March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak
Type | Tornado outbreak |
---|---|
Duration | March 19–20, 1875 |
Tornadoes confirmed | ≥19 |
Max rating1 | F4 tornado |
Duration of tornado outbreak2 | Unknown |
Damage | Unknown |
Casualties | ≥ 96 fatalities, ≥ 367 injuries |
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado |
The March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that affected portions of the Southern United States from March 19 to 20, 1875. At least nineteen tornadoes were recorded, including seven that were destructive enough to be rated F4 by Thomas P. Grazulis. The worst damage and most of the deaths occurred in Georgia. Most of the damage appears to have been the result of two tornado families that moved along parallel paths 12 to 15 miles (19 to 24 km) apart through parts of Georgia and South Carolina. In all, this outbreak killed at least 96 people and injured at least 367.[1]
Confirmed tornadoes
Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F? |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
≥19* | ≥4 | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
- Note: Some of the events listed as individual tornadoes were probably tornado families.[1]
March 19 event
List of tornadoes - Friday, March 19, 1875 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | ||
Louisiana | ||||||
F3 | Between Lone Grove and Ray's Point | Winn | 0200 | 15 miles (24 km) | 3 deaths – A tornado splintered several thousand trees and destroyed six homes in sparsely populated areas. All deaths were in one family.[2] | |
Sources:Grazulis[1] |
March 20 event
List of tornadoes - Saturday, March 20, 1875 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | ||
Georgia | ||||||
F4 | SW of Hamilton to E of Shiloh | Harris, Talbot | 1520 | 25 miles (40 km) | 11+ deaths – This was the first member in the northernmost of two major tornado families. Touching down in southwest Harris County, the "massive" tornado devastated rural plantations and forests in its path.[2] It completely leveled several plantations and farms, with five deaths on one of them. Up to 15 deaths may have occurred in Harris County alone, but were unconfirmed.[2] Winds from the parent supercell transferred a hat aloft for 30 mi (48 km) and a book for 40 mi (64 km). | |
F3 | E of Thomastown to S of Forsyth | Upson, Lamar, Monroe | 1600 | 30 miles (48 km) | This tornado formed 20 mi (32 km) from the dissipation of the previous event, but was in the same tornado family.[2] People first sighted a funnel cloud developing over Thomastown, but it did not touch down until east of town. Once on the ground, the tornado "changed shape continuously."[2] | |
F4 | N of Columbus to N of Talbotton | Muscogee, Harris, Talbot | 1630 | 35 miles (56 km) | 9 deaths – This was the first tornado in the southernmost of the two tornado families. Described as a "large and intense" tornado, it destroyed the village of "Mt. Airy" in the southeast corner of Harris County, killing six people in one home.[2] Winds propelled a board from the home 18 inches (46 cm) into the stump of a broken pine tree. The tornado destroyed more homes and an academy in or near Baughville in Talbot County, killing three people.[2] | |
F3 | N of Gray | Jones, Putnam, | 1650 | 10 miles (16 km) | 1 death – This tornado struck only three farms, but demolished all of them.[2] | |
F4 | NW of Sparta to S of Edgefield, SC | Hancock, Warren, McDuffie, Columbia, Edgefield (SC) | 1740 | 75 miles (121 km) | 28+ deaths – See section on this tornado | |
F4 | S of Gray to E of Milledgeville | Jones, Baldwin | 1750 | unknown | 13+ deaths – This tornado produced a "devastating" swath of damage near Milledgeville, with four deaths in Jones County and nine or more in Baldwin County.[3] Residents of Milledgeville mistook the tornado for a column of smoke from a fire. When surveyors of the U.S. Army Signal Corps arrived three weeks later, a child was still unaccounted for and "presumed dead."[3] | |
