Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916 explained

Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916
Active:	June 5–6, 1916
Tornadoes:	≥35 confirmed
Fujitascale:	F4
Damages:	Unknown

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. The outbreak killed at least 112 people, 76 of them in the U.S. state of Arkansas alone. Unconfirmed reports suggested higher totals in rural areas.^[1] The outbreak was the deadliest June tornado outbreak in the state and one of the largest outbreaks in Arkansas history, with at least 24 significant tornadoes in-state. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak and the deadliest to strike Arkansas on June 5 was a powerful F4 tornado that hit Heber Springs, killing 25 people. Other deadly tornadoes struck much of the state and in nearby parts of Missouri and Illinois. Overnight on June 5–6, tornadoes spread east and south into Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with an F3 tornado hitting the northern suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, killing 13 people there. It was one of the largest late-spring tornado outbreaks ever recorded in the Southern US.

Confirmed tornadoes

June 5 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Monday, June 5, 1916
F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	width	Summary
bgcolor=#	F2	NNE of Ozark	Franklin	AR	19:30–?		400yd	1 death — Tornado destroyed three houses. Five people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	Hot Springs	Garland	AR	20:15–?	8miles	200yd	4 deaths — Tornado tracked parabolically through the southern side of Hot Springs, roughly paralleling an F4 tornado that killed 10 people in the city on November 25, 1915. Tornado damaged 200 houses, one of which was left in front of a train. Twenty people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	E of Greenland	Washington	AR	20:30–?	4miles	100yd	1 death — Tornado touched down in a small community, damaging or destroying 12 houses. Storm also struck three plantations and destroyed several tenant houses. Twelve people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	N of Morrilton to Guy	Conway, Faulkner	AR	20:45–?	30miles	400yd	1 death — Tornado destroyed nine houses in the "Germantown" community then skipped through Conway County before damaging or destroying 20 buildings in Guy. Twenty people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	Brewer	Cleburne	AR	21:00–?			Tornado damaged or destroyed all of the 47 structures in Brewer. Four people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F4	Barney to Heber Springs to Banner	Faulkner, Cleburne	AR	22:00–?	35miles	400yd	25 deaths — Devastating tornado family first killed a person north of Enola then two more people near Beckette Mountain, west of Rose Bud. Tornado then leveled 55 houses in northwestern Heber Springs, with at least 18 deaths within the town limits. Tornado leveled another house near Banner, killing four people inside. More than two-thirds of those killed were children. Papers from Beckette Mountain traveled 55miles. A total of 150 people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	SE of Melbourne to Sage	Izard	AR	22:00–?	5miles		Tornado destroyed many barns. Two people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	E of Dalark to N of Carthage	Dallas	AR	23:00–?	15miles	800yd	5 deaths — Tornado first destroyed a small house near Dalark, killing the five members of a family who lived inside, then continued into the town of Carthage. The tornado also caused minor damage in Carthage. Three people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	E of Cato	Pulaski	AR	23:00–?	2miles	100yd	Tornado hit two farms, destroying three houses. Five people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	Western Little Rock	Pulaski	AR	23:00–?	1miles	200yd	This tornado unroofed houses in Pulaski Heights, a neighborhood in Little Rock.
bgcolor=#	F2	S of Cabot	Lonoke	AR	23:15–?	10miles	200yd	2+ deaths — This tornado killed a man and his daughter as their house was being destroyed. It also injured 22 people, two of whom were badly injured and may have died many weeks later.
bgcolor=#	F2	Alvis	Independence	AR	23:30–?	1miles	100yd	Tornado hit the historic community of Alvis, east-southeast of Mount Pleasant, destroying two houses and numerous barns. One person was injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	Kensett to Judsonia to Bald Knob	White	AR	23:30–?	4miles	300yd	9 deaths — This strong tornado destroyed roughly one-third of Judsonia. Five children from the same family died, and another person was killed just northeast of Judsonia. An additional 35 people were injured. Another deadly tornado struck Judsonia on March 21, 1952, killing 30 people in town and causing F4 damage.
bgcolor=#	F2	Sweet Home to Kerr	Pulaski, Lonoke	AR	23:30–?	15miles		1 death — Tornado destroyed houses and other structures on six farms. Five people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	McMullin–Vanduser	Scott	MO	23:30–?			A tornado was sighted from a train as it destroyed small houses, barns, and a nearby school. Three people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	SE of Sharp	Sharp	AR	23:45–?	5miles		Tornado reportedly destroyed houses and barns on six farms. Three people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	NW of Stuttgart	Arkansas	AR	00:00–?			Tornado destroyed barns.
