Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916
Weather event in the United States
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On June 5–6, 1916, a deadly severe-weather episode produced at least 35 tornadoes across the Southern United States on June 5–6, 1916.[note 2] The outbreak killed at least 143 people, 93 of them in the U.S. state of Arkansas alone. In Missouri tornadoes killed at least 30 people.[2][3] The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a powerful F4 that hit Heber Springs on June 5, killing 25 people; tied with it was an F3 that also took 25 lives in and near Judsonia. Overnight tornadoes spread southeast into Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with an F3 tornado hitting the northern suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, killing 13 people there.
Weather analysis on June 5 | |
| Tornado outbreak | |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes | ≥ 35 |
Max. rating | F4 tornado |
| Duration | June 5–6, 1916 |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | ≥ 143 |
| Injuries | ≥ 756 |
| Damage | > $170,000 ($5,030,000 in 2025 USD)[note 1] |
| Areas affected | Southern United States |
Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1916 | |
Outbreak statistics
| State | Total |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 1 |
| Arkansas | 93 |
| Illinois | 1 |
| Mississippi | 17 |
| Missouri | 30 |
| Tennessee | 1 |
| Totals | 143 |
| All deaths were tornado-related | |
Confirmed tornadoes
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | ? | 1 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 0 | ≥ 35 |
Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991.[4][note 3] 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.[8][note 4] Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.
June 5 event
| F#[note 4] | Location | County / Parish | State | Time (UTC)[note 5] | Path length | Width[note 6] | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F2 | NNE of Ozark | Franklin | AR | 19:30–? | Unknown | 400 yd (370 m) | Unknown | |
| 1 death – A tornado wrecked three homes, injuring five people.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | Southern Hot Springs | Garland | AR | 20:15–? | 8 mi (13 km) | 200 yd (180 m) | Unknown | |
| 4 deaths – A tornado tracked parabolically through town, roughly paralleling an F4 tornado that killed 10 people in the city on November 25, 1915. It damaged 200 houses, one of which it left in front of a train. 20 injuries occurred.[19] | ||||||||
| F2 | E of Greenland | Washington | AR | 20:30–? | 4 mi (6.4 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | Unknown | |
| 1 death – A tornado hit a small community, damaging or destroying 12 houses. It also struck three plantations and destroyed several tenant houses. 12 people were injured.[18] | ||||||||
| F3 | N of Morrilton to Guy | Conway, Faulkner | AR | 20:45–? | 30 mi (48 km) | 400 yd (370 m) | Unknown | |
| 2+ deaths – A tornado first tore apart nine homes in the Germantown community. It then destroyed or damaged 20 more structures at Guy. 20 injuries occurred. One person was "blown away" and presumed missing, the New York Times reported.[18][2] | ||||||||
| F2 | Brewer | Cleburne | AR | 21:00–? | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
| A tornado struck Brewer, impacting all 47 buildings there. Four people were injured.[18] | ||||||||
| F4 | Near Barney to northwestern Heber Springs to S of Almond | Faulkner, Cleburne | AR | 22:00–? | 35 mi (56 km) | 400 yd (370 m) | Unknown | |
| 25+ deaths – This tornado family first killed three people between Barney and Beckette Mountain, west of Rose Bud. It then destroyed 50 houses in Heber Springs, "dozens" of which it leveled, claiming 18 or more lives there, per tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis, and left in ruins the western side of town. Afterward, it flattened another house near Banner, killing four people inside. Papers from Beckette Mountain traveled 55 mi (89 km). 150 injuries occurred, and of those killed, two thirds were children.[20][18][2] | ||||||||
| F2 | SE of Melbourne to Sage | Izard | AR | 22:00–? | 5 mi (8.0 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| A tornado destroyed many barns, injuring a few people.[18] | ||||||||
| F3 | E of Dalark to N of Carthage | Dallas | AR | 23:00–? | 15 mi (24 km) | 800 yd (730 m) | Unknown | |
| 5 deaths – A tornado first flattened a small house, killing five family members inside, before inflicting minor damage at Carthage. Three injuries occurred.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | E of Cato | Pulaski | AR | 23:00–? | 2 mi (3.2 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | Unknown | |
