View source for 1973 San Justo tornado

{{Short description|1973 tornado in Argentina}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2025}}
{{expand Spanish|topic=hist|otherarticle=Tornado de San Justo|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image = Tornado de San Justo Mapa.png
| alt = 
| caption = Plan of the city of San Justo. The striped part shows the area most affected by the tornado.
| formed = 10 January 1973, 2:15&nbsp;p.m. [[Time in Argentina|ART]] ([[UTC-03:00]])
| duration = 10 minutes
| dissipated = 10 January 1973, 2:25&nbsp;p.m. [[Time in Argentina|ART]] ([[UTC-03:00]])
}}{{Infobox weather event/Tornado
| basin = atl
| winds = >{{convert|261|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| fujita-scale = F5
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| deaths = 63
| injuries = 350
| damages = ~$60,000 (~${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|60000|1973|r=-4}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}} USD)
| affected = [[San Justo, Santa Fe|San Justo]], [[Santa Fe Province|Santa Fe]], [[Argentina]]
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season = [[tornadoes of 1973]]
}}
The '''1973 San Justo tornado''' was an extremely powerful and deadly F5 [[tornado]] which struck [[San Justo, Santa Fe|San Justo]], a town in the province of [[Santa Fe Province|Santa Fe]], [[Argentina]], on January&nbsp;10, 1973. At least 63&nbsp;people were reported dead and 350&nbsp;were reported injured as it cut a {{convert|330|yd|m|adj=mid|-wide}} swath through the town. It was the most violent tornado ever recorded in South America, and also the entire Southern Hemisphere. This tornado was widely considered to have been an [[List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes|F5]] on the [[Fujita Scale]], and in 2017, it received its official F5 rating. The tornado had an economic cost of about $60,000 and was the deadliest tornado in Argentina's history.<ref name=":0">{{cite AV media |date= June 19, 2013 |title=Viento Asesino |trans-title=|medium=motion picture |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBHRd77w7_Y  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/BBHRd77w7_Y |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|accessdate= August 26, 2014 |time= |publisher=unknown |location=Argentina |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= |language=es}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The tornado is also the only F5 tornado to have been reported in Argentina and in South America.

== Meteorological synopsis==
After a morning of intense heat, at noon, huge [[cumulonimbus cloud]]s were seen forming and coming. Due to the high relative humidity content and extreme instability, around 13:00 local time, the clouds produced some isolated rainfalls.

== Tornado summary==
Then, at about 14:15 local time, a tornado touched down in an open field. Slowly tracking to the south-southwest, the tornado killed several heads of a livestock, tossing cows over {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} into the air and downed power poles. Several outbuildings were destroyed and lagoon was sucked dry before the tornado crossed the [[General Manuel Belgrano Railway|General Belgrano Railroad]] tracks and entered into town.<ref name=":1" /> According to eyewitnesses, the ground was shaking, "as if several jet planes were landing over the houses".
The tornado quickly became extremely violent, reaching F5 intensity a few minutes later. The tornado reached a maximum width of {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}} and tore through western part of the San Justo, wrecking multiple factories and over 500&nbsp;homes, leveling or sweeping clean some homes entirely. "Like ping pong balls", vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled beyond recognition, and grass was reportedly ripped from the ground. A newspaper image showed a vehicle motor that was embedded into a poured concrete wall by the tornado. A {{Convert|10|t|lb|abbr=on}} tractor was found in a wooded area {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} away from the dealership where it originated. Large trees were torn out of the ground and flew "like matchsticks". A trailer was buried in a {{convert|2|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} ditch. 

