1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak
Picture of the "double tornado" that hit the Midway Trailer Park in Indiana, killing 14.
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| Formed | 12:55, April 11, 1965 |
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| Dissipated | 00:30, April 12, 1965 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 47 |
| Max rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Damage | 5.5 billion (2007 dollars) |
| Casualties | 271 total fatalities, 1,500 injuries |
| Areas affected | Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
The second Palm Sunday tornado outbreak occurred on April 11–12, 1965, in the Midwest U.S. states of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, with 47 tornadoes (32 significant, 17 violent, 21 killers). It was the second-biggest outbreak on record at the time. In the Midwest, 271 people were killed and 1,500 injured (1,200 in Indiana). It was the deadliest tornado outbreak in Indiana history, with 137 people killed. The outbreak also made that week in April 1965 the second-most-active week in history, with 51 significant and 21 violent tornadoes.
The tornadoes occurred in a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The outbreak lasted 11 hours and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of number, strength, width, path, and length of tornadoes, ever recorded, including four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes.
The outbreak was one of the deadliest, and most violent ever documented, with 17 confirmed violent tornadoes (F4-F5 intensity) all of which were rated F4, the second most amount of violent twisters in one outbreak behind the Super Outbreak of 1974. It occurred on Palm Sunday, an important day to Protestants and Catholics, and many people were attending services at church, one possible reason why some warnings were not received. There had been a short winter that year, and as the day progressed, the temperature rose to 83 °F (28 °C) in some areas of the Midwestern United States.
Tornado History Project Tornado Data for April 11, 1965, Tornado History Project Tornado Data for April 12, 1965, NWS Detroit Storm Data
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