A small but damaging
outbreak
In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...
of 11
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 impacted 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 the last two days of March 1962. The outbreak was highlighted by a catastrophic, mid-morning F3 tornado that destroyed multiple neighborhoods in
Milton, Florida
Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, located in the Pensacola– Ferry Pass– Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center ...
, killing 17 people and injuring 100 others. It was the deadliest tornado ever recorded in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
until
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
. Overall, the outbreak killed 17 people, injured 105 others, and caused $3.38 million in damage. Lightning caused another two deaths and three injuries.
Background
Multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms struck the
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
during the final two days of March, bringing heavy
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
,
flash flooding
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
, frequent
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
, high
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
s,
hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
, and
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 to the region. Individual storms moved through portions of the region before a large line of storms pushed through.
In the
Milton, Florida
Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, located in the Pensacola– Ferry Pass– Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center ...
area specifically, the high temperature on March 30 was which was coupled with a
dewpoint
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 ...
of . The temperature decreased to that night, but the dewpoint continued to hover around and then both temperature and dewpoint rose to around , making it a muggy night. Increasing southerly winds brought moist, unstable air from the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, 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 ...
northward into the region. Despite overcast skies being over the area since early on March 30 and scattered storms passing over the region just after midnight on March 31, the moist and unstable environment remained in place until much stronger storms entered the area later that morning. Even with the volatile atmospheric conditions, weather forecasters only called for scattered showers for the area on March 31.
Confirmed tornadoes
March 30 event
March 31 event
Milton, Florida
In the
far northeastern suburbs of Pensacola, Florida, a tornado developed south of Hamilton Bridge Road west of
Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
, shortly after 9 am CST on March 31.
It then grew into a large, destructive tornado as it moved northeastward through the northwest side of town. It struck multiple neighborhoods with little to no warning, heavily damaging or destroying dozens of frame homes. The hardest-hit area was the College Park residential area, where several homes were completely leveled with some swept away while other homes were extensively damaged.
In an extreme case, one home was swept off its foundation while the neighboring home was lifted off its foundation and set back down on the empty slab of the swept away home.
At the corner of Magnolia and Orange St, a man's car stalled right in the path of the tornado. He and his car was carried two blocks to
Stewart St, where it landed essentially intact.
A microwave tower was blown over and a number of high-voltage power lines were knocked down.
Trailers and cars were also thrown several hundred feet.
After exiting Milton, the tornado continued northeastward, uprooting trees and damaging other isolated structures before dissipating on Munson Highway north of its intersection with Wolfe Road just southwest of
Roeville.
It traveled and reached a peak width of . When the
Fujita Scale
The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
was made operational in the 1970s, the damage from the tornado was rated F2-F3, giving the tornado a final maximum rating F3. In all, a total of 130 homes, including 75 small homes, were destroyed along a six-block area. About 200 other homes and buildings were damaged.
Extensive damage also occurred at a mobile home park.
Debris was carried east-northeast to as far away as areas north of
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ha ...
away while other debris was carried northeast to
Andalusia, Alabama
Andalusia is a city in and the county seat of Covington County, Alabama, Covington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 8,805.
History
Andalusia was first settled in 1841 after floodi ...
away. There were 17 deaths, including five out of six members of one family, as well as a mother and three young children that were killed in their home. At least 10 homes had a single death. An additional 100 people were injured, about 80 of which required treatment.
This made it the deadliest tornado ever recorded in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
until
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
as well the worst tornado ever recorded in
Santa Rosa County
Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities within S ...
.
The storm that produced the tornado may have also caused a lightning-induced injury in
Crestview, Florida
Crestview is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 27,134 at the 2020 census, up from 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Okaloosa County. With an elevation of above sea level, it is one of the h ...
, two hours later.
Non-tornadic impacts
There were 13 reports of high winds and large hail during the events. Hail peaked at in diameter in
De Soto County, Mississippi
DeSoto County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 161,252, making it the third-most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Hernando.
