View source for 1953 Vicksburg tornado

{{Short description|1953 F5 tornado affecting Mississippi}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image                 = Vicksburg Sunday Post Herald following the F5 tornado 1953.jpg
| caption               = Vicksburg Sunday Post-Herald showing the destruction in Vicksburg.
| duration              = 9 minutes
| formed                = December 5, 1953, 5:31 p.m. [[Central Time Zone|CST]] ([[UTC−06:00]])
| dissipated            = December 5, 1953, 5:40 p.m. (UTC−06:00)
}}{{Infobox weather event/Tornado
| fujita-scale          = F5
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| fatalities            = 38
| injuries              = 270
| damages               = $25 million (1953 [[United States dollar|USD]])<br>${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|25000000|1966|r=-4}}}} ({{CURRENTYEAR}} USD)
| areas                 = [[Warren County, Mississippi|Warren County]] in [[Mississippi]], principally in and near [[Vicksburg, Mississippi|Vicksburg]] and [[Waltersville, Mississippi|Waltersville]]
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season                = [[Tornado outbreak sequence of December 1–6, 1953]] and [[Tornadoes of 1953|tornado outbreaks of 1953]]
}}
The '''1953 Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado''' was a deadly F5 [[tornado]] that struck [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] on Saturday, December&nbsp;5, 1953. A total of 38 people were killed, 270 others were injured, and damages were estimated at $25&nbsp;million (1953 USD). It remains the fifth-deadliest tornado to affect the [[U.S. state]] of Mississippi, behind the 1840&nbsp;[[Great Natchez Tornado]], the [[1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak|1936&nbsp;tornado]] in [[Tupelo, Mississippi|Tupelo]], the [[February 1971 Mississippi Delta tornado outbreak|1971&nbsp;tornado]] in [[Cary, Mississippi|Cary]], and the [[1966 Candlestick Park tornado outbreak|1966&nbsp;series of four tornadoes]] in Jackson. It is one of just four&nbsp;[[List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes|F5]] tornadoes recorded in Mississippi since 1950.<ref name="DeadliestMS">{{cite web |title=20 Deadliest Tornadoes in Mississippi 1950-2015 |url=https://www.weather.gov/jan/deadliest_tors |website=NWS [[List of National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices|WFO]] in [[Jackson, Mississippi]] |publisher=[[National Weather Service]] |accessdate=2 December 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930054814/https://www.weather.gov/jan/deadliest_tors |archivedate=30 September 2017 |location=[[Flowood, Mississippi]] |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Background==
On December&nbsp;5, 1953, as a [[warm front]] retreated northward across Mississippi, temperatures in the [[warm sector]] rose steadily. By sunrise, temperatures were already in the low 50s °[[Fahrenheit|F]]—ten&nbsp;to fifteen&nbsp;degrees above average–despite [[overcast]] conditions. Just before noon [[Central Standard Time|CST]] (18:00&nbsp;[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]), southeasterly winds were measured at {{convert|17|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on|lk=on}} in Vicksburg. Some hours later, the local [[dew point]] rose to nearly {{convert|70|F|C|abbr=on|lk=on}}, along with a temperature of {{convert|72|F|C|abbr=on}}. Meanwhile, favorable [[wind shear]] arrived to promote the growth of [[thunderstorm#Severe thunderstorms|severe thunderstorm]]s, along with the conditions necessary for [[tornadogenesis]]. At 1:30&nbsp;p.m. CST (19:30&nbsp;UTC), the [[Storm Prediction Center#History|Severe Local Storms Unit]] of the [[National Weather Service|United States Weather Bureau]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], released a [[Tornado watch|severe weather bulletin]] indicating the likelihood of tornado-producing storms over portions of [[East Texas]], southern [[Arkansas]], northern [[Louisiana]], and western [[Mississippi]].<ref name="JAN">{{cite web |title=December 5, 1953 Vicksburg Tornado |url=https://www.weather.gov/jan/1953_vicksburgtornado |website=NWS [[List of National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices|WFO]] in [[Jackson, Mississippi]] |publisher=[[National Weather Service]] |accessdate=28 November 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128034956/https://www.weather.gov/jan/1953_vicksburgtornado |archivedate=28 January 2017 |location=[[Flowood, Mississippi]]|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Tornado event==
The destructive tornado may have first touched down over easternmost [[Madison Parish, Louisiana]], crossed the [[Mississippi River]], and felled trees on DeSoto Island. However, official records indicate that the tornado first developed over the [[Yazoo River]] in Warren County, Mississippi.<ref name="Yazoo">{{cite report |author=National Weather Service |date=August 2019 |title=Mississippi Event Report: F5 Tornado |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10047316 |publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information |access-date=2 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="JAN" /> As it entered Vicksburg, the tornado, which [[supercell#High Precipitation (HP)|followed heavy rain]],<ref name="Beckley">{{cite news |title=28 Killed, 230 Hurt as Twister Shakes City of Vicksburg |work=[[The Register-Herald|Beckley Post-Herald]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=1953}}</ref> destroyed electrical services to the city and initiated several fires.<ref name="DailyMail1">{{cite news |title=More Than 100 |work=Charleston Daily Mail |date=1953}}</ref><ref name="DailyMail2">{{cite news |title=Vicksburg Storm |work=Charleston Daily Mail |date=1953}}</ref> Buildings were in "shambles" along four city blocks, and the downtown business district was adversely affected. Many automobiles were submerged by debris.<ref name="DailyMail1" /> The tornado damaged or destroyed 937&nbsp;buildings, while nearly 1,300&nbsp;people lost their homes. A total of 12&nbsp;blocks of the city's business district were affected by the tornado, and fires also burned cotton.<ref name="Beckley" /><ref name="Grazulis">{{cite book |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |authorlink1=Thomas P. Grazulis |title=Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events |date=July 1993 |publisher=The Tornado Project of Environmental Films |location=[[St. Johnsbury, Vermont]] |isbn=1-879362-03-1 |page=976 }}</ref>  In total, 270&nbsp;people received injuries,<ref>{{cite web |title=Mississippi F5 |url=http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/19531205.28.21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023014003/http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/19531205.28.21 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 23, 2010 |website=Tornado History Projects |publisher=Storm Predicition Center |accessdate=2 July 2020 }}</ref><ref name="Yazoo"/> and total damages approached $25 million.<ref name="Beckley" /><ref name="Grazulis" />  The tornado is officially rated F5 on the Fujita scale; however, the rating is questionable, since the tornado demolished frail structures. Tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis rated the tornado F4.<ref name="Grazulis"/>

