Several destructive tornadoes struck the

Lower Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lie parts of seven U.S. states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Lou ...

and the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

on February 13, 1952. Multiple intense tornadoes touched down throughout the day, three of which were killers. The worst one was an F4 tornado that touched down in south central

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, killing three and injuring 44. In all, the outbreak killed five, injured 102, and caused $6.402 million (1952 USD) in damage.

Meteorological synopsis

A fast-moving low-pressure system formed over

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

on February 11. As it moved quickly eastward another low formed over northeastern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

on February 12. These lows moved in tandem into

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

on February 13 and triggered a severe weather outbreak in the

starting that morning.

Confirmed tornadoes

February 13 event

Non-tornadic impacts

Most of the damage during this event was either by tornadoes or the storm that produced it. However, one isolated report of large hail was recorded in Warren, Mississippi. Windows were broken, automobiles were dented, and gardens and winter grains were damaged.

Notes

References