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From April 5–8, 1954, a tornado outbreak sequence affected portions of the Central and Southern United States, primarily the Upper Midwest. The U.S. states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin were hardest hit by tornadoes. The first day of the severe weather event featured three intense (F3 or stronger) tornadoes along the Missouri–Iowa border, including a long-tracked F4 that obliterated rural farmsteads. The deadliest tornado of the sequence, retroactively rated F3, struck Illinois a few days later, killing one person and injuring 13 others. Other strong tornadoes hit Kansas, Indiana, Michigan, and Georgia during the sequence. In all, the event resulted in 22 injuries.

Confirmed tornadoes

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. 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. 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.

April 5 event

April 6 event

April 7 event

April 8 event

See also

• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• Tornadoes of 1954

Notes

1. All losses are in 1954 USD unless otherwise noted.
2. 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.
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. 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. Tornado ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service. 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.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ All starting coordinates are based on the NCEI database and may not reflect contemporary analyses
7. ^ 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. Storm Data Publication 1954, Events reported
3. Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1496.
4. Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
5. 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.
6. Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
7. Agee and Childs 2014, pp. 1497, 1503.
8. Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
9. Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
10. Edwards et al. 2013, p. 641–642.
11. 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.
12. "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
13. "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
14. Agee and Childs 2014, p. 1494.
15. Brooks 2004, p. 310.
16. Grazulis 1990, p. ix.
17. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10063661
18. ^ USWB 1954, p. 97.
19. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10063662
20. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 977.
21. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10017056
22. ^ USWB 1954, p. 98.
23. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10063663
24. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10017057
25. Grazulis 1984, p. A-64.
26. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10017058
27. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10017059
28. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10017060
29. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10026486
30. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10026487
31. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10004051
32. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10004052
33. ^ USWB 1954, p. 99.
34. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10004053
35. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10004054
36. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10147670
37. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10147671
38. Storm Data Publication 1954, #
39. ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 978.
40. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10009737
41. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10010593
42. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10004055
43. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10004056
44. ^ USWB 1954, p. 100.
45. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10039431
46. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10000286
47. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10029330
48. Storm Data Publication 1954, #10039432

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.
• 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.
• National Weather Service (April 1954). Storm Data Publication (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information – via Storm Events Database.
• U.S. Weather Bureau (April 1954). "Storm data and unusual weather phenomena". Climatological Data National Summary. 5 (4). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 97–100.

• 1954 in Illinois
• 1954 in Iowa
• 1954 in Missouri
• 1954 in Wisconsin
• 1954 meteorology
• 1954 natural disasters in the United States
• April 1954 events in the United States
• 20th-century tornadoes
• F4 tornadoes
• Tornadoes in Illinois
• Tornadoes in Iowa
• Tornadoes in Missouri
• Tornadoes in Wisconsin
• Tornadoes of 1954