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On February 19–20, 1884, one of the largest and most widespread tornado outbreaks in American history occurred over the Southeastern United States, known as the Enigma tornado outbreak due to the uncertain number of total tornadoes and fatalities. Nonetheless, an inspection of newspaper reports and governmental studies published in the aftermath reveals successive, long-tracked tornado families striking Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with an estimation of at least 51—and possibly 60 or more—tornadoes striking that Tuesday into Wednesday.

The majority of reported tornado activity was seen across Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, which were all struck severely by multiple waves of tornado families. In the Southeast, the outbreak began during the late morning in Mississippi, preceded by severe thunderstorms in Louisiana. Shortly thereafter, the outbreak widened and intensified, progressing from Alabama to Virginia between noon and midnight. The outbreak also produced the deadliest individual tornado in North Carolina history, an F4 which swept through the Rockingham area, killing 23.

Confirmed tornadoes

The ratings for these tornadoes were done by meteorologist tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis and are not official ratings.

• A possible tornado may have occurred on February 19 south of Chester, South Carolina, killing one person.
• Another tornado may have destroyed five homes south of Branchville.

Polkton–Ansonville–Mangum–Pekin, North Carolina

This was the first of a number of destructive North Carolina storms. Detailed coverage in a Wadesboro-based newspaper provides an unusually (by 19th-century standards) precise survey of the movement and damage produced by three of those storms in the southern Piedmont of North Carolina. This storm first formed in southeastern Union County, from a supercell that had produced significant damage in South Carolina earlier. Most of the path of this storm was in rural areas, with injuries and major damage along Beaverdam Creek, south of Marshville in Union County, and along Brown Creek in Anson County, northeast of Polkton.

Significant damage also occurred in and around the towns of Polkton and Ansonville, where structures in both towns were widely damaged, with homes and farm buildings destroyed south of Ansonville. A total of four people were killed: a pair in a "'mansion'" that was destroyed, and another pair in one of 28 homes that were wrecked on a plantation. Eyewitnesses in Polkton noted that the storm "crossed the railroad about a mile east of Polkton last night prostrating everything in its course. Could see the storm from Polkton by lightning, looked like a cloud of dense smoke and sounded like thunder. Hail stones measuring 2+1⁄2 in (6.4 cm) long, 1+1⁄2 in (3.8 cm) wide and 1 in (2.5 cm) thick fell."

Homes were also destroyed near Mangum in Richmond County and near Pekin in Montgomery County.

Pioneer Mills, North Carolina

This storm was preceded and followed by a wide area of downburst damage – with scattered areas of damage to farms and small structures reported across a wide area of southern Cabarrus County, eastern Mecklenburg County (northeast of Mint Hill) and the Goose Creek area of northwestern Union County.

The first tornado-specific damage occurred in the Pioneer Mills community between Harrisburg and Midland in Cabarrus County, where a mill was destroyed and estimated F2 damage was inflicted upon several residences, including several small and a few larger homes that were wrecked. The storm passed within 2 mi (3.2 km) of Albemarle; little damage was recorded elsewhere in Stanly County. Several poorly constructed buildings were destroyed along the Uwharrie River in Montgomery County, and damage to farms was widespread in the county. One person was killed, but there may have been other deaths. Downburst damage continued to southwest of Asheboro.

Pee Dee–Rockingham–Philadelphia–Manly, North Carolina

Spawned late in the outbreak, the storm which swept from Anson to Harnett Counties in North Carolina passed through the Rockingham area, and became the deadliest tornado in recorded North Carolina history. This storm first touched down east of the town of McFarlan, in southeastern Anson County. The storm produced little damage in Anson County, but caused two deaths south of Pee Dee.

Tracking to the northeast, it crossed the Pee Dee River into Richmond County and produced sporadic damage until just southeast of Rockingham. Extreme damage to pine forests was first noted just south of town. Strengthening considerably, the storm swept through the southeast edge of Rockingham, where large homes were destroyed to their foundations, and large hardwood trees were snapped at ground level. The Philadelphia Church community (presently on U.S. Highway 1, 3 mi (4.8 km) northeast of downtown Rockingham) was devastated, with most of the poorly constructed dwellings in the community completely destroyed. 15 or more deaths occurred there. The storm had widened to nearly 1 mi (1.6 km) in width at this point.

