Tornado outbreak of February 24−25, 1961
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationFebruary 24−25, 1961
Highest winds
Tornadoes
confirmed		14
Max. rating1F2 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		22 hours and 20 minutes
Largest hail1.75 in (4.4 cm)
Watson, Louisiana[2]
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion		4–6 inches (10–15 cm)
Fatalities11 injuries
Damage$460,030 (1961 USD)[3]
Areas affectedSoutheastern United States

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

A destructive outbreak of 14 tornadoes hit the Southeast.[4] Seven of the 14 tornadoes were significant (F2+) and multiple populated areas were struck. Overall, the outbreak injured 11 and caused $460,030 (1961 USD) in damage.[4][3]

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 1 6 7 0 0 0 14

February 24 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Friday, February 24, 1961[nb 1][nb 2]
F# Location County / Parish State Start
coord.		 Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F2 W of Pinehurst to SW of Unadilla Dooly GA 32°12′N 83°50′W / 32.20°N 83.83°W / 32.20; -83.83 (Pinehurst (February 24, F2)) 19:40–? 4.9 miles (7.9 km) 200 yards (180 m) Tornado moved through mostly rural areas, ending south-southeast of Snow Spring. Three homes and two barns were destroyed and trees and utility lines were downed. Damage was estimated $25,000.[6][7]
F2 Lizella to W of West Oak Bibb GA 32°48′N 83°49′W / 32.80°N 83.82°W / 32.80; -83.82 (Lizella (February 24, F2)) 20:30–? 3.8 miles (6.1 km) 30 yards (27 m) A tornado moved through Lizella, destroying one house and damaging two others. Losses totaled $25,000.[6][8]
F2 Danville/Allentown Twiggs GA 32°36′N 83°15′W / 32.60°N 83.25°W / 32.60; -83.25 (Danville (February 24, F2)) 20:30–? 1 mile (1.6 km) 50 yards (46 m) Tornado struck Danville and Allentown, damaging several residencies and outhouses and uprooting trees. There was $25,000 in damage.[6][9]
F2 Ararat to Milan Chauncey GA 32°05′N 83°08′W / 32.08°N 83.13°W / 32.08; -83.13 (Ararat (February 24, F2)) 21:45–? 0.5 miles (0.80 km) 600 yards (550 m) Short-lived, but large tornado moved through Ararat, blowing the roofs off of five houses and causing $25,000 in damage.[6][10]
F2 Hurtsboro to Hatchechubbee to Seale to Flournoys Russell AL 32°14′N 85°24′W / 32.23°N 85.40°W / 32.23; -85.40 (Hurtsboro(February 24, F2)) 22:30–? 25.6 miles (41.2 km) 10 yards (9.1 m) See section on this tornado – Four people were injured and losses totaled $25,000.[6][11][12]
F1 Jackson to Savannah River Site Aiken SC 33°19′N 81°47′W / 33.32°N 81.78°W / 33.32; -81.78 (Jackson (February 24, F1)) 23:30–? 0.5 miles (0.80 km) 60 yards (55 m) A tornado moved through Jackson, causing heavy damage in a trailer camp. Five people were injured, two of which were hospitalized, and damages were estimated at $25,000 in damage. The tornado did not have a visible condensation funnel.[6][13]
F1 McBean Richmond GA 33°15′N 81°57′W / 33.25°N 81.95°W / 33.25; -81.95 (McBean (February 24, F1)) 23:30–? 1 mile (1.6 km) 100 yards (91 m) Tornado demolished a post office and damaged two homes, causing $25,000 in damage.[6][14]
F1 New Ellenton Aiken SC 33°25′N 81°41′W / 33.42°N 81.68°W / 33.42; -81.68 (New Ellenton (February 24, F1)) 00:00–? 0.5 miles (0.80 km) 50 yards (46 m) Tornado may have come from the same cell that formed the Jackson tornado. The area struck was sparsely populated, but losses still reached $2,500. Two people were injured. The tornado did not have a visible condensation funnel.[6][15]
F2 Western Butler Taylor GA 32°33′N 84°15′W / 32.55°N 84.25°W / 32.55; -84.25 (Western Butler (February 24, F2)) 00:45–? 2 miles (3.2 km) 30 yards (27 m) Destructive tornado moved through the west side of Butler, damaging 10 homes and causing $25,000 in damage.[6][16]
F0 Woodford Orangeburg SC 33°40′N 81°07′W / 33.67°N 81.12°W / 33.67; -81.12 (Woodford (February 24, F0)) 01:00–? 0.5 miles (0.80 km) 37 yards (34 m) A brief, weak tornado caused $30 in damage in Woodford.[6][17]

