
FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
March 30 event
F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Start coord. |
Time (UTC) | Path length | Max. width | Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F1 | Littleville | Colbert | AL | 34°36′N 87°41′W / 34.60°N 87.68°W | 05:00–? | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 10 yards (9.1 m) | A tornado accompanied by 1 in (2.5 cm) hail destroyed several farm buildings, unroofed three homes, and moved another home off its foundation. Damage was estimated at $25,000.[2][7] |
March 31 event
F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Start coord. |
Time (UTC) | Path length | Max. width | Summary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F3 | N of New Hope to E of Columbus | Lowndes | MS | 33°28′N 88°18′W / 33.47°N 88.30°W | 06:15–? | 3 miles (4.8 km) | 880 yards (800 m) | A skipping tornado touched down three times, causing major damage west of McCrary. Two homes were destroyed while eight others, along with a church, were damaged. One person was injured and damage was estimated at $250,000.[2][5][8] |
F2 | N of Belk | Fayette | AL | 33°42′N 87°54′W / 33.70°N 87.90°W | 08:00–? | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 10 yards (9.1 m) | A brief but strong tornado destroyed a concrete block barn, heavily damaged a house, and unroofed another barn. Damage was estimated at $25,000.[2][9] |
F1 | SE of Winfield | Marion | AL | 33°54′N 87°48′W / 33.90°N 87.80°W | 08:10–? | 1 mile (1.6 km) | 10 yards (9.1 m) | A damaging tornado moved through the eastern outskirts of Winfield. Several houses and a church were damaged, garages and outbuildings were blown over, a car was overturned, and trees were uprooted. Damage was estimated at $250,000.[2][10] |
F1 | Chef Menteur | Orleans
|
LA | 30°06′N 89°45′W / 30.10°N 89.75°W | 13:00–13:14 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | 30 yards (27 m) | A tornado developed near Lake St. Catherine, destroying a shed. Winds from the tornado were recorded at 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). Damage was estimated $2,500.[2][11] |
F3 | Milton | Santa Rosa | FL | 30°37′N 87°06′W / 30.62°N 87.10°W | 14:00–? | 6.9 miles (11.1 km) | 440 yards (400 m) | 17 deaths – See section on this tornado – 100 people were injured and damage was estimated at $2.5 million.[2][5][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] |
F2 | Bon Secour to Miflin to SW of Lillian | Baldwin | AL | 30°18′N 87°42′W / 30.3°N 87.7°W | 14:00–? | 11.9 miles (19.2 km) | 100 yards (91 m) | A strong tornado struck Bon Secour, where homes were heavily damaged and trees were uprooted. It continued eastward to Miflin, where more homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed. Damage was estimated at $250,000.[2][20] |
F1 | N of Bellview | Escambia | FL | 30°30′N 87°20′W / 30.5°N 87.33°W | 15:30–? | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 10 yards (9.1 m) | A trailer was destroyed while another residence was damaged. Two people were injured and damage was estimated at $2,500.[2][21] |
F1 | Valpariso to Niceville | Okaloosa | FL | 30°30′N 86°30′W / 30.5°N 86.5°W | 16:20–? | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 10 yards (9.1 m) | A destructive tornado inflicted major damage to six residences and two businesses and caused less severe damage to 12 additional residences. Two people were injured and damage was estimated at $25,000.[2][22] |
F1 | Tifton to Douglas to Nicholls to Alma | Tift, Berrien, Coffee, Bacon | GA | 31°27′N 83°30′W / 31.45°N 83.5°W | 17:30–? | 61.2 miles (98.5 km) | 200 yards (180 m) | This long-tracked tornado, which may have been a tornado family, caused most of its damage in Tifton, although damage from the storm was reported as far back as Doerun. Several homes were unroofed, trees were uprooted, and power lines were blown down on the southeast side of Tifton. The funnel cloud from the tornado was seen by a pilot in Alma as well, but no damage was reported there. Damage was estimated at $25,000.[2][5][23] |
F1 | West Panama City Beach to Youngstown | Bay | FL | 30°11′N 85°44′W / 30.18°N 85.73°W | 20:00–? | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 10 yards (9.1 m) | A tornado was spotted by the highway patrol. Several residences and a motel suffered major damage in West Panama City Beach. The tornado lifted after that, only to touch down again and cause minor damage in Youngstown. Damage was estimated at $25,000.[2][5][24] |
Milton, Florida
F3 tornado | |
---|---|
Max. rating1 | F3 tornado |
Fatalities | 17 fatalities, 100 injuries |
Damage | $2.5 million |
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale |
In the
Non-tornadic impacts
There were 13 reports of high winds and large hail during the events. Hail peaked at 2 inches (5.1 cm) in diameter in
