This page documents the tornado

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...

es and tornado outbreak

Tornado outbreak

While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...

s of 1997, primarily in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes, however by the 1990s tornado statistics were coming closer to the numbers we see today.

Synopsis

The 1997 tornado season was largely defined by two tornado events. The first was a major outbreak on March 1 that resulted in 27 fatalities, 25 of which were in Arkansas. The second was a brutal F5 twister that struck the small town of Jarrell, Texas on May 27 killing 27 people and leaving behind some of the most extreme tornado damage ever seen.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1997 in the United States.

February 28-March 1

The 1997 Benton, Arkansas tornado outbreak was a major tornado outbreak that struck portions of the central and southern United States mostly on March 1, 1997 with initial activity on February 28. Affecting areas mostly from Arkansas to Kentucky, the two-day outbreak produced 39 tornadoes and killed at least 27 people including 25 in Arkansas alone with one death in each Mississippi and Tennessee.[2] This was Arkansas' deadliest tornado outbreak since May 15, 1968, where 34 were killed in Jonesboro.[3] Over 400 others were injured during this event which was about 45% of the yearly average of tornado-related injuries in the United States.

May 12

The Miami Tornado was an F1 tornado which touched down in Miami, Florida on May 12, 1997. The tornado is remembered not for its minor damage but for its haunting pictures, which made headlines around the world.

May 27

The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak was an unusual tornado outbreak in Central Texas which occurred on May 27, 1997. The F5 tornado that struck the town of Jarrell, Texas killed 27 people out of 1319 residents[1]. The tornado was 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) wide and tracked across the ground for 7.6 miles (12.2 km)[2]. Double Creek Estates, a subdivision of Jarrell, was literally wiped off the map with all 38 homes and several mobile homes destroyed.

July 2

The Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak occurred on July 2, 1997 in the built-up area of Detroit, Michigan. There were 13 tornadoes in total, 3 dragged through neighborhoods and downtown, hitting northern Detroit between I-96 and Eight Mile Road, Hamtramck and Highland Park[1]. The storms killed 7, caused local flooding, and destroyed houses. 5 of the fatalities were recorded in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan due to straight-line winds of up to 100 mph that blew a gazebo full of people into Lake St. Clair.[2] One tornado formed east of the Detroit River, in Essex County, Ontario near Windsor, Ontario and caused damage in Windsor and Essex County. The strongest tornado was listed as an F3.

External links

• U.S. tornadoes in 1997 - Tornado History Project
• Storm Data "1997 Annual Summaries" (NCDC)
• Tornado deaths monthly (University of Nebraska, Lincoln)