1920 – March 28, Palm Sunday Tornadoes, esp. GA/37 OH/29 IL/28 IN/28 AL/18, MI/13–154

— >380 Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit.
–207-380+ Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit. Box, top right.
— 209 Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak.” 1-6-2009 accessed. No citation.
— 163 Nunn. “Tornadoes, With Special Reference To Those…in Tennessee.” Nov 25, 1921.
— 154 Blanchard tally from State breakouts below.
— 153 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 492.
— 153 Ohio Historical Society, March 28, 1920.
— 153 Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019. “Confirmed tornadoes” chart.
— >150 Skilling. “The Palm Sunday tornadoes of March 28, 1920.” Chicago Tribune, 3-26-2007.

Summary of State Breakouts Below

Alabama (18)
Georgia (37)
Illinois (28)
Indiana (28)
Michigan (13)
Ohio (29)
Wisconsin ( 1)

Total: 154

Breakout of Tornado Fatalities by State and Locality (where noted):

Alabama (18)
— 18 State Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993.
— 1 Cedar Springs, Calhoun County. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.
–17 Elmore, Tallapoosa, Chambers Counties. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
— 17 State NWS WFO Birmingham AL. The Deatsville…
— 17 “ Stevens “Tornadoes in AL,”1925, 439.

Georgia (37)
–>200 State. Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit.
— 37 State. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993
— 1 Milner, Pike County, 