On May 5–8, 1965, a significant
tornado outbreak
__NOTOC__
A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least two rotational l ...
affected much of the
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern and Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the U.S. Census' definition of the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of ...
. For four consecutive days, tornado outbreaks produced at least three
significant (F2+)
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
es each day, and at least two violent (F4–F5) tornadoes on three of the four days. The entire sequence generated 37 significant tornadoes, including at least nine violent tornadoes, one of which was rated F5. On May 5, two F4s struck
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, including a long-tracked
tornado family
A tornado family is a series of tornadoes spawned by the same supercell thunderstorm. These families form a line of successive or parallel tornado paths and can cover a short span or a vast distance. Tornado families are sometimes mistaken as a sin ...
that injured 11 people. On May 6, an outbreak of six strong tornadoes, four of them violent F4s, affected
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...
, and has been nicknamed "The Longest Night", killing 13 people and causing major damages—at the time the most damaging single weather event in Minnesota history.
Three of the six tornadoes occurred on the ground simultaneously, and two of them hit the section of
Minnesota State Highway 100
Minnesota State Highway 100 (MN 100) is a state highway in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 494 (I-494) in Bloomington and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with I-6 ...
(now
Interstate 694
Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US Hi ...
) and University Avenue in the city of
Fridley
Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...
.
Both Fridley tornadoes damaged 1,100 homes and destroyed about 425; total losses reached $14.5 million, $5 million of which was to the Fridley school system.
On May 7, three significant tornadoes hit portions of the
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
, and beginning early on May 8, a major tornado outbreak affected the Great Plains states, particularly in
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
and
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
. The outbreak on May 8 produced numerous significant, long-lived tornadoes, including at least three violent tornadoes, two of which were actually long-tracked tornado families. A very large F5 tornado struck
Tripp County in South Dakota, and two major F4s tracked across parts of
Greeley and
Antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
Counties in Nebraska. One of the F4s struck the small village of
Primrose, almost totally destroying the settlement, causing possible F5 damage, and killing four people. Additionally, a high-end F3 obliterated a farm in
Gregory County, South Dakota
Gregory County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 3,994. Its county seat is Burke, South Dakota, Burke. The county was created in 1862 and o ...
, and may have been an F4 as well. Many of the individual tornadoes on May 8 moved north and northwest, an unusual trajectory for
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...
s in this part of the Great Plains. Many of the long-tracked tornadoes on this date, rather than single tornadoes, were probably tornado families like the two long-lived F4s.
Meteorological synopsis
Temperatures on May 6 were in the upper 70s °
F with high
dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
s, which was considered to be unusual for early May in Minnesota.
A strong
low pressure area
In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
associated with an
upper-level system moving in from the southwest and a nearby slow-moving
cold front
A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Norther ...
helped spark the
storms
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
. These storms formed as
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...
s—an atmospheric phenomenon that is extremely rare in Minnesota. Because of the training, the same general areas from Sibley County through Carver and Hennepin and into northwestern Ramsey counties kept getting the brunt of these cells.
Confirmed tornadoes
May 5
May 6
May 7
May 8
Fridley, Minnesota (two tornadoes)
Two tornadoes touched down in Fridley, just over an hour apart. In all, six people were killed in the Fridley tornadoes and over 180 were injured. Over 450 homes were destroyed in Fridley, and neighboring
Mounds View also sustained heavy damage. A man who called WCCO radio after the first Fridley tornado claimed on air that he had been in his car when the tornado hit and that the tornado blew out his car windows. Although he is widely believed to have been killed by the second Fridley twister later that night (which did kill a 26-year-old man with a similar name), the caller was actually a teacher at Fridley Junior High School who survived. The tornado also damaged the sign adorning the
Heights Theater
The Heights Theater is a historic theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. The Theater touts itself as "the Twin Cities longest continuously operated show house."
Location
It is located at 40th and Central.
History
The theater was built in the ...
in
Columbia Heights. In all, both Fridley tornadoes damaged 1,100 homes and destroyed about 425; total losses reached $14.5 million, $5 million of which was to the Fridley school system.
Photographs for the earlier
Deephaven and second Fridley tornado were published in the ''
Minneapolis Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' (now ''Star Tribune'') newspaper. Early radar images showed the supercells as they moved through the area.
Colome, South Dakota
On May 8th, an F5 tornado passed east of the town of
Colome, South Dakota
Colome is a city in Tripp County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 331 as of the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the ...
in
Tripp County, and became the only tornado to be rated as such in South Dakota's history. On the ground for around 30 miles, the tornado reached a huge mile wide in size and destroyed 7 farms, 3 of which were swept away at F5 intensity. Fortunately, the tornado resulted in no deaths, but there was 1 injury.
Aftermath
The outbreak in Minnesota on May 6 was voted a tie by the Minnesota Climatology Office for the "fifth most significant Minnesota Weather Event of the 20th Century" with the 1965 Mississippi & Minnesota River Flooding.
Considering this outbreak occurred just three weeks after the
Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, quick and successful warnings from the
U.S. Weather Bureau and transmission from
WCCO Radio
WCCO (830 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located on Second Avenue South in Downtown Minneapolis. WCCO features a talk radio format, with frequent newscas ...
kept the death toll relatively low. This was also the first time in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
state history where
civil defense siren
A civil defense siren, also known as an air-raid siren or tornado siren, is a siren used to provide an emergency population warning to the general population of approaching danger. It is sometimes sounded again to indicate the danger has pas ...
s were used for severe weather purposes.
See also
*
Climate of Minnesota
Minnesota has a humid continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. Minnesota's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States, with each of the four seasons having its ow ...
*
List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred in North America.
#''The listing is U.S.-centric, with greater and more consistent information available for U.S. tornadoes. Some North Americ ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
Notes
External links
May 6, 1965 Tornado Outbreak(NWS Twin Cities, MN)
Radiotapes.comAircheck recordings of WCCO Radio's tornado coverage from May 6, 1965.
8mm Home Video of May 6, 1965 Fridley, MN Tornado Damage YouTube Video.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twin Cities Tornado Outbreak
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May 1965 events in the United States