5– 43

lornajarrettblanchard February 12, 1945

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/ Last edit 12-13-2023.

–43 AP. “43 Killed…Tornado Cuts Across Alabama, Mississippi.” Anniston Star, AL, 2-13-1945, p.1.

— 9 Livingston, AL

–26 Montgomery, AL

— 1 York, AL

–~7 Meridian, MS

–43 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 230, 503, p.918.

Alabama – 38:

— 38 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 230.

–11 Sumter County, AL. (Grazulis 1993, 503)

–26 Montgomery County, AL. “

–01 Chilton County, AL. “

— 37 NWS WFO Birmingham AL. Alabama Tornado Database.

Mississippi –05: Lauderdale County, MS. (Grazulis 1993, pp. 503, 918)

Narrative Information

Grazulis: “MS FEB 12, 1945 1535 5k 40inj 400y 9m F3. LAUDERDALE–Moved NE from “Jones,” 7m S of Meridian, to Vimville. Homes were swept away in rural communities SE of Meridian. Deaths occurred in three different homes, and one person was killed in an open field while running for cover. $20,000.

“AL FEB 12, 1945 1630 1lk 63inj 400y 18m F4. SUMTER–Moved NE from near York to near Livingston. A couple was killed as their home was leveled at the SE edge of York. Five people died in one home at Livingston. Single deaths occurred in two other homes. The tornado encountered a 41-car west-bound train at the trestle over the Sucharnoochee River. Thirty-nine cars were derailed, killing a conductor and fireman, and injuring many others on the train. $220,000.

“AL FEB 12, 1945 1722 26k 293inj 100y 13m F3. MONTGOMERY–Moved NE from 5m SW of Montgomery through Chisholm. After brushing the west side of Montgomery, the tornado swept away 30 homes in the cotton mill community of Chisolm, just north of Montgomery. Deaths occurred in 15 different homes in a 20-block area, and losses totaled about $1,700,000. Over 100 homes were destroyed, mostly substandard housing….

“AL FEB 12, 1945 lk 8inj 100y lm F3. CHILTON — NE, destroying a large house and barn SE of Stanton. $20,000.” (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 918.)

NWS WFO Birmingham AL: “In Sumter County “Several deaths occurred in homes along the path. A train derailed over the Sucarnoochee River. The conductor and a fireman were killed.” This tornado touched down at 4:30 p.m., and traveled 18 miles. At 5:22 p.m., a tornado destroyed at least 100 homes in Montgomery County, where 26 people died over a 13 mile path. (NWS Weather Forecast Office, Birmingham AL, Alabama Tornado Database.)

Newspaper

Feb 13, AP: “43 Killed, 200 Injured As Tornado Cuts Across Alabama, Mississippi. Southern And Western Outskirts of Montgomery Hardest Hit. Capital’s Death Toll Reaches 26. Nine Perish At Livingston; Storm Strikes in Meridian Area of Mississippi.

“By Associated Press

“Tornadoes swirling over Mississippi and Alabama late yesterday took a toll of at least 43 dead, 200 injured, and property damage running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Worst hit was a crescent shaped area on the southern and western outskirts of Montgomery, Ala., where more than 50 boxcars of a freight were ripped and tossed about like match boxes. Montgomery alone counted its dead at 26, and its injured at more than 75. Two government warehouses were levelled. In Chisholm, a cotton miss community, 35 homes were demolished and many other damaged in a 20-block area.

“Nine were known dead at Livingston, 125 miles west of Montgomery, and one at York, nine miles from Livingston. At Livingston as at Montgomery, a freight train was tossed about and one of the Livingston dead was a trainman.

“The storm first hit Meridian, Miss., leaving a path of destruction as it cut about the city on two sides, before turning eastward into Alabama. The dead in the Meridian area were places unofficially at seven. More than 50 persons were injured there. Between 30 and 40 houses were destroyed in the Meridian area and torrential rains hampered search for the injured and the dead.

“After a tour of the Montgomery area, Gov. Chauncey Sparks of Alabama ordered three companies of the state guard into action to prevent looting. Montgomery hospitals, jammed with the injured, were handicapped by a lack of lighting. The entire capital city was without electricity for several hours. Telephone service was disrupted….

“One of the Montgomery dead was Mrs. Edgar Brown, a resident of the Chisholm community, whose husband had just arrived home on a furlough from the Army….

“The state guard distributed cots at vacant buildings to provide temporary shelter.

“Fifteen of the Montgomery dead were Negroes. State patrolmen removed the bodies of six Negroes from one house. Six of the nine dead at Livingston were also Negroes.

“The Montgomery storm, which came on the heels of a day-long downpour of rain, struck first in the area of the Army’s huge holding and reconsignment point and levelled two of the six warehouses there. It sliced a path of destruction through the western edge of the city and hit with new fury at Chisholm, near Kilby prison….

“Most of the Mississippi injured were residents along the seven mile stretch of highway from Meridian to Causeyville. W. Y. Brame, Lauderdale County sheriff, said ‘thirty or forty houses’ were destroyed or badly damaged. The winds cut a swatch a quarter of a mile wide through Causeyville and Stinson before moving north and east to strike Vimville and Long Creek. Hospitals were crowded and many of the injured were believed in ‘serious condition.’ Reports of storm damages trickled in from small communities southeast of Meridian, indicating some persons might have been injured at Rose Hill and Bay Springs.” (Associated Press. “43 Killed, 200 Injured As Tornado Cuts Across Alabama, Mississippi.” The Anniston Star, AL, 2-13-1945, p. 1.)

Sources

National Weather Service Forecast Office, Birmingham, AL. Alabama Tornado Database. NWS/NOAA. Accessed 1-4-2009 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/tornadoes/mainlist2.php

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