1961 St. Petersburg, Florida, tornado
| F2 tornado | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 5, 1961, 5:15 p.m. EST (UTC−05:00) |
| Max. rating1 | F2 tornado |
| Fatalities | None, 0 injuries |
| Damage | $25,000 (1961 USD)[nb 1] $250,000 (2024) |
| Areas affected | Northern portions of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, USA |
Part of the Tornado outbreak sequence of May 3–9, 1961, and the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1961 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
On Friday, May 5, 1961, a strong tornado impacted the city of St. Petersburg, Florida. The tornado, which only touched down briefly, was estimated to have produced F2 damage on the Fujita scale. It struck the Northeast High School and the nearby Meadowlawn neighborhood in the extreme northern part of St. Petersburg, traveling 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) and producing a 50-yard-wide (46 m) path. The tornado was part of a much larger outbreak sequence that produced 73 tornadoes. The parent thunderstorm that spawned the tornado was also attended by 3⁄4-inch-diameter (1.9 cm) hail.[nb 2][nb 3][nb 4]
Meteorological synopsis[edit]
On Friday, May 5, 1961, weather forecasters and surface weather maps indicated that a warm front was to lift northward over the Florida peninsula. As the front moved north, a warm, moist air mass expanded over the southern two-thirds of the state. Forecasters predicted that afternoon high temperatures over Central Florida would reach well into the 80s° F. By early afternoon, temperatures exceeded expectations, reaching a high of 93 °F (34 °C) in the St. Petersburg area, creating atmospheric instability conducive to thunderstorm development. At 5:00 p.m. local time, severe storms developed over the Tampa Bay Area.[10]
Storm development, track, and impact[edit]
Shortly after 5:00 p.m., a tornado touched down at 1155 53rd Avenue North in northern St. Petersburg. There, the tornado unroofed a home, bending a television antenna and dropping it on an automobile. Next, the tornado moved northwestward to 5445 16th Street North, where it unroofed a second home. After striking the two homes, the tornado hit the campus of Northeast High School. According to then school principal John Sexton, the tornado unroofed a triangular portion of the tar paper roof that covered the north wing of the school, exposing three rooms to rain. Up to 2 in (51 mm) of water covered the floor inside, and school supplies which had been prepared over seven years were ruined. However, because school had ended for the day, no students were inside, and no injuries were reported. Nearby observers reported garbage cans and beach balls flying through the air. The tornado apparently dissipated after hitting the school, as no further damage was noted, though power in the nearby Meadowlawn neighborhood was out at 5:30 p.m. Losses were estimated at $25,000.[11]
Non-tornadic effects[edit]
In addition to the tornado, severe thunderstorm winds unroofed a home at 245 78th Avenue North, near Fossil Park. Additionally, widespread hail, ranging up to 3⁄4 in (1.9 cm) in diameter, was reported everywhere in St. Petersburg except in the Greater Pinellas Point and Jungle Terrace sections.[12]
See also[edit]
- List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- Tornado outbreak of April 4–5, 1966 – Generated devastating tornadoes over the Tampa Bay Area
Notes[edit]
- ^ All losses are in 1961 USD unless otherwise noted.
- ^ An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[1]
- ^ The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[2][3] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[4] Canada utilized the old scale until April 1, 2013;[5] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[6]
- ^ Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[7] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[8] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Schneider, Russell S.; Brooks, Harold E.; Schaefer, Joseph T. (2004). Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875-2003) (PDF). 22nd Conf. Severe Local Storms. Hyannis, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
- ^ Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
- ^ Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
- ^ Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- "All Hail Breaks Loose In St. Petersburg Area". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. May 6, 1961. p. 1B.
- "Zone Forecast". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. May 5, 1961. p. 13B.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- "All Hail Breaks Loose In St. Petersburg Area". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. May 6, 1961. p. 1B.
- Grazulis 1993, p. 1035
- Storm Data 1961, p. 39
- Storm Data Publication 1961, #9987206
- ^ "All Hail Breaks Loose In St. Petersburg Area". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. May 6, 1961. p. 1B.
Sources[edit]
- Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. 19 (2): 310–19. Bibcode:2004WtFor..19..310B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2.
- Cook, A. R.; Schaefer, J. T. (August 2008). "The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks". Monthly Weather Review. 136 (8): 3135. Bibcode:2008MWRv..136.3121C. doi:10.1175/2007MWR2171.1.
- Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
- Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001a). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.
- Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001b). F5-F6 Tornadoes. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
- National Weather Service (May 1961). Storm Data Publication (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information – via Storm Events Database.
- U.S. Weather Bureau (May 1961). "Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena". Storm Data. 3 (5). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center.