Tornado outbreak of June 1881

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox weather eventTemplate:Infobox weather event/Tornado outbreak Template:Infobox weather event/Effects Template:Infobox weather event/Footer On June 12, 1881, a tornado outbreak affected the West North Central states of the Midwestern United States and produced numerous strong tornadoes, killing 15 people, primarily in parts of Kansas and Missouri. One of the strongest tornadoes in the outbreak was retroactively rated an F4—possibly an F5—on the Fujita scale, hitting near Hopkins, Missouri, in Nodaway County. Another F4 in Missouri claimed five lives, and a pair of F4s in Kansas collectively killed eight more. A fifth violent tornado also occurred in Iowa. In all, the outbreak injured at least 112.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	?	?	1	1	5	0	7

Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.

June 12 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, June 12, 1881

F#Template:Efn	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)Template:Efn	Path length	WidthTemplate:Efn	Damage
F3	NW of Mulvane to NE of Douglass	Sedgwick, Butler	KS	22:00–?			Template:Unk
	A tornado razed three homes, one of which it obliterated, injuring a few people. The snakelike funnel resembled "water being sprayed from a huge hose", according to an eyewitness quoted by Grazulis.Template:Sfn
F2	W of Belle Plaine to S of Mulvane	Sumner, Cowley	KS	22:00–?			Template:Unk
	A tornado leveled five barns and a farmhouse, injuring three people.Template:Sfn
F4	S of Seely to Floral to NE of Wilmot	Cowley	KS	22:30–?			Template:Unk
	3 deaths – A disastrous tornado destroyed the community of Floral, killing a few people there and leveling homes. However, residents sought shelter as the storm neared, reducing the death toll. One other person died on a farm outside Floral, and 28 other homes were razed along the path. In all 22 injuries occurred.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F4+	W of Burlington Junction to W of Hopkins	Nodaway	MO	22:30–?			Template:Unk
	2 deaths – A large, very intense multiple-vortex tornado obliterated a pair of farms near Hopkins, possibly at F5 intensity, and injured 15 people. It may have caused F4 or greater damage to other farms as well. In 2001 Grazulis deemed it to be "probably F5".Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F4	NW of Olivet to N of Richter	Osage, Franklin	KS	22:45–?			Template:Unk
	5 deaths – A tornado narrowly missed 100 farms along the Marais des Cygnes River, but still leveled 50 barns and homes in its path. Passing north of the Melvern–Quenemo area, it obliterated farmhouses and cast their debris miles away. 40 injuries occurred.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F4	S of Fillmore to near King City	Andrew, Gentry	MO	22:50–?			Template:Unk
	5 deaths – A powerful tornado peaked near Flag Springs, flattening 80 buildings, including many barns and homes; killing much livestock; and injuring 20 people.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F4	N of Adair to N of Casey	Guthrie	IA	01:00–?			Template:Unk
	An intense tornado annihilated three farmsteads, sweeping away a farmhouse and strewing its debris . Injuring 10 people, it ended near the Raccoon River. In 1993 Grazulis rated it a high-end F3 but noted that it was "probably" F4, having ranked it as such in a 1984 study. An F5 tornado hit near Adair on June 27, 1953.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

Sources

• Template:Cite techreport