Sunflower, MS–10-11

lornajarrettblanchard January 6, 1946

Compiled 11-9-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10-11 Blanchard. Grazulis (a reliable source) show 11 deaths. Our attempt to locate more specific information in newspapers in AR and MS at the time located information on ten deaths. Thus we employ a range of 10-11 deaths.

–11 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 504, 922.

–3 Arkansas

–3 1900 F4 tornado, Ashley and Chicot counties

–8 Mississippi

–4 1800 F3 tornado, Carroll County

–4 1800 F3 tornado, Sunflower County

Arkansas (4)

— 4 Plantation section of southeast Arkansas.[1]

— 3 Lake Village area, Chicot Co. AP “Four Die in State Tornado.” Camden News, 1-8-1946, 7.

–1 Man identified only as Taylor

–2 Ed Royal and his wife

— 1 Wilmot area, Ashley County. Unidentified Black child. AP “Four Die in State Tornado.”

Mississippi (6)

–2 Coila, Carroll Co. Lidie May Shute, 46, and 9-year-old daughter, Marguerite.[2]

–1 Indianola. Unidentified Black. (UP. “Weekend Storms…” Camdin News, AR. 1-7-1946, p1.)

–3 Sunflower, Sunflower County. Unidentified baby and two unidentified men.[3]

Narrative Information

Grazulis: “AR JAN 6, 1946 1800 3k 50inj 800y 23m F4. ASHLEY/CHICOT–Moved NE from lm SE of Wilmot to 5m SE of Lake Village. Homes of all sizes were leveled by this large tornado. Over twenty were destroyed on two plantations near Wilmot. Three homes were blown into Lake Chicot. $50,000.

“MS JAN 6, 1946 1800 4k l0inj 13m F3. CARROLL–Moved ENE from Seven Pines, to near Coila, to SE of Carrollton. The four deaths were in three of the dozen small homes that were destroyed. Conflicts in time reports hint that two separate tornadoes were involved. $20,000.

“MS JAN 6, 1946 1800 4k 20inj y 20m F3. SUNFLOWER–Moved NE, passing 3m NW of Indianola and 3m E of Doddsville. Two people died as a church was destroyed north of Indianola, and one person died in the destruction of a nearby home. The fourth person died in a small home NW of Sunflower.” (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 922.)

Newspapers

Jan 7, UP: “Tornadic winds, slashing haphazardly at sparsely-populated sections of Mississippi and Arkansas, today left in their wake a known toll of at least eight dead and 45 injured. ….One small Mississippi town was demolished and heavy property damage caused by the tornado, born of a collision of a warm air mass moving northward and a cold front advancing eastward across the Mississippi valley. Reports showed a mother and her daughter killed at Coila, Miss., an unidentified white man and a Negro couple dead at Lake Village Ark., two unidentified Negroes killed near Sunflower, Miss., and another unidentified Negro dead near Indianola, Miss. ….” (United Press. “Weekend Storms Slash Two States Taking Toll of 8.” The Camdin News, AR. 1-7-1946, p. 1.)

Jan 8, AP: “Lake Village, Jan. 8 – (AP) – At least four persons were killed and several others were injured Sun. night when a tornado struck the plantation section of southeast Arkansas.

“The dead were: A man identified only as Taylor and a Negro couple, Ed Royal and his wife, all of near Lake Village in Chico county, and an unidentified Negro child of near Wilmot, Ashley County. Ten or more frame structures were destroyed or damaged.” (Associated Press. “Four Die in State Tornado.” The Camdin News, AR. 1-8-1946, p. 7.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Five Die in North Mississippi Storms.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 1-7-1946, p. 1. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hattiesburg-american-jan-07-1946-p-1/

Associated Press. “Flood Threats Follow Storms in South.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 1-8-1946, p. 9. Accessed 11-10-2023: https://newspaperarchive.com/hattiesburg-american-jan-08-1946-p-9/

Associated Press. “Four Die in State Tornado.” The Camdin News, AR. 1-8-1946, p. 7. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/camden-news-jan-08-1946-p-7/

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

United Press. “Weekend Storms Slash Two States Taking Toll of 8.” The Camdin News, AR. 1-7-1946, p. 1. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/camden-news-jan-07-1946-p-1/

[1] Associated Press. “Flood Threats Follow Storms in South.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 1-8-1946, p. 9.

[2] Associated Press. “Five Die in North Mississippi Storms.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 1-7-1946, p. 1.

[3] Associated Press. “Five Die in North Mississippi Storms.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 1-7-1946, p. 1.