Forests and rural homes were flattened in and beyond Philadelphia. The storm then tracked through what is now the town of Hoffman, before entering Moore County. Severe damage was again seen in the communities of Keyser and Manly (presently at the northeast corner of the city of Southern Pines), along the southeast edge of Moore County. The storm then curved slightly to the east, dissipating into a wide area of downburst damage near the community of Johnsonville. A total of at least 23 people were killed, for many of the injured may have died later. Eyewitnesses reported large hail and intense lightning displays preceding the storm.

An unusually detailed accounting of the storm's passage through Richmond County was provided two days later: a local resident undertook an informal, but detailed survey of the damage produced by the storm, and this account was published in an Anson County newspaper. This accounting establishes a steady southwest-to-northeast movement through the county, with a number of buildings—sharecropper cabins, large homes, and a mill—swept away along the path. As the storm passed 1 mi (1.6 km) southeast of downtown Rockingham, it may have peaked in intensity; it was noted that all structures along a 5-mile-long (8.0 km) segment of the path (beginning at this point) were destroyed. The surveyor noted a path width of 1⁄4–1⁄2 mi (0.40–0.80 km), with the most extreme damage (and most deaths) in the Philadelphia Church community. The surveyor noted that:

Trees were taken up by the roots and hurled with fearful rapidity through the air and those not uprooted had all the bark taken off. The scene after the storm, particularly the position of the prostrate trees, indicated a convergence toward the center, as if a vacuum was created there and the wind rushed in from either side to fill it.

A second, detailed survey of the path was made 10 days later by J. A. Holmes; his findings were published in the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society journal for 1884.

Non-tornadic effects

Elsewhere, wind damage, flash floods and derecho-like effects were also reported in published accounts of the outbreak. Homes were swept away by water in Louisville, Kentucky, New Albany, Indiana, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, as well as in other towns along the Ohio River. Blizzard conditions occurred in the eastern Midwest. In Tennessee the mid-latitude system associated with the outbreak generated severe thunderstorms that produced strong, destructive winds on February 19. These winds caused "great" damage to forestland, fencing, and housing, especially in and near Clarksville.

Aftermath, recovery, and records

The total impact of the outbreak was never adequately quantified and hence has been considered enigmatic. Individual deaths may have been counted multiple times, leading to an exaggerated death toll, but on the other hand rural Black dead may have been undercounted, many of whom were undocumented sharecroppers. Of thousands reported dead, the names of fewer than 100 could be verified. According to an article appearing in the Statesville (NC) Landmark three days later, the damage tally in Georgia alone was estimated to be $1 million, in 1884 dollars. Tabulations from 1884 estimate a total of $3–4 million in tornado damage (with an unknown amount of flood and other damage), with 10,000 structures destroyed, as many as 800 dead, and up to 2,500 injured. The same reported an estimated 60 tornadoes and called the outbreak the worst in U.S. history to date. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people were reportedly rendered homeless and even said to be "starving". The outbreak produced the largest 24-hour total of killer tornadoes until the 1974 Super Outbreak. The precise number of tornadoes as well as fatalities incurred during the outbreak is unknown, but the death toll was variously estimated to range from 370 to 2,000 at the time. A reliable survey by the Signal Corps in 1889 located 182 fatalities, and a reanalysis by tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis in 1993 counted 178 deaths.

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• April 1924 tornado outbreak – Yielded a devastating F4 tornado in South Carolina
• 1932 Deep South tornado outbreak – Caused hundreds of fatalities in the same area
• 1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak – Produced numerous violent, deadly tornadoes
• 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – Generated several intense, long-lived tornadoes in Georgia and the Carolinas

Notes

1. 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.
2. 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. While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007, Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013; nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.
3. 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. Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life. 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.
4. ^ 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.
5. 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. 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.