bgcolor=#	F2	NW of Slovak to DeValls Bluff	Prairie	AR	00:00–?	10miles	300yd	4 deaths — Tornado killed four people in tenant homes, and injured 42 people, ten of whom lived near Slovak .
bgcolor=#	F3	N of Tuckerman	Jackson	AR	00:30–?	10miles	100yd	4 deaths — Tornado obliterated tenant homes and moved bodies up to NaNmiles away. Three members of one family died. 40 other people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	NW of Brinkley	Monroe	AR	00:30–?	2miles	100yd	1 death — One house was destroyed, killing a man who was thrown NaNmiles from the foundation. Ten people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	SE of Vallier	Arkansas	AR	01:00–?	5miles		2 deaths — Tornado killed two people, each of them on separate plantations. Eight others were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	W of Imboden, AR to Flatwoods, MO	Lawrence (AR), Randolph (AR), Ripley (MO)	AR, MO	01:30–?	45miles		1 death — Tornado family killed an Arkansas farmer and destroyed buildings in Shiloh Church, Missouri, south-southeast of Grandin. Intermittent damage continued across Missouri, with barns destroyed near Poynor and Flatwoods. Ten people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	W of Dexter to W of Bloomfield	Stoddard	MO	01:30–?	7miles		7 deaths — Tornado leveled houses. The seven fatalities occurred in five different families, and 20 other people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F1	N of Vanndale to Weona Junction	Cross, Poinsett	AR	02:00–?	20miles	300yd	2 deaths — Tornado blew a tree into a boarding house, killing two women and injuring 13 others who were inside. Four other injuries occurred elsewhere. Losses totaled $6,000.
bgcolor=#	F3	N of Rector to Gravel Hill	Clay	AR	02:00–?	9miles	100yd	7 deaths — Destructive tornado destroyed small houses, killing seven people. The deaths occurred between Pollard and St. Francis. An additional 25 people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	SW of Haynes to SE of Forrest City	Lee, St. Francis	AR	02:00–?	11miles		4 deaths — Tornado hit three large farms, destroying 16 tenant houses and killing four people on one of the farms. Another 40 people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	S of Dubberly	Webster	LA	02:00–?			Tornado destroyed small houses south of the village. Five people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	SSW of Morehouse to Big Ridge	Stoddard, New Madrid, Scott	MO	03:30–?	8miles		7 deaths — Tornado obliterated three houses, killing six people in one of them. Fifteen barns and seven other houses were destroyed as well. Seventeen people were injured. The tornado may have continued to Kelso.
bgcolor=#	F2	N of Marion, AR to SW of Munford, TN	Critttenden (AR), Tipton (TN)	AR, TN	04:00–?	25miles	300yd	2+ deaths — This tornado destroyed at least 20 houses in Missouri then hit a house and barn in Tennessee. There was one death in each state. The tornado may have crossed the Mississippi River north of Memphis, where the packet boat Eleonore capsized in stormy conditions. At least 19 - perhaps as many as 34 - people drowned when the boat capsized, but there is no clear evidence that a tornado caused the boat to sink. An "electric tornado" reportedly snapped the tree to which the boat was anchored, which measured 20inches in diameter, and other nearby trees were also snapped along the shore. A total of 63 people sustained injuries.
bgcolor=#	F3	W of Miner, MO to Blodgett, MO to Fayville, IL	Scott (MO), Alexander (IL)	MO, IL	04:00–?	30miles	200yd	5 deaths — This tornado injured five people from Blodgett as it destroyed much of the village. As many as 60 injuries occurred, mostly in rural areas. In Fayville, a 10-year-old girl died, 20 more people were injured, and 11 houses were destroyed.

June 6 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, June 6, 1916
F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	width	Summary
bgcolor=#	F3	S of Yokena	Warren	MS	05:30–?	10miles	250yd	4 deaths — Tenant houses were leveled, and bodies of its residents were found as far as NaNmiles. A total of 25 people sustained injuries.
bgcolor=#	F2	Oak Grove	West Carroll	LA	05:45–?		50yd	A late-night tornado destroyed two houses, the Masonic Hall, and the Methodist church in Oak Grove. Five people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F3	Northern Jackson	Hinds, Madison	MS	07:10–?	15miles	100yd	13 deaths — This tornado crossed the northern side of Jackson and dissipated northeast of the city. It damaged or destroyed 250 houses and completely leveled other smaller ones. Larger well-constructed buildings lost roofs and chimneys. Fifty-six people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	Pineville	Smith	MS	09:30–?	2miles	50yd	Small, brief tornado destroyed rural houses and barns. Three people were injured.
bgcolor=#	F2	Taylors Ferry	Jefferson	AL	17:00–?	7.5miles	200yd	This tornado destroyed four houses, and five people were injured.

External links

Notes and References

News: Over 100 lives lost in Southern storms. New York Times. June 7, 1916. 11.