Early on March 30, a lightning strike sparked a large fire at a horse stable in Kingston, Oklahoma, although no casualties occurred. That evening, two students were struck by lightning while walking on the Emory University campus, killing one and injuring the other. Early the next morning, a woman was knocked unconscious and injured in Decatur, Tennessee, after lightning traveled from outside her farmhouse into her kitchen through the water pipes, sparking a fire. Later, another man was killed in Lee County, Alabama, when the power line he was working on was struck by lightning. One other person was injured by lightning in Crestview, Florida.[2]
Rounds of storms caused widespread hail and wind damage in
Aftermath and records
The Florida Highway Patrol, who were some of the first on the scene in Milton, Florida after the F3 tornado, provided early estimates of 75 homes being destroyed, with varying degrees of damage to many others. They also estimated that 75 to 100 people had been injured. At the time of the tornado, the town of Milton had only about 4,000 residents (as of 2020 it has an estimated population of over 10,000 residents)[26] and one 50-bed hospital – Santa Rosa Hospital, which was quickly overwhelmed after the storm. A total 52 people were treated and released from Santa Rosa Hospital. Some of the most seriously injured victims were eventually sent to Escambia General Baptist Hospital and Sacred Heart N.A.S. Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida. Meanwhile, a temporary makeshift morgue was made in the core of Milton as highway patrolmen, civil defense workers, and volunteers sifted through collapsed buildings in search of survivors and bodies. Many telephone lines were damaged and the few that were remaining were completely overwhelmed by long-distance calls.[13][15][14]
The 17 deaths caused by the F3 tornado made it the deadliest tornado of 1962 as well as the deadliest tornado ever recorded in Florida until 1998, when another F3 (initially rated F4) tornado killed 25.[27]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Tornado Summaries". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Storm Data | March 1962 | Volume 4 No. 3". U.S. Department of Commerce Weather Bureau. Retrieved 25 June 2022 – via the National Centers for Environmental Information.
- ^ "March 30, 1962 Weather History in Milton (Florida, United States)". WeatherSpark.com. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ "March 31, 1962 Weather History in Milton (Florida, United States)". WeatherSpark.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tornado Hits Milton, Fla.; 15 Killed, Scores Injured". The Greenville News. 1 April 1962. Retrieved 13 June 2022 – via realclimatescience.com.
- . Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ Alabama Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers of Environmental Information. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ Mississippi Event Report: F3 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Alabama Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Alabama Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Louisiana Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ a b
- "Florida F3". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- "Florida Event Report: F3 Tornado". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Tornado Kills 15 In Florida". The Detroit Free Press. 1 April 1962. Retrieved 22 August 2020 – via Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers.
- ^ a b c d "Tornado still haunts Panhandle residents". Tampa Bay Times. 31 March 1992. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Gamblin, Bill (31 March 2012). "Where were you in '62? 50th anniversary of the F3 tornado that claimed 17 lives" (PDF). Santa Rosa's Press Gazette. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Tornado Rules". National Weather Service. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ a b c "Tornadoes - Florida Climate Center". Florida State University. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ a b "March 31 Weather History". www.newportriweather.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d "FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER DAY-BY-DAY" (PDF). National Weather Service. National Weather Service Melbourne FL. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Alabama Event Report: F2 Tornado". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Florida Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Florida Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Georgia Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ Florida Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ "Non-Tornadic Impacts". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "Milton city, Florida - Census Bureau Profile". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "The Most "Important" US Tornadoes by State". The Tornado Project. 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2009.