1953 Vicksburg tornado
A strong tornado struck Vicksburg, Mississippi and areas nearby during the evening of December 5, 1953. The storm ran through the city at right after 5:30 pm that Saturday evening. The event killed 38 people. It was then the fourth deadliest tornado in the history of the state.[1] It also injured almost 270. Damage totaled $25 million at the time.
| File:Aerial of Vicksburg, MS after 1953 Tornado.png An aerial view of Vicksburg 2 days after the tornado | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 5, 1953, 5:31 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) |
| Dissipated | December 5, 1953, 5:40 p.m. (UTC−06:00) |
| Duration | 9 minutes |
| F5 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 38 |
| Injuries | 270 |
| Damage | $25 million (1953 USD) $164 million (2020 USD) |
| Areas affected | Warren County in Mississippi, principally in and near Vicksburg and Waltersville |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the Tornado outbreak sequence of December 1–6, 1953 and tornado outbreaks of 1953 | |
The tornado that went through Vicksburg was estimated officially as an F5.[2] That rating, however, is questionable. That's because the property destroyed was frail and weak. Some people call this tornado likely an F4 instead of an F5.
1953 Vicksburg Tornado Media
A surface map showing the meteorological conditions on December 5, 1953 around noon (Credit: NWS Jackson)
Damage to areas of downtown Vicksburg, looking south (Credit: NWS Jackson)
Vicksburg River Plaza 1953 Tornado Memorial 02
Vicksburg Sunday Post Herald following the F5 tornado 1953
River Plaza 1953 Tornado Memorial plaque.
References
- ↑ The Deadliest Mississippi Tornadoes. National Weather Service. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ The 1953 Vicksburg, Mississippi Tornado. National Weather Service. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