As the tornado passed through the town, it turned more to the southwest. Crossing the [[National Route 11 (Argentina)|National Route 11]], the tornado struck a family car, lofting it {{Convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}} into the air. Three children, man and woman were ejected from the car. The woman sustained only minor injuries, but man and children were killed and thrown {{Convert|600|m|yd}} into eucalyptus forest, where hundreds of trees were snapped or debarked;<ref name=":1" /> their bodies were later found hanged on trees, being "unrecognizable and stripped of clothes".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2013-11-05 |title=Foros Tutiempo - Ver Tema - Tornado de san justo |url=http://www.tutiempo.net/Foro/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3503 |access-date=2025-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105045328/http://www.tutiempo.net/Foro/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3503 |archive-date=5 November 2013 }}</ref> The tornado abruptly weakened and dissipated seven&nbsp;minutes after reaching F5 intensity. The tornado traveled for at least {{convert|1.5|km|mi|sigfig=1}}, killed 63&nbsp;people along its path, and caused millions of pesos in damage.

The tornado is said to have changed color multiple times, an unusual phenomenon. The tornado began with a unique violet color, and then turned red when it devastated brick homes, picking up brick dust along its path. The tornado destroyed a ton of wooden planks, and turned them into flying projectiles, which caused most of the fatalities.<ref>Multiple sources:
*{{harvnb|Grazulis|2001a|p=260}}
*{{harvnb|Grazulis|2001b|p=3}}
*{{cite web |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |last2=Grazulis |first2=Doris |year=2000 |title=Woldwide Tornadoes--Argentina |website=The Tornado Project |url=http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/argentina.htm |access-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113064343/http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/argentina.htm |archive-date=13 January 2014 |publisher=Environmental Films |location=[[St. Johnsbury, Vermont]]}}
*{{cite journal |author1=Mariano Balbi |author2=Pablo Barbieri |title=Enfoque Científico del Riesgo – Evaluación del potential de Tornados en Argentina |journal=Anales de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Buenos Aires |trans-title=Scientific Approach to Risk – Assessment of the Potential For Tornadoes in Argentina |trans-journal=Annals of the National Academy of Sciences of Buenos Aires |place=Buenos Aires |year=2017 |url=https://dxi97tvbmhbca.cloudfront.net/upload/user/image/tornados-en-al-argentina20200228221647824.pdf |access-date=25 July 2023 |language=es}}
*{{cite web |last1=Prociv |first1=Kathryn |title=From domestic to international: Tornadoes around the world |url=http://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/07/25/from-domestic-to-international-tornadoes-around-the-world/ |website=United States Tornadoes |access-date=2013-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814142559/http://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/07/25/from-domestic-to-international-tornadoes-around-the-world/ |archive-date=14 August 2013 |date=25 July 2013}}
*{{Cite news|title=Se cumplen 40 años del tornado que azotó a San Justo|url=https://www.ellitoral.com/index.php/id_um/84938-se-cumplen-40-aos-del-tornado-que-azot-a-san-justo|access-date=2022-02-09|website=www.ellitoral.com|language=es |last1=Com |first1=Ellitoral }}
*{{cite AV media |date= June 19, 2013 |title=Viento Asesino |medium=motion picture |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBHRd77w7_Y |access-date= August 26, 2014 |publisher=unknown |location=Argentina |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/BBHRd77w7_Y| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=es}}{{cbignore}}
</ref>

== Aftermath ==

The supercell that spawned the tornado continued to produce very violent rain for another hour, and then rescue efforts were started immediately afterwards. The local San Justo Hospital was turned into a morgue, with bodies waiting to be identified. Most of the victims were reportedly rendered unrecognizable or caked in mud.<ref name=":2" /> Radio communications were cut, and San Justo was left without electricity for some time. The tornado left over 2000 people homeless due to the extreme house damage. [[Ted Fujita|Dr. Ted Fujita]] studied this tornado, and called it "the worst tornado ever recorded in the world outside the borders of the United States."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=de Schwarzkopf |first1=Altinger |last2=Luisa |first2=Maria |last3=Migliardo |first3=Romualdo Carlos |date=December 1975 |title=Estudio de los tornados en la Argentina |url=http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/147336 |journal=Geoacta |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=93–102 |via=Repositario institucional de la UNLP|language=es}}</ref>

