• Source: Tornado outbreak of April 15, 1958

On Tuesday, April 15, 1958, a tornado outbreak produced severe weather over peninsular Florida and part of neighboring Georgia. A total of five tornadoes occurred, a few of which produced F3-level damage; one of these, in Polk County, Florida, was officially assigned an F4 rating, becoming one of only two violent tornadoes recorded in the U.S. state of Florida, but this was disputed and retroactively revised by tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis. The only undisputed F4 tornado on record in Florida occurred on April 4, 1966, also in Polk County, near Gibsonia and Galloway. In total, 36 people were injured during the 1958 outbreak, but no deaths were directly related to the tornadoes. However, four airmen flying through a severe thunderstorm in the Tampa Bay area went missing following the crash of their jet and were presumed dead.




Background






Impact






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.




= Mullet Key–Piney Point–Gulf City–Ruskin–Sun City–Wimauma, Florida

=

This tornado affected areas in and near Fort DeSoto, Piney Point, Gulf City, Ruskin, Sun City, and Wimauma. Winds of 83 mph (134 km/h) attended the tornado on Mullet Key, extensively damaging bathhouses and outbuildings. Half of one bathhouse was torn off, an airplane's wing was bent out of shape, a shed was wrecked, and the metal roof of a museum was blown away. At Piney Point nine pumphouses were pulled out of their concrete foundations and blown away. In and near this area, along the Manatee–Hillsborough county line, fragments of a shed were carried 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km), bits of tin were twisted around utility poles and lofted into treetops, and six mature oak trees were prostrated, a few of which fell onto a house, penetrating the roof and ceiling above the living room, and caused glass to shatter. Metal roofing slats were torn off a tractor shed as well. A newly-built barn in Ruskin was shifted 6 ft (2.0 yd) off its foundation, and a 14-year-old girl was injured while reacting to the approach of the tornado. Fencing, signage, and trees were felled. A 1⁄2-mile-long (0.80 km) swath of debris was noted just south of Sun City.
One B-47 bomber, departing from MacDill Air Force Base at around 9:30 a.m. local time, was destroyed when it encountered the parent thunderstorm. The plane unsuccessfully attempted to fly at lower altitudes and avoid it, but instead caught fire 800 ft (240 m) above the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and disintegrated. Its four crew members were not found and presumed dead; two of them had been ranked highly in examinations by the Strategic Air Command for navigation and bombing. Parts of the aircraft were found on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge; other parts, including most of the aircraft, landed in Tampa Bay. Eyewitnesses reported that the aircraft resembled "'a huge ball of fire, like a comet'".




= Bareah–Frostproof, Florida

=

Short-lived but intense, this tornado destroyed nine small, mostly frame homes, all but one of which were poorly constructed, along with a few barns. A prefabricated home was obliterated except for its slabbed foundation and an attached toilet. A filled, 2,500-US-gallon (9,500 L) water tank was thrown for almost 1 mi (1.6 km), a refrigerator was tossed 100 yd (300 ft), and an automobile was moved for several hundred feet. A horse was carried 125 yd (375 ft) and one of its legs broken. A dog was crushed to death as well. A barbed-wire fence was pulled out of the ground, a large truck tipped onto its side, and an automobile wrecked. A 3-mile-long (4.8 km) stretch consisted of tin roofing twisted around power poles and in trees. Farther along its path the tornado downed utility poles and trees before dissipating. Seven injuries occurred.




= Fort Pierce, Florida

=

The fourth tornado became the most destructive event of the outbreak, touching down near US 441 west of Fort Pierce in Saint Lucie County. It moved east through the city's business district and moved offshore over the Atlantic Ocean. A total of 28 homes were demolished or received damage in the Fort Pierce area, while 200 additional buildings were destroyed or damaged as well. In addition, nine small residences were destroyed outside the city. Initial estimates placed damages near $5,000,000 (1958 USD), but these estimates were deemed too high by the General Adjustments Bureau. Final estimates placed damages near "over half million" or $0.5 million. Martial law was declared after the tornado struck the city, but it was lifted on April 16. Grapefruit was tossed from the trees, but growers salvaged the majority of the fruit from the ground. Most of the 20 injuries were inflicted by flying glass in the city's downtown business district.




Aftermath and recovery






See also


List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks




Notes






References






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). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 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). Written at Norman, Oklahoma. "The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks". Monthly Weather Review. 136 (8). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 3135. 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. (November 1990). Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989. Vol. 2. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-02-3.
Grazulis, Thomas P. (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.
Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001a). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.
Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001b). F5-F6 Tornadoes. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
Hagemeyer, Bartlett C. (September 1997). "Peninsular Florida Tornado Outbreaks". Weather and Forecasting. 12 (3). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 400. Bibcode:1997WtFor..12..399H. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(1997)012<0399:PFTO>2.0.CO;2.
National Weather Service (April 1958). Storm Data Publication (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information – via Storm Events Database.
U.S. Weather Bureau (April 1958). "Storm data and unusual weather phenomena". Climatological Data National Summary. 9 (4). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 107–129.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Tornado outbreak of April 15, 1958
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• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
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