Sarnia, Ontario Tornado of 1953
Encyclopedia
A powerful tornado
struck the city of Sarnia, Ontario
, Canada
on the afternoon of May 21, 1953.
One of many violent tornadoes during this exceedingly active and deadly season, this tornado touched down just before 4:30pm near Smiths Creek, Michigan (approximately ten miles southwest of Port Huron). It moved steadily towards the east-northeast at 35 mph, where it devastated the southern edge of Port Huron some twenty minutes later (Grazulis, 1990) resulting in widespread F3 and F4 damage. Two people were killed in Port Huron
and twenty more were injured. Close to 400 homes were damaged or destroyed in the United States
with monetary losses totaling $2.6 million (Grazulis, 1990).
Before crossing the St. Clair River
into Canada, the parent thunderstorm dumped heavy amounts of rain and golfball size hail on the city of Sarnia. This circumstance was credited with clearing the streets of motorists and pedestrians, henceforth reducing the potential number of tornado related casualties. By 5:45pm however, the tornado roared into Canada just south of Sarnia Harbour, where it intensified further and grew in size to 900 metres across (Grazulis, 1990). Moving to the northeast, the tornado passed directly through the downtown area where nearly a hundred commercial buildings sustained damage. A four-floor hotel on the waterfront was missing much of its upper floors, as was a furniture store on Christina Street. The auditorium of the Imperial Theatre completely collapsed. Nearby however, a steel-reinforced telephone exchange building received minimal damage, as a result of its sturdy construction.
At least 150 homes on the more suburban outskirts of the city were damaged, and in some instances, reduced to rubble. Before exiting Sarnia, the tornado curved even further to the northeast and began to weaken, as its path narrowed to approximately 30 metres across. A radio station nearby was severely damaged by the tornado, CHOK
. Launched at 97.5 MHz in the 1940s, the station was never rebuilt. It left the air in 1957.
As it moved into rural Lambton and Middlesex Counties, more F4 damage was inflicted upon farmsteads and homes near Nairn, before the tornado dissipated south of Stratford (Grazulis, 1990). This suggests a total path length exceeding 120 kilometres; though it is highly probable that this damage path was made up of more than one tornado, possibly as many as four. At the very least, there were two other storm tracks that day both of which paralleled the Sarnia storm to its north and south. One of these tracked from Strathroy to northeast of London whereas the other originated near Lambton Shores before weakening near St. Mary's. Significant tornado damage in the F2 to F4 range was also reported with these storms, and it is likely that these parent supercells were also of the cyclic variety. As many as nine individual tornadoes may have touched down during this outbreak. Financial losses in Canada totaled $15 million. Five people were killed, 48 were injured, and 500 were left homeless.
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
struck the city of Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on the afternoon of May 21, 1953.
One of many violent tornadoes during this exceedingly active and deadly season, this tornado touched down just before 4:30pm near Smiths Creek, Michigan (approximately ten miles southwest of Port Huron). It moved steadily towards the east-northeast at 35 mph, where it devastated the southern edge of Port Huron some twenty minutes later (Grazulis, 1990) resulting in widespread F3 and F4 damage. Two people were killed in Port Huron
Port Huron
Port Huron is the name of a city and a township in St. Clair County, Michigan. See:* Port Huron, Michigan* Port Huron Township, MichiganSee also:* Port Huron Statement...
and twenty more were injured. Close to 400 homes were damaged or destroyed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with monetary losses totaling $2.6 million (Grazulis, 1990).
Before crossing the St. Clair River
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
into Canada, the parent thunderstorm dumped heavy amounts of rain and golfball size hail on the city of Sarnia. This circumstance was credited with clearing the streets of motorists and pedestrians, henceforth reducing the potential number of tornado related casualties. By 5:45pm however, the tornado roared into Canada just south of Sarnia Harbour, where it intensified further and grew in size to 900 metres across (Grazulis, 1990). Moving to the northeast, the tornado passed directly through the downtown area where nearly a hundred commercial buildings sustained damage. A four-floor hotel on the waterfront was missing much of its upper floors, as was a furniture store on Christina Street. The auditorium of the Imperial Theatre completely collapsed. Nearby however, a steel-reinforced telephone exchange building received minimal damage, as a result of its sturdy construction.
At least 150 homes on the more suburban outskirts of the city were damaged, and in some instances, reduced to rubble. Before exiting Sarnia, the tornado curved even further to the northeast and began to weaken, as its path narrowed to approximately 30 metres across. A radio station nearby was severely damaged by the tornado, CHOK
CHOK (AM)
CHOK is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 1070 AM in Sarnia, Ontario. The station broadcasts a country music format with the brand name Country CHOK....
. Launched at 97.5 MHz in the 1940s, the station was never rebuilt. It left the air in 1957.
As it moved into rural Lambton and Middlesex Counties, more F4 damage was inflicted upon farmsteads and homes near Nairn, before the tornado dissipated south of Stratford (Grazulis, 1990). This suggests a total path length exceeding 120 kilometres; though it is highly probable that this damage path was made up of more than one tornado, possibly as many as four. At the very least, there were two other storm tracks that day both of which paralleled the Sarnia storm to its north and south. One of these tracked from Strathroy to northeast of London whereas the other originated near Lambton Shores before weakening near St. Mary's. Significant tornado damage in the F2 to F4 range was also reported with these storms, and it is likely that these parent supercells were also of the cyclic variety. As many as nine individual tornadoes may have touched down during this outbreak. Financial losses in Canada totaled $15 million. Five people were killed, 48 were injured, and 500 were left homeless.