1, TX — 75

lornajarrettblanchard April 12, 1927

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 2-27-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–75 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 807.

–74 Edwards and Real counties 19:45 F5 tornado

–>72 Rock Springs

— 2 Leakey

— 1 Indian Creek area, Uvalde County 20:00 F2 tornado (12M N of Uvalde); woman.

–74 Brooks & Doswell. “Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the [US]: 1890-1999.” 2000.

–74 Jarboe. “The Rocksprings, Texas, Tornado, April 12, 1927.” MWR, 55/4, Apr 1927, p. 182.

–72 Rock Springs

— 2 Leakey

— 0 Uvalde. “…as far as known no one was seriously injured.”

–72 Ludlum. The American Weather Book, 1982, p. 73. [Apparently just Rocksprings.]

Narrative Information

Jarboe (Weather Bureau, San Antonio, Tex., Apr. 20, 1927): “The low-pressure area that passed over Texas from April 11 to 13 caused an unusual number of destructive storms. Reports of lives lost and property damaged ranged from Del Rio to Texarkana, across a section of Texas seldom visited by tornadoes. The storm that occurred in Edwards and Real Counties on April 12, probably surpassed any previous record for this section of Texas

“This tornado first made its appearance on the Edwards Plateau, in the north-central portion of Edwards County, where it hit and practically destroyed the town of Rocksprings, taking a toll of 72 lives and injuring 200 more. About 235 residence and business buildings were destroyed, and property damage amounted to $1,530,000. But 12 houses were left standing and 6 of these were badly damaged.

“The path of the tornado was first observed 3 miles north of Rocksprings. It moved south-eastward, passing directly over the town, with a destructive diameter ranging from seven-eighths to 1 1/8 miles in width, and about 8 miles long. It apparently jumped a hilly broken section of 25 miles and came to earth again in the south-central portion of Real County, passed near Leakey, where two people were killed and five injured. Here the had narrowed to about one-fifth of a mile. Still moving southeastward, it next hit about 15 miles farther on, near Utopia, in the northeast portion of Uvalde County, where several buildings were blown down, But as far as known no one was seriously injured.

“The path of this storm is about 65 miles in length. Just how many miles of this distance that the tornado was sweeping the ground will never be known. It passed over a very sparsely settled section of the State, most of its course being over rock hills with little vegetation. Houses are many mi1es apart and roads are few.

….

“Rocksprings is the county seat of Edwards County, with a population of about 1,200. It is an inland town, situated 39 miles from a railroad, upon a high, rolling plateau; the elevation is 2,450 feet. The surrounding country is devoted to livestock raising, wool, and mohair production.

“No town was ever nearer completely wrecked than was Rocksprings. The tornado hit a t 7:50 p. m. without warning. The day had been rather warm and a thunderstorm, apparently of moderate intensity, was hanging north of the town, promising a spring shower. Just before dark a fresh wind from the southeast dropped to a dead calm. The cloud to the north was noticeably red at this time and seemed to be swinging eastward. A few moments later scattered hail 2 inches or more in diameter began to fall, increasing in size to baseballs. The hail is described as being round but covered with bumps, and the noise of this hail falling on the houses was heard a half mile away, which was the first warning many people had of the approach of a severe storm.

….

“….but 12 buildings were standing. Numbers of buildings entirely disappeared even to the foundations, leaving no trace of lumber or contents. Many injured people were further bruised and cut by heavy hail that continued to fall after the passage of the tornado, as no shelter was available. Concrete and stone failed to withstand the terrific fury of the storm and heavily constructed buildings were left gaping ruins. The courthouse and post office partly escaped the tornado, but caught fire and burned.

….

“A cement church appeared to have been wrecked by expansion of air. The walls were cracked or broken about 12 feet above the floor and bulged outward 1 to 3 feet, although still standing.” (Jarboe, J. H. “The Rocksprings, Texas, Tornado, April 12, 1927.” Monthly Weather Review, April, 1927, p. 182-183.)

Sources

Associated Press. “62 Dead in Rock Springs Tornado. Southwest Texas Town Wrecked, 170 Hurt.” Abilene Daily Reporter, TX. 4-13-1927, p. 1. Accessed 2-27-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/abilene-daily-reporter-apr-13-1927-p-1/

Brooks, Harold E. and Charles A Doswell III (NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory). “Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890-1999.” Revised manuscript submitted as Note to Weather and Forecasting, Vol. 16, 9 p., Sep 2000. Accessed 11-25-2017 at: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/users/brooks/public_html/damage/tdam1.html

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

Jarboe, J. H. “The Rocksprings, Texas, Tornado, April 12, 1927.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 55, Issue 4, April, 1927, p. 182-183. Accessed 2-27-2025 at:

https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1927)55%3C182:TRTTA%3E2.0.CO;2

Ludlum, David M. The American Weather Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982.