1957 Fargo tornado
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| Date of tornado outbreak: | June 20-23, 1957 |
| Duration1: | 3 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F5 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | 23 confirmed |
| Damages: | $25.883 million (1957 USD) $198.16 million (2008 USD) |
| Fatalities: | 11 |
| Areas affected: | Midwest |
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1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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The 1957 Fargo tornado was a violent and deadly tornado that struck Fargo, North Dakota on June 20, 1957. The tornado struck the north Fargo (Golden Ridge) area in the early evening, causing major devastation. Damage was extensive including 100 blocks of Fargo. The worst residential damage occurred in the Golden Ridge Subdivision. Approximately 329 homes were destroyed and some of them were completely swept off their foundations - a classic example of F5 damage. Another 1035 homes were damaged. Fifteen farm homes were destroyed and 25 damaged. Four churches and Shanley High School were destroyed and two schools were damaged. Fifteen businesses were destroyed and 30 suffered major damage. These were mainly small local shops. Two hundred automobiles were destroyed and 300 damaged[1].
In the end, ten people lost their lives. After 1971, when Dr. Ted Fujita introduced his scale that rates tornadoes based on the damage they cause, the Fargo tornado received an F5 rating, the most severe level. The tornado had a long track which started in North Dakota, traveled 27.4 miles to the Minnesota border and continued on for another 25 miles. The total track length of the tornado was 57.4 miles and at its widest, it was almost a mile across. This tornado was part of a family of tornadoes which was spawned by a supercell thunderstorm that moved through most of North Dakota and into parts of Minnesota.[2] It was the northernmost confirmed F5 tornado until the Elie, Manitoba Tornado on June 22, 2007.
Debris from the tornado was found as far as western Minnesota, over 50 miles (80 km) east of Fargo in Becker County.
This tornado is considered the most devastating in North Dakota history, and was one of only two F5 tornadoes that have struck the state, the other occurring four years earlier in 1953.
In June of 2007, the 50th anniversary of the tornado was commemorated by the Fargo Forum, which ran a week-long series of stories on the tornado.
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[edit] Confirmed tornadoes
- 7 Tornadoes were confirmed but were not given an F-Scale intensity
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 23 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
[edit] June 20 event
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | ||||||
| F2 | W of Albertha Township | Dickey | 46°06′N 98°06′W / 46.1°N 98.1°W | 0030 | 2 miles (3.2 km) | Brief touchdown, caused $25,000 in damages. |
| F? | Near Durbin Township | Cass | 46°42′N 97°00′W / 46.7°N 97°W | 0030 | 0.1 miles (0.2 km) | Brief touchdown, no damage reported. Tornado was confirmed but was not given an F-Scale intensity. |
| F5 | Fargo area | Cass, Clay (MN) | 46°54′N 97°21′W / 46.9°N 97.35°W | 0040 | 52.4 miles (84.3 km) | 10 Deaths 103 Injuries A large tornado struck Fargo from the west at speeds of only 10 mph. It leveled the area of Golden Ridge ripping homes from their foundations, representing F5 damage. As the tornado continued it destroyed several parts of the city killing 10 people and injuring more than 100. It swept many buildings from their foundations as it continued. It destroyed more than 1000 homes & businesses. It was the worst tornado of the outbreak. See section on this tornado |
| F2 | Addison area | Cass, Ransom | 0055 | 15.7 miles (25.3 km) | Mile- wide satellite tornado destroying several barns and small out buildings. | |
| F0 | E of Washburn | McLean | 0104 | 0.08 miles (0.1 km) | Small tornado with no damage | |
| F3 | W of Nelson | Barns, Stutsman | 0115 | 13.2 miles (21.2 km) | 1 Death | |
| F1 | Near Abercrombie | Richland | 0136 | 2.3 miles (3.7 km) | Small tornado estimated at 1/2 mile in width destroyed 2 barns in the county. | |
| F1 | 1.5 miles N of Mabel | Griggs | 0152 | 1.9 miles (3.1 km) | Small tornado wiping away 12 fences. | |
| F2 | Near Broadview Township | Griggs | 0156 | 14.6 miles (23.5 km) | Tornado destroying several farms. | |
| F2 | Superior Township | Eddy | 0233 | 6.7 miles (10.8 km) | Mile-wide tornado destroyed several outbuildings and barns and severely damaging a number of homes and businesses. $703,000 in damages. | |
| F0 | S of Grand Forks | Grand Forks | 0233 | 0.11 miles (0.2 km) | Tornado destroying a number of trees. | |
| F2 | Tanner Township | Kidder | 0248 | 22.6 miles (36.4 km) | Tornado leveled 7 chicken farms. | |
| F0 | E of Valley City | Barnes | 0156 | 4.2 miles (6.8 km) | Tornado with no damage. | |
| F1 | Sheridan | LaMoure | 0344 | 5.5 miles (8.9 km) | Tornado damage extensive to homes. | |
| F1 | N of Yorktown | Dickey | 0346 | 0.55 miles (0.9 km) | Tornado destroyed several porches on homes. | |
| F1 | Near Ada | Dickey | 0407 | 3.8 miles (6.1 km) | Tornado ripped roofs off buildings. | |
| F1 | Near Zeeland | McIntosh | 0418 | 4.4 miles (7.1 km) | A Number of barns had extensive damage to them. One home had a tree hurled into it. | |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Herschel Lashkowitz Photograph Collection - Image, Institute for Regional Studies, Fargo
- ^ http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fgf/?n=fargojune1957f5 NOAA page commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Fargo tornado
[edit] External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iEQZY8IQ9M Video of Fargo Tornado