DeSoto Cou ...
, with winds peaking at at the
Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal
Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU) is one of the largest military terminals in the world. It serves as a transfer point between rail, trucks, and ships for the import and export of weapons, ammunition, explosives and military equipment ...
east of
Boiling Springs Lake, North Carolina. Both events occurred on March 31.
Early on March 30, a lightning strike sparked a large fire at a horse stable in
Kingston, Oklahoma
Kingston is a town in Marshall County, Oklahoma, United States, in the central southern portion of the state close to the border. The population was 1,601 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Kingston is located at (34.000146, -96.721133).
According ...
, although no casualties occurred. That evening, two students were struck by lightning while walking on the
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
campus, killing one and injuring the other. Early the next morning, a woman was knocked unconscious and injured in
Decatur, Tennessee
Decatur ( ) is a town in Meigs County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Meigs County.
History
Decatur was founded in May 1836 as a county seat for Meigs County, which had been form ...
, after lightning traveled from outside her farmhouse into her kitchen through the water pipes, sparking a fire. Later, another man was killed in
Lee County, Alabama
Lee County is a County (United States), county located in east central Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 174,241. The county seat is Opelika, Alabama, Opelika, and the largest city is Auburn, Alabama, ...
, when the power line he was working on was struck by lightning. One other person was injured by lightning in
Crestview, Florida
Crestview is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 27,134 at the 2020 census, up from 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Okaloosa County. With an elevation of above sea level, it is one of the h ...
.
Rounds of storms caused widespread hail and wind damage in
Central Alabama
Central Alabama is a region in the state of Alabama. It is sometimes considered part of North Alabama because both regions are mountainous, but in some definitions they are different regions.
The Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachians cons ...
on March 30. The
Birmingham Municipal Airport
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
was particularly hard-hit as winds of up to and hail up to in diameter damaged around 60 planes.
Albertville
Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France.
It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
was buried under of marble-sized hail. The small hail caused an unusually high amount of destruction as it damaged roofs, broke windows, and heavily damaged a greenhouse, trees, and shrubs. Early the next morning, a line of storms caused heavy wind damage in
Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...
. This same line moved in Southeastern Alabama, producing high winds, heavy rainfall that peaked at , and flash flooding that damaged several homes, farm buildings, two airplanes, roads, and newly planted crops.
Aftermath and records
The
Florida Highway Patrol
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws ...
, who were some of the first on the scene in
Milton, Florida
Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, located in the Pensacola– Ferry Pass– Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center ...
after the F3 tornado, provided early estimates of 75 homes being destroyed, with varying degrees of damage to many others. They also estimated that 75 to 100 people had been injured. At the time of the tornado, the town of Milton had only about 4,000 residents (as of 2020 it has an estimated population of over 10,000 residents)
and one 50-bed hospital
Santa Rosa Hospital, which was quickly overwhelmed after the storm. A total 52 people were treated and released from Santa Rosa Hospital. Some of the most seriously injured victims were eventually sent to
Escambia General Baptist Hospital and Sacred Heart N.A.S. Pensacola in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
. Meanwhile, a temporary makeshift morgue was made in the core of Milton as highway patrolmen, civil defense workers, and volunteers sifted through collapsed buildings in search of survivors and bodies. Many telephone lines were damaged and the few that were remaining were completely overwhelmed by long-distance calls.
The 17 deaths caused by the F3 tornado made it the deadliest tornado of 1962 as well as the deadliest tornado ever recorded in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
until
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, when another F3 (initially rated F4) tornado killed 25.
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 ...
*
Tornado outbreak of February 23–24, 2016
Notes
References
External links
Milton Tornado 1962
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tornado outbreak of March 30-31, 1962
Tornadoes of 1962
F3 tornadoes
Tornadoes in Alabama
Tornadoes in Louisiana
Tornadoes in Florida
Tornadoes in Georgia (U.S. state)
Tornadoes in Mississippi