In 2013, a memorial was erected near the intersection of Roque Sáenz Peña boulevard and May 1st street for perished and their relatives.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Com |first=Ellitoral |title=Se cumplen 40 años del tornado que azotó a San Justo |url=https://www.ellitoral.com/index.php/id_um/84938-se-cumplen-40-aos-del-tornado-que-azot-a-san-justo |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220209215119/https://www.ellitoral.com/index.php/id_um/84938-se-cumplen-40-aos-del-tornado-que-azot-a-san-justo |archive-date=2022-02-09 |access-date=2025-02-19 |work=www.ellitoral.com |language=es}}</ref>  

In 2018, a group of sanjustinos made a documentary film entitled ''Vorágine'' about the experience of 3 relatives of tornado casualties. The film was directed by Fernando Molinas and produced by Imanol Sánchez.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Vorágine - El tornado de San Justo |medium=motion picture|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqJ3YjxF44g |access-date=2022-03-08|language=Spanish}}</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==

*{{cite journal |first1=Ernest M.|last1=Agee|first2=Samuel|last2=Childs|title=Adjustments in Tornado Counts, F-Scale Intensity, and Path Width for Assessing Significant Tornado Destruction|journal=Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology|date=June 1, 2014|volume=53|issue=6|pages=1494–1505|doi=10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0235.1|publisher=American Meteorological Society|doi-access=free|bibcode=2014JApMC..53.1494A |ref={{sfnRef|Agee and Childs|2014}}}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Brooks |first1=Harold E. |author-link1=Harold E. Brooks |title=On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity |journal=[[Weather and Forecasting]] |date=April 2004 |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=310–19 |doi=10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2004WtFor..19..310B }}
*{{cite journal|last1=Cook|first1=A. R.|last2=Schaefer|first2=J. T. |title=The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks|journal=[[Monthly Weather Review]] |date=August 2008|volume=136|issue=8|pages=3121–3137|doi=10.1175/2007MWR2171.1 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2008MWRv..136.3121C}}
*{{cite journal |first1=Roger|last1=Edwards|first2=James G.|last2=LaDue|first3=John T.|last3=Ferree|first4=Kevin|last4=Scharfenberg|first5=Chris|last5=Maier|first6=William L.|last6=Coulbourne|title=Tornado Intensity Estimation: Past, Present, and Future|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|date=May 1, 2013|volume=94|issue=5|pages=641–653|doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00006.1|doi-access=free|publisher=American Meteorological Society|bibcode=2013BAMS...94..641E |ref={{sfnRef|Edwards et al.|2013}}}}
*{{cite tech report|last=Grazulis|first=Thomas P.|author-link=Thomas P. Grazulis|date=May 1984|title=Violent Tornado Climatography, 1880–1982|series=NUREG|number=CR-3670|website=[[Office of Scientific and Technical Information|OSTI]]|institution=[[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|osti=7099491 |osti-access=free}}
**{{cite book | last = Grazulis | first = Thomas P. |title = Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989 |date=November 1990 | publisher = The Tornado Project of Environmental Films | location = [[St. Johnsbury, Vermont]] | isbn = 1-879362-02-3 |volume=2 |author-mask=1}}
**{{cite book |last1=Grazulis |first1=Thomas P. |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 |author-mask=1}}
**{{cite book|last1=Grazulis|first1=Thomas P.|title=The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm|url=https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz|url-access=registration|date=2001a|publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]]|location=[[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]]|isbn=978-0-8061-3538-0|author-mask=1}}
**{{Cite book|last=Grazulis|first=Thomas P. |title=F5-F6 Tornadoes|publisher=The Tornado Project of Environmental Films|year=2001b |location=St. Johnsbury, Vermont|author-mask=1}}

{{coord|-30.788301|-60.598524|display=title}}
{{F5 and EF5 tornadoes}}{{1973 tornado outbreaks}}

[[Category:Tornadoes of 1973]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Argentina|1973 San Justo tornado]]
[[Category:1973 in Argentina]]
[[Category:January 1973 in South America]]
[[Category:Tornadoes in South America]]
[[Category:Weather events in Argentina]]