References

1. Schneider, Russell S.; Brooks, Harold E.; Schaefer, Joseph T. (2004). Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875–2003) (PDF). 22nd Conf. Severe Local Storms. Hyannis, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
2. Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
3. Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
4. Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
5. "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
6. "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
7. Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
8. Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
9. Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
10. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 626.
11. Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1494.
12. Brooks 2004, p. 310.
13. Grazulis 1990, p. ix.
14. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 624.
15. ^ New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
16. ^ National Weather Service (June 20, 2006). "Alabama Tornado Database 1884". National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Birmingham, AL. Calera, Alabama: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
17. National Weather Service (2017). Written at Old Hickory, Tennessee. NWS Nashville Tornado Database (Report). Mississippi State, Mississippi. Retrieved February 8, 2023 – via Mississippi State University.
18. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 625.
19. ^ Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. February 23, 1884.
20. ^ Grazulis 1984, p. A-9.
21. ^ Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22, 1884.
22. ^ Anson Times, Wadesboro, North Carolina. February 21, 1884.
23. Grazulis 1993, pp. 625–6.
24. ^ Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, Iowa. February 28, 1884.
25. The (Statesville) Landmark, Statesville North Carolina. February 22, 1884.
26. Stevens 1925, p. 438.
27. Multiple sources:
    • Anson Times, Wadesboro, North Carolina. February 21, 1884.
    • Grazulis 1993, p. 626
    • New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
28. Multiple sources:
    • Anson Times, Wadesboro, North Carolina. February 21, 1884.
    • Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana. February 22, 1884.
    • Grazulis 1993, p. 626
29. Multiple sources:
    • Anson Times, Wadesboro, North Carolina. February 21, 1884.
    • Grazulis 1984, p. A-9
      • Grazulis 1993, p. 626
      • Grazulis, Thomas P.; Grazulis, Doris (April 26, 2000). "The United States' Worst Tornadoes". The Tornado Project. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Environmental Films. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
    • New York Times, New York. February 21, 1884.
30. Signal Corps 1884, p. 61.
31. Multiple sources:
    • Finley 1887, pp. 98–9
    • Grazulis 1984, p. A-9
      • Grazulis 1993, pp. 184, 624–6
      • Grazulis 2001a, pp. 207, 225
    • Kazek, Kelly (April 21, 2015). "The mystery of Alabama's Enigma Tornadoes: Could 1,200 people have died?". AL.com. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
    • Kincer 1936, p. 171
    • Knox, Pam (February 19, 2016). "The mystery of Alabama's Enigma Tornadoes: Could 1,200 people have died?". site.extension.uga.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
    • "March 28, 1984 Tornado Outbreak - 30th Anniversary". Newport/Morehead City, NC Weather Forecast Office. Newport, North Carolina: National Weather Service. 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
    • The (Statesville) Landmark, Statesville North Carolina. February 22, 1884.

Sources

• Agee, Ernest M.; Childs, Samuel (June 1, 2014). "Adjustments in Tornado Counts, F-Scale Intensity, and Path Width for Assessing Significant Tornado Destruction". Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. 53 (6). American Meteorological Society: 1494–1505. doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0235.1.
• Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. 19 (2): 310–19. Bibcode:2004WtFor..19..310B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2.
• Cook, A. R.; Schaefer, J. T. (August 2008). "The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks". Monthly Weather Review. 136 (8): 3121–3137. Bibcode:2008MWRv..136.3121C. doi:10.1175/2007MWR2171.1.
• Edwards, Roger; LaDue, James G.; Ferree, John T.; Scharfenberg, Kevin; Maier, Chris; Coulbourne, William L. (May 1, 2013). "Tornado Intensity Estimation: Past, Present, and Future". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 94 (5). American Meteorological Society: 641–653. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00006.1.
• Finley, John Park (1887). Tornadoes, what they are and how to observe them, with practical suggestions for the protection of life and property. New York City: Insurance Monitor. LCCN 48036680 – via Internet Archive.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (May 1984). Violent Tornado Climatography, 1880–1982. OSTI (Technical report). NUREG. Washington, D.C.: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. OSTI 7099491. CR-3670.
  • — (November 1990). Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989. Vol. 2. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-02-3.
  • — (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
  • — (2001a). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.
  • — (2001b). F5-F6 Tornadoes. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
• Kincer, J. B. (May 1936). "Tornado disasters in the Southeastern states, April 1936". Monthly Weather Review. 65 (5). Washington, D.C.: United States Weather Bureau: 168–171. Bibcode:1936MWRv...64..168K. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1936)64<168:TDITSS>2.0.CO;2.
• "Notes and extracts". Monthly Weather Review. 12 (2). Washington, D.C.: United States Army Signal Corps: 61–2. February 1884. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1884)12[61:NAE]2.0.CO;2 – via American Meteorological Society.
• Stevens, Welby R. (April 25, 1925). Written at Montgomery, Alabama. Henry, Alfred J.; Varney, Burton M. (eds.). "Tornadoes in Alabama" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 53 (10). Washington, D.C. (published October 1925): 437–43. Bibcode:1925MWRv...53..437S. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1925)53<437:TIA>2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016.

• F4 tornadoes by date
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• 19th-century tornadoes
• 1884 meteorology
• Tornadoes in Alabama
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• Tornadoes in Illinois
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• Tornadoes in North Carolina
• Tornadoes in South Carolina
• Tornadoes in Tennessee
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• Concord, North Carolina
• Richmond County, North Carolina
• 1884 natural disasters in the United States
• February 1884 events