| A tornado hit a pair of farms, destroying three homes and injuring five people.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | Western Little Rock | Pulaski | AR | 23:00–? | 1 mi (1.6 km) | 200 yd (180 m) | Unknown | |
| This tornado unroofed homes in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | S of Cabot | Lonoke | AR | 23:15–? | 10 mi (16 km) | 200 yd (180 m) | Unknown | |
| 3+ deaths – A tornado ripped apart a home, killing its two occupants. 22 people were injured, a few of whom may have died weeks later, and a third death was reported.[18][2] | ||||||||
| F2 | Alvis | Independence | AR | 23:30–? | 1 mi (1.6 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| This tornado destroyed many barns and a few homes, injuring a person.[18] | ||||||||
| F3 | Between Kensett and Judsonia to near Bald Knob | White | AR | 23:30–? | 4 mi (6.4 km) | 300 yd (270 m) | Unknown | |
| 25 deaths – An intense tornado destroyed a third of Judsonia, striking the eastern side of town. At least 50 injuries occurred, and a family lost five of its members. Grazulis indicated nine deaths and 35 injuries, but press totals were much higher.[18][2] | ||||||||
| F2 | Near Sweet Home to Kerr | Pulaski, Lonoke | AR | 23:30–? | 15 mi (24 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 1 death – A tornado hit half a dozen farms, destroying houses and other structures. It passed through the Galloway–Baucum area. Five injuries occurred.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | Near McMullin and Vanduser | Scott | MO | 23:30–? | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Visible from a train, this tornado destroyed small houses, barns, and a nearby school. Three injuries occurred.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | Unknown | Sharp | AR | 23:45–? | 5 mi (8.0 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| A tornado wrecked barns and houses on six farms, injuring three people.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | NW of Stuttgart | Arkansas | AR | 00:00–? | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
| A tornado destroyed barns.[18] | ||||||||
| F2 | NW of Slovak to S of Hazen to near DeValls Bluff | Prairie | AR | 00:00–? | 10 mi (16 km) | 300 yd (270 m) | Unknown | |
| 4 deaths – A tornado hit tenant homes, injuring 42 people, including 15 near Slovak.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | N of Tuckerman | Jackson | AR | 00:30–? | 10 mi (16 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | Unknown | |
| 4 deaths – An intense tornado obliterated tenant homes, moving bodies up to 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km) away, killing three family members, and injuring 40 people.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | NW of Brinkley | Monroe | AR | 00:30–? | 2 mi (3.2 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | Unknown | |
| 1 death – A tornado wrecked a cotton gin and eight small homes, carrying the dead 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km), along with his house. 10 injuries occurred.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | SE of Vallier | Arkansas | AR | 01:00–? | 5 mi (8.0 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 2 deaths – This tornado hit two plantations, causing separate deaths. Eight injuries occurred.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | Stoddard to W of Bloomfield | Stoddard | MO | 01:30–? | 7 mi (11 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 8 deaths – A tornado destroyed homes, causing deaths in five families. 20 injuries occurred.[21][2][3] | ||||||||
| F2 | W of Imboden (AR) to near Flatwoods (MO) | Lawrence (AR), Randolph (AR), Ripley (MO) | AR, MO | 01:30–? | 45 mi (72 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 1 death – A tornado family hit a farmhouse, claiming a life, and wrecked buildings in Arkansas, before causing sporadic damage in Missouri, where it destroyed barns near Poynor (then Poynter). 10 injuries occurred.[21] | ||||||||
| F1 | N of Vanndale to Weona Junction | Cross, Poinsett | AR | 02:00–? | 20 mi (32 km) | 300 yd (270 m) | Unknown | |
| 2 deaths – A tornado blew a tree onto a boarding house, killing two women and injuring 13 other people inside. Four additional injuries occurred elsewhere.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | N of Rector to between St. Francis and Pollard | Clay | AR | 02:00–? | 9 mi (14 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | Unknown | |
| 7 deaths – A tornado destroyed small houses, causing deaths in three of them; four children lost their lives. 25 injuries occurred.[21] | ||||||||
