For more than 20 years Earth Networks has operated the world’s largest and most comprehensive weather observation, lightning detection, and climate networks.
We are now leveraging our big data smarts to deliver on the promise of IoT. By integrating our hyper-local weather data with Smart Home connected devices we are delievering predictive energy efficiency insight to homeowners and Utility companies.
On This Day in 1953: Michigan's Worst Natural Disaster
June 8, 2021
By WeatherBug's Ali Husain
1953 was one of the worst tornado years in U.S. history, and the Flint-Beecher, Mich., EF-5 tornado was a large contributor to this devastation.
On June 8th, 1953, an EF-5 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, packing winds greater than 200 mph, ripped through the suburbs of Flint, Michigan’s Beecher district, causing 116 deaths and 844 injuries, along with an estimated $190 million in today's currency. 1953 also saw a Waco, Texas, tornado that killed 114 people, and an EF-4 tornado in Worcester, Mass., that resulted in 90 deaths and over 1,200 injuries.
The Flint-Beecher, Mich., tornado was voted as the worst natural disaster of the 20th century for the state of Michigan, a testament to the devastation it caused.
The system that produced these tornadoes was a classic severe weather producer, and very recognizable by meteorologists of the day. Despite the lack of satellite data, radar data, and computer processing, the forecasts sent out by the Weather Bureau Severe Storms Unit (predecessor of today’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) were remarkably accurate. The resulting tornado largely fell within the tornado watch issued about an hour before touchdown, a feat much more difficult without today’s technologies.
The atmosphere on this day was more than conducive to tornado growth. Large areas of divergence over the Great Lakes, combined with warm, moist air and strong mid-level winds led to steep lapse rates in the late afternoon, supporting strong thunderstorms and even the possibility of a supercell thunderstorm. The tornado touched down at 8:30 p.m. local time and continued its rampage for 18.6 miles before retreating.
The system that spawned this deadly funnel also dropped several other tornadoes over Michigan and Ohio. Included in this list is an EF-4 tornado that traveled for 44 minutes as a waterspout over Lake Erie, one of the longest waterspout tracks on record. All in all, there were eight total tornadoes that touched down in Michigan, with a total 125 deaths and 925 injuries.
Source: weather.gov
-------------------- Story Image: Flint-Beecher Tornado of 1953 (NWS Detroit/Pontiac).