==Aftermath and recovery==
The tornado broke the city's gas line, which remained out of service after repairs.<ref name="Newport">{{cite news |title=Tornado |work=[[Newport Daily News]] |agency=Associated Press |date=1953}}</ref> Residents were forced to go without cooked food even as temperatures dropped to {{convert|31|F|C|lk=on|abbr=on}} overnight on December&nbsp;6.<ref name="Newport" /> The tornado also [[Tornado myths#Near rivers, valleys, mountains, or other terrain features|disproved a persistent myth]] that its proximity to a river protected Vicksburg from tornadoes.<ref name="JAN" />

==See also==
{{portal|Tornadoes}}
*[[1966 Candlestick Park tornado outbreak]] – A small, but significant outbreak that produced a powerful F5 tornado that devastated portions of [[Jackson, Mississippi]]
*[[2011 Philadelphia, Mississippi tornado]] – First of two EF5 tornadoes in Mississippi during the [[2011 Super Outbreak]]
*[[2011 Smithville tornado]] – Second of two EF5 tornadoes in Mississippi during the 2011 Super Outbreak
*[[List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes]]
*[[Lists of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks]]
**[[List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}{{F5 and EF5 tornadoes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1953-12 Vicksburg Tornado}}
[[Category:F5, EF5 and IF5 tornadoes]]
[[Category:Tornadoes of 1953|Vicksburg, 12]]
[[Category:Tornadoes in Mississippi|Vicksburg, 1953-12]]
[[Category:1953 in Mississippi|Vicksburg Tornado, 12]]
[[Category:December 1953 in the United States|Tornado, Vicksburg]]