| F2 | S of Dubberly | Webster | LA | 02:00–? | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
| A tornado wrecked small houses, injuring five people.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | SW of Haynes to SE of Forrest City | Lee, St. Francis | AR | 02:00–? | 11 mi (18 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 4 deaths – A tornado wrecked 16 tenant homes on three large farms, causing deaths on one of them. 40 injuries occurred.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | SSW of Morehouse to near Big Ridge | Stoddard, New Madrid, Scott | MO | 03:30–? | ≥ 8 mi (13 km) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 7 deaths – A tornado obliterated three houses, killing six people in one of them, while ripping apart 15 barns and seven more houses; a seventh person died weeks later. 17 injuries occurred. The tornado may have continued to Kelso.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | W of Miner (MO) to Blodgett (MO) to Fayville (IL) | Scott (MO), Alexander (IL) | MO, IL | 04:00–? | 30 mi (48 km) | 200 yd (180 m) | Unknown | |
| 5 deaths – A tornado destroyed much of Blodgett, injuring five people there, along with 11 houses at Fayville, where it injured 20 people and killed a girl. Four other deaths—a few by airborne debris, two more in houses—occurred elsewhere, along with many rural injuries. In all 60 injuries occurred.[21] | ||||||||
| F2 | N of Marion (AR) to SW of Munford (TN) | Critttenden (AR), Tipton (TN) | AR, TN | 04:00–? | 25 mi (40 km) | 300 yd (270 m) | Unknown | |
| 2+ deaths – A tornado destroyed at least 20 houses in Missouri, along with a barn and house in Tennessee, causing a death in each state. At least 63 injuries were tornado-related. Stormy weather, dubbed an "electric tornado", on the Mississippi River snapped 20-inch-diameter (1.7 ft; 0.51 m) trees and caused the packet boat Eleonore to capsize, drowning 19–34 people, but could not be definitively attributed to the tornado.[21] | ||||||||
June 6 event
| F#[note 4] | Location | County / Parish | State | Time (UTC)[note 5] | Path length | Width[note 6] | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F3 | S of Yokena | Warren | MS | 05:30–? | 10 mi (16 km) | 250 yd (230 m) | $20,000 | |
| 4 deaths – A tornado leveled tenant houses, moving bodies 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) and injuring 25 people.[21] | ||||||||
| F2 | Oak Grove | West Carroll | LA | 05:45–? | Unknown | 50 yd (46 m) | Unknown | |
| A tornado destroyed two houses, a Masonic lodge, and a Methodist church, injuring five people.[21] | ||||||||
| F3 | Northwestern Jackson | Hinds, Madison | MS | 07:10–? | 15 mi (24 km) | 100 yd (91 m) | $150,000 | |
| 13 deaths – This tornado damaged or destroyed approximately 250 houses, of which it leveled smaller ones, while tearing roofs and chimneys from larger, better-built buildings. 56 injuries occurred.[21][2] | ||||||||
| F2 | Near Pineville | Smith | MS | 09:30–? | 2 mi (3.2 km) | 50 yd (46 m) | Unknown | |
| A narrow, brief tornado wrecked rural barns and homes, injuring three people.[21] | ||||||||
| F2 | Taylors Ferry | Jefferson | AL | 17:00–? | 7.5 mi (12.1 km) | 200 yd (180 m) | Unknown | |
| A tornado demolished four homes, injuring five people.[21] | ||||||||
See also
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- Tornado outbreak of March 21–22, 1952 – Generated many long-lived, violent tornadoes in the same area, including a deadly F4 that killed 30 people around Judsonia
- Tornado outbreak of January 21–23, 1999 – Produced more tornadoes in Arkansas than any other outbreak
Notes
- All losses are in 1916 United States dollars unless otherwise noted.
- An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[1]
- Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[5] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[6] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[7]
- The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[9][10] Tornado ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service.[11] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[12] Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013;[13] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[14]
- All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
- The listed width values are primarily the average/mean width of the tornadoes, with those having known maximum widths denoted by ♯. From 1952 to 1994, reports largely list mean width whereas contemporary years list maximum width.[15] Values provided by Grazulis are the average width, with estimates being rounded down (i.e. 0.5 mi (0.80 km) is rounded down from 880 yards to 800 yards.[16][17]
