A destructive outbreak of nine tornadoes struck the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

on May 29, 1953. The strongest one was an F5 tornado that hit

Fort Rice, North Dakota A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

, destroying multiple structures and causing the majority of the casualties that day. Other strong tornadoes occurred that day, including an F2 tornado that did major damage when it struck

McLaughlin, South Dakota McLaughlin (Lakota language, Lakota: ''matȟó Akíčita or Makáȟleča''; "Bear Soldier") is a city in northeastern Corson County, South Dakota, Corson County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 663 at the 2010 United States Census ...

. Overall, the outbreak killed two people, injured 22 others, and caused $827,500 (1953 USD) in damage.

Meteorological synopsis

An unusually strong surface

low-pressure system In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...

moved into northwestern

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, 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 Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

during the afternoon of May 29, 1953. Surface observations indicated that it, along with another nearby low to its southeast, had a pressure lower than . A

dryline A dry line (also called a dew point line, or Marfa front, after Marfa, Texas) is a line across a continent that separates moist air and dry air. One of the most prominent examples of such a separation occurs in central North America, especially ...

extended from this strong low southward ahead of a

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 (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

that curled southwestward while a

warm front Warm, WARM, or Warmth may refer to: * A somewhat high temperature; heat * Kindness Music Albums * ''Warm'' (Herb Alpert album), 1969 * ''Warm'' (Jeff Tweedy album), 2018 * ''Warm'' (Johnny Mathis album), 1958, and the title song * ''Warm'' ( ...

extended east-northeastward into the

Coteau des Prairies The Coteau des Prairies is a plateau approximately 200 miles in length and 100 miles in width (320 by 160 km), rising from the prairie flatlands in eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, and northwestern Iowa in the United States. ...

of southeastern

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

Behind the surface low, an upper-level low moved northeastward through

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, increasing the pressure gradient over the

Northern Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include the mix ...

and inducing high wind shear across the area. Temperatures that afternoon reached anywhere from the upper 80s to mid-90s and with dew points from 60 to 70 °F, the atmosphere was ripe for an outbreak of severe thunderstorms.

Confirmed tornadoes

Fort Rice, North Dakota

The tornado, which was over 3/4 of a mile in width, struck Fort Rice, destroying 16 homes and leveling a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. Pews from the church were driven four feet into the ground. Additionally, components of a car were thrown for over a half mile. The tornado also crossed

Lake Oahe Lake Oahe () is a large reservoir behind the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of and a maximum depth of . By volume, it is the four ...

before dissipating near Britin (not to be confused with Britain) and Moffit. One person was killed in Fort Rice while another person was killed near the touch down point north of Cannon Ball. There were 20 injuries and $500,000 in damage. Despite the damage, tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis questioned some of the construction of the buildings and initially rated this as an F4 tornado. However, he did subsequently rate the tornado F5. This tornado was one of the only two F5 tornadoes to strike North Dakota, the other being the

Fargo tornado During the late afternoon and evening hours of June 20, 1957, a violent, "long lived" (it was later confirmed that it was a tornado family) and deadly F5 tornado commonly known as the Fargo tornado, struck the north side of Fargo, North Dakota ...

which would occur a few years later.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1953-05-29 Tornado Tornadoes of 1953 Tornadoes in Nebraska Tornadoes in Kansas Tornadoes in Wyoming Tornadoes in North Dakota Tornadoes in South Dakota

Meteorological synopsis

Confirmed tornadoes

Fort Rice, North Dakota

See also

Notes

References