Fargo tornado
 | The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand. (January 2024) |
Clockwise from top: The Fargo Tornado seen from east of the N.D.A.C Memorial Student Union Building; a track map of the Fargo Tornado made by Ted Fujita; An aerial view of Golden Ridge after the tornado. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 20, 1957 6:40 p.m. CDT (UTC−06:00) |
| Dissipated | June 20, 1957 7:01 p.m. CDT (UTC−06:00) |
| Duration | 21 minutes |
| F5 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Path width | 500 yd (460 m) |
| Path length | 52.4 mi (84.3 km) |
| Highest winds | >275 mph (443 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 12 |
| Injuries | 103 |
| Damage | $25.3 million (1957 USD) $288.4 million (2026 USD) |
| Areas affected | Cass County, North Dakota, especially Fargo, and Clay County, Minnesota, especially Moorhead |
Part of the Tornadoes of 1957 and the Tornado outbreak sequence of June 20–23, 1957 | |
The Fargo tornado was a deadly F5 tornado that struck Fargo, North Dakota, on Thursday, June 20, 1957. The tornado was part of a larger system of storms that resulted in five separate tornadoes in the immediate region.
Results
[change | change source]Damage was extensive and included 100 blocks of Fargo. Approximately 329 homes were destroyed and some of them were completely swept off their foundations – a classic example of F5 damage.[1]
Historical significance
[change | change source]Dr. Ted Fujita studied the Fargo Tornado and coined many terms including wall cloud, tail cloud and collar cloud.
A reunion of survivors took place on June 20, 2007, the same day the tornado took place in Fargo, North Dakota.[2]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Narramore, Jen. "Fargo, ND F5 Tornado – June 20, 1957 – Tornado Talk". Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ↑ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Fargo 1957 F5 Tornado". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
