1987 — Nov 15, Tornadoes, TX (10 deaths) and LA (1) — 11

lornajarrettblanchard November 15, 1987

— 11 National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornadoes, 11-15-1987.

Louisiana ( 1)

— 1 DeSoto Parish. F3, 1987-11-15, 18:45 CST. NCDC.NOAA. Storm Events Database.

Texas (10)

— 10 Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 516, 1987-1988.

— 10 National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornadoes, 11-15-1987.

Breakout of Texas Tornado Fatalities by County:

— 1 Anderson County, south-southwest of Palestine. Mobile home; male, 49. NCDC. SED.[1]

— 2 Burleson County, 7 miles from Caldwell. Mobile home. NCDC. Storm Events Database.

— 1 Cherokee County, Lakeview community west of Jacksonville. Mobile home; boy, 2-mo.[2]

— 1 Cherokee County, Mixon. Mobile home; female, 77. NCDC. Storm Events Database.[3]

— 3 Madison Co., northeast of Normangee. Mobile home. NCDC. Storm Events Database.[4]

— 2 Smith County, Whitehouse. Mobile home; female, 69, daughter, 45. NCDC SED.

Narrative Information

Grazulis: “TX NOV 15, 1987 1215 2k 12inj 500y 10m F2. BURLESON/MILAM–Moved NNE from 3m N of Caldwell to the Six Mile community, south of Gause. Passing through rural areas, this tornado totally destroyed dozens of houses and trailer homes and snapped acres of trees. Many vehicles were destroyed, and livestock was killed. The two deaths were residents of a trailer, 7m N of Caldwell. Five houses were destroyed in the Six Mile community….

“TX NOV 15, 1987 1400 3k 2inj 200y 10m F2. MADISON/LEON — Moved NNE from 2m E of George, passing near Mecca, to 3m NE of Normangee, to 3m E of Leona. Just NE of Normangee, the tornado wrecked a trailer and killed three of the four occupants. It destroyed four homes, 10 barns, and 15 vehicles and trailers. Over 79,000 feet of wire fencing was taken out by flying debris. Twenty- two dwellings and 26 barns were damaged.

“TX NOV 15, 1987 1503 lk 59inj 250y 11m F3. ANDERSON — Moved NNE from 111n SSW of Palestine to town. Nearly 200 residences and a school were damaged or destroyed, as were 86 businesses. One school was destroyed. There was $15,000,000 damage in Palestine, and $4,300,000 more damage outside the city limits. A man was killed in a trailer that was destroyed. Near the start of the path, the tornado passed through a church camp, where 600 campers had left 20 minutes earlier.

“TX NOV 15, 1987 1545 4k 81inj 500y 33m F3. CHEROKEE/SMITH — Moved NNE from Pierce’s Chapel, Mount Haven, Lakeview, west of Jacksonville, Love’s Lookout, Mixon, 4m W of Troup, Whitehouse, to near New Chapel Hill. All four deaths occurred in trailers; an infant and an elderly woman died in Cherokee County; a mother and daughter died in Smith County. Thirty-five trailers were destroyed and 33 other residences were damaged in Cherokee County alone, which had a $13,000,000 loss.” (Grazulis 1993, pp. 1987-1988.)

Sources

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

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, Search Results for all U.S. States and Areas, 11-15-1987. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=%28C%29+Tornado&beginDate_mm=11&beginDate_dd=15&beginDate_yyyy=1987&endDate_mm=11&endDate_dd=15&endDate_yyyy=1987&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=-999%2CALL

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, Louisiana, DeSoto Parish, 1987-11-15, 18:45 CST. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10043000

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, Texas, Anderson County, 1987-11-15, 15:03-15:15 CST. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10137362

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F2, Texas, Burleson County, 1987-11-15, 12:15 CST. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10137358

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, Texas, Cherokee County, 1987-11-15, 15:45-16:40 CST. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10137364

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F2, Texas, Madison County, 1987-11-15, 14:00 CST. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10137360

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, Texas, Smith County, 1987-11-15, 16:15 CST. NCDC/NOAA, Asheville, NC. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10137366

[1] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, Texas, Anderson County, 1987-11-15, 15:03-15:15 CST. Notes “In addition to the one fatality, 59 people were injured in Anderson County.”

[2] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, Texas, Cherokee County, 1987-11-15, 15:45-16:40 CST.

[3] Notes: “In addition to the two fatalities, 75 people were injured in Cherokee County. Thirty-five mobile homes were destroyed in the county and 6 more were damaged.”

[4] Notes a 4^th person survived.