February 25 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, February 25, 1961[nb 1][nb 2]
F# Location County / Parish State Start
coord.		 Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary Refs.
F1 Egypt Lake-Leto Hillsborough FL 28°00′N 82°30′W / 28.00°N 82.50°W / 28.00; -82.50 (Egypt Lake Leto (February 25, F2)) 14:00–? 0.3 miles (0.48 km) 50 yards (46 m) A brief tornado caused $2,500 in damage in Northwestern Tampa. A large building was unroofed near the Tampa International Airport, but that was listed as a strong wind event. [6][18][19]
F1 Holden Heights Orange FL 28°30′N 81°24′W / 28.50°N 81.40°W / 28.50; -81.40 (Holden Heights (February 25, F2)) 15:45–? 0.1 miles (0.16 km) 10 yards (9.1 m) A brief tornado hit Southwestern Orlando, causing $2,500 in damage. [6][20][21]
F1 SE of Piney Wood Pender NC 34°33′N 78°05′W / 34.55°N 78.08°W / 34.55; -78.08 (Piney Wood (February 25, F1)) 17:06–? 0.1 miles (0.16 km) 10 yards (9.1 m) A brief tornado touched down just southeast of Piney Wood, where a farm building was shifted 60 feet off its foundation. Damages was estimated at $2,500. [6][22][23]
F2 Oak Hill Fayette WV 37°59′N 81°09′W / 37.98°N 81.15°W / 37.98; -81.15 (Oak Hill (February 25, F2)) 18:00–? 3 miles (4.8 km) 100 yards (91 m) Strong tornado struck Oak Hill. Rosedale Elementary School was obliterated, roofs and antennas were ripped off houses, and large trees were uprooted. One small house was shifted off its foundation and telephone and electric power services were disrupted. Damage was estimated at $250,000. Multiple towns may have been hit, but the exact track of the tornado is unknown. The tornado was very unusual as it was followed almost immediately by a snowstorm that bought 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) of snow to the area. [24][25]

Hurtsboro–Hatchechubbee–Seale–Flournoys, Alabama

Hurtsboro–Hatchechubbee–Seale–Flournoys, Alabama
F2 tornado
Max. rating1F2 tornado
Fatalities4 injuries
Damage$25,000 (1961 USD)
Areas affectedEast-Central Alabama
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

This strong F2 tornado first touched down in Hurtsboro and moved east-northeast. It hit Southern Wende, before moving directly through the town Hatchechubbee, which was heavily damaged. It then hit Northern Colbert before moving through Seale, which was also heavily damaged. The tornado then struck Southern Lato before striking Nuckols, again causing heavy damage. The tornado then crossed over Lake Bickerstaff and dissipated in Flournoys. Although it moved mostly through rural areas, the tornado left several homes obliterated while others were heavily damaged and many trees were blown down or broken off. Four people were injured and damage estimates totaled $25,000. The NWS Birmingham list the tornado's maximum width as 100 yd (91 m).[6][26][11][12]

Non-tornadic impacts

The only report of hail from this event came out of Watson, Louisiana on February 24, where golf-ball sized hail was confirmed.[2][27] Strong winds were much more common during the event.[27] February 25 saw a wind gust of 97 mph (156 km/h) was recorded just southwest of Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the suburb Ardmore.[1] A 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) wind gust was also recorded in Edgewood in Roanoke, Virginia.[28]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
  2. 1 2 Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 North Carolina Event Report: 84 kts. Thunderstorm Wind. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 Louisiana Event Report: 1.75 in. Hail. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Tornado Summaries". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 "February 1961 Tornadoes". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. Boston: American Meteorological Society. 19 (2): 310. Bibcode:2004WtFor..19..310B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Storm Data Publication | IPS | National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)". www.ncdc.noaa.gov.
  7. ↑ Georgia Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Georgia Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Georgia Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  10. ↑ Georgia Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  11. 1 2 Alabama Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  12. 1 2 US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Alabama Tornadoes 1961". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  13. ↑ South Carolina Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  14. ↑ Georgia Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  15. ↑ South Carolina Event Report: F1 Tornado. Tornado History Projects (Report). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Georgia Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  17. ↑ South Carolina Event Report: F0 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "Florida F1". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  19. ↑ Florida Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  20. ↑ "Florida F1". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  21. ↑ Florida Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  22. ↑ "North Carolina F1". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  23. ↑ North Carolina Event Report: F1 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  24. ↑ "West Virginia F2". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  25. ↑ West Virginia Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  26. ↑ "Alabama F2". Tornado History Project. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  27. 1 2 "Non-tornadic impacts". National Weather Service. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  28. ↑ Virginia Event Report: 74 kts. Thunderstorm Wind. National Weather Service (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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