Hurricane Carla
Hurricane Carla ranks as the most intense U.S. tropical cyclone landfall on the Hurricane Severity Index. It was the ninth most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla d ...
triggered a destructive and deadly outbreak of 21 tornadoes in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
, and
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
that occurred from September 10–13, 1961. A total of 11 tornadoes touched down in Louisiana, and eight more in Texas. The strongest tornado of the outbreak was a long, wide F4 tornado that moved across
Galveston Island
Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston in Galveston County.
T ...
in the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 12, 1961, killing eight people. This was the first of only two known violent tornadoes ever spawned by a hurricane with the other one happening during
Hurricane Hilda in 1964. By the time it was over, the outbreak had killed 14 people, injured 337 others, and caused over $3.461 million in damage.
Meteorological synopsis
![Carla 1961 track](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Carla_1961_track.png)
As
Hurricane Carla
Hurricane Carla ranks as the most intense U.S. tropical cyclone landfall on the Hurricane Severity Index. It was the ninth most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla d ...
moved northwestward over the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
on September 10, its outer rainbands began to spread over the
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
. Favorable shear profiles led to scattered tornadoes touching down across the region, including an F3 tornado that caused numerous casualties in
Kaplan, Louisiana
Kaplan is a city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,600 at the 2010 census, and 4,345 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area in Acadiana.
History
In ...
. More tornadoes touched down the next day as the system made landfall in
Port O'Connor, Texas
Port O'Connor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calhoun County, Texas, United States, near the Gulf coastline between Galveston and Corpus Christi. The CDP had a population of 1,253 at the 2010 census. It is par ...
at peak intensity with winds and a pressure of 931 mbar (27.5 inHg). September 12 was the worst day of the outbreak with six significant (F2+) tornadoes touching down, including a violent F4 tornado in
Galveston, Texas and an intense F3 tornado in
Jonesboro, Louisiana
Jonesboro is a town in, and the parish seat of, Jackson Parish in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 4,106 in 2020.
History
Founded on January 10, 1860, by Joseph Jones and his wife, Sarah Pankey Jones ...
, causing widespread destruction and 250 casualties. By September 13, a weaker Tropical Storm Carla was accelerating northward into
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Some scattered tornado activity occurred on this day before the outbreak came to an end.
Confirmed tornadoes
September 10 event
September 11 event
September 12 event
September 13 event
See also
*
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 ...
*
List of tornadoes spawned by tropical cyclones
Intense tropical cyclones usually produce tornadoes, the majority of those weak, especially upon landfall.
List of tornadoes
These are the tropical cyclones that are known to have spawned tornadoes. The list is most complete for the U.S., but ...
*
Hurricane Rita tornado outbreak
Notes
References
{{Alabama tornado events
Carla
Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include:
* Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United
* Carla Abe ...
Tornadoes of 1961
F4 tornadoes
Tornadoes in Alabama
Tornadoes in Louisiana
Tornadoes in Texas
Tornadoes in Arkansas
Tornadoes in Michigan
Tornadoes in Georgia (U.S. state)