F4 | ESE of Sparta to S of Gibson | Hancock, Washington, Glascock, Jefferson | 1830 | 30 miles (48 km) | 8+ deaths – This tornado caused eight deaths in Glascock County, but according to newspapers, the actual toll may have been 30.[3] Some deaths in Hancock County attributed to the Sparta–Edgefield tornado may actually have been from this tornado. | |
F4 | W of Keysville to Williston, SC area | Jefferson, Burkek, Richmond, Aiken (SC), Barnwell (SC) | 1900 | 50 miles (80 km) | 6+ deaths – This tornado was likely a series of tornadoes and downbursts.[4] It narrowly missed Augusta, passing 10 mi (16 km) southeast of that city before crossing the Savannah River into South Carolina. The tornado critically damaged or razed about 40 homes in Richmond County alone.[4] The tornado left so much debris on farms that they were abandoned. As many as eight people may have died.[4] | |
F2 | SW of Sylvania | Bulloch | 0100 | unknown | A tornado hit eight cabins, leveling them.[4] | |
North Carolina | ||||||
F? | S of Statesville to S of Mocksville | Iredell, Davie | 1600 | 15 miles (24 km) | This may have been a tornado, a downburst or a combination of the two.[2] | |
F? | W of Raleigh | Chatham, Wake | 2200 | unknown | Another tornado or downburst dissipated about 10 mi (16 km) west of Raleigh.[4] | |
Alabama | ||||||
F4 | Opelika area to Whitesville, GA area | Lee, Chambers, Harris (GA) | 1930 | 20 miles (32 km) | 7 deaths – This may have been a multiple-vortex tornado that killed seven people in a single family.[3] | |
South Carolina | ||||||
F3 | SW of Columbia | Lexington | 1955 | 5 miles (8.0 km) | 2 deaths – This tornado wrecked five or more farms in its path.[4] | |
F3 | N of Sumter to Tabor City, NC area | Sumter, Lee, Florence, Marion, Horry, Columbus (NC) | 2030 | 80 miles (130 km) | 6 deaths – This tornado family produced a damage swath that varied from 20 yards (18 m) to almost 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, with several entire plantations wrecked. The tornado downed or split "tens of thousands" of trees and destroyed buildings on more than 40 farms.[4] | |
F2 | S of Norway to S of Orangeburg | Orangeburg | 2200 | 25 miles (40 km) | 3 deaths – This smoky-looking tornado leveled numerous little cabins.[4] | |
F? | Indiantown area | Williamsburg | 2330 | unknown | Details unknown.[4] | |
F2 | Dogwood Neck area | Horry | 0000 | unknown | This tornado swept a frame home clean to its foundation.[4] | |
F? | NW of Conway | Horry | 0000 | 15 miles (24 km) | Tornado was not surveyed.[4] | |
Sources: Grazulis[1] |
Sparta, Georgia/Edgefield, South Carolina
A large F4 tornado tore a damage path 75 miles (121 km) long ranging from 300 yards (270 m) to over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide across portions of Georgia and South Carolina. The tornado caused its first damage northwest of Sparta, Georgia in Hancock County after which it destroyed dozens of farms. Four people were killed in Hancock county, three of them on one farm. A door hinge from the farmhouse was found embedded 3 inches (7.6 cm) deep in a tree more than 0.25 mi (0.40 km) away. At least six people died in Warren County, including one at a church west of Warrentown. The pastor attributed the survival of the majority in the church to the pews, which stopped some of the falling timbers. The tornado then moved through Camak, where 39 of the town's 40 homes were damaged or destroyed. At least seven people, possibly as many as nine, were killed in McDuffie County, most of them in small cabins. The death toll in Columbia County may have been as high as 20, though only eight deaths were confirmed. At least four people died in Appling, and as many as eight may have died on a plantation. The tornado then crossed the state line into Edgefield County, South Carolina where damage was less severe. Here, six farms and plantations were destroyed with three fatalities. The tornado finally dissipated south of Edgefield. The death toll from this tornado is listed at 28, but due to uncertainties it may have been as high as 42.[1]
See also
References
Bibliography
- Grazulis, Thomas (1993), Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events, St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Environmental Films, ISBN 1-879362-03-1