1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak

1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak

Date of tornado outbreak:	April 5–6, 1936
Duration1:	12-16 hours
Maximum rated tornado2:	F5 (Tupelo) F4 (Gainesville) tornado
Tornadoes caused:	17
Damages:	Unknown in Tupelo, $13,000,000+ in Gainesville, Georgia
Fatalities:	436+
Areas affected:	Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee
1Time from first tornado to last tornado 2Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita Scale

The 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak was an outbreak of seventeen tornadoes that struck the Southeastern United States from April 5 to 6th, 1936. Approximately 436 people were killed by these tornadoes. Although the outbreak was centered around Tupelo, Mississippi and Gainesville, Georgia, other destructive tornadoes associated with the outbreak struck Columbia, Tennessee, Anderson, South Carolina and Acworth, Georgia. Severe flash floods from the associated storms also produced millions of dollars in damage across the region.

Tupelo tornado

Around 8:30 p.m., April 5, 1936, The Tupelo tornado, the fourth deadliest tornado in United States history emerged from a complex of storm cells and touched down in a small, rural community of Black Zion about 10 miles southwest of Tupelo, Mississippi. Making its way toward Tupelo the massive tornado had already took the lives of over 10 people and injuring many more before making it to Tupelo's west side. It was an F5 of the Fujita scale, causing total destruction along its path through Willis Heights and toward the downtown area. Although missing the downtown business district the tornado moved through the residential areas of Tupelo, destroying many homes, and killing whole families who had no warning, including a whole family of 13 who tried riding the storm out in their home. The Gum Pond area of Tupelo was the worst hit. Homes along the pond were completely swept away into the pond. The majority of the bodies were found in Gum Pond which is now Gum Tree Park. Some say the winds were so strong that it embedded pine neddles into trunks of trees that didnt get destroyed. Reports say it finally died out in a rural community of Itawamba County. A very young Elvis Presley was one of the survivors. According to records, the Tupelo tornado leveled 48 city blocks and over 200 homes, killing 216 people and injuring over 700 people. The final death toll was estimated at 233. Because of racial documentation policies of that time, the number of blacks injured and dead was not accurately known so the death toll is estimated to be much more.

Gainesville tornado

After the Tupelo tornado, the storm system moved through Alabama overnight and finally reached Gainesville, Georgia at around 8:30 A.M.

This early morning tornado was a double tornado event. One tornado moved in from the Atlanta highway, while the other moved in from the Dawsonville highway. The two merged on Grove Street and destroyed everything in sight, causing wreckage pileups of up to 10 feet in some places. The worst tornado-caused death toll in a single building in U.S. history was at the Cooper Pants Factory. The multiple story building, filled with young workers, collapsed and caught fire, killing 70 people. At the Pacolet Mill, 550 workers averted a tragedy by moving to the northeast side of the building. Many people sought refuge in Newnan's department store; however, it collapsed, killing 20 people.

The final death toll could not be calculated because many of the buildings that were hit collapsed and caught fire. A 203 person death toll was posted, with 40 missing. Letters from Gainesville, Georgia were blown 67 miles away to Anderson, South Carolina.

The Gainesville tornado was an F4 on the Fujita scale and was the fifth deadliest tornado in U.S. history. It caused $13 million in damage, equivalent to over $200 million in 2011.

References

• Thomas P. Grazulis (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991, A Chronology and Analysis of Events. The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-00-7 (hardcover)

Further reading

Historian Martis Ramage, Jr.'s book, "Tupelo, Mississippi, Tornado of 1936", chronicles the devastation of the tornado.

External links and references

• The 1936 Gainesville Tornado: Disaster and Recovery Digital Library of Georgia
• Fujita Scale

Oral histories of the Tupelo tornado

• 1 http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/coh/cohmorganab.html
• 2 http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/coh/cohlonghb.html
• 3 http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/coh/coharnolds.html
• 4 http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/coh/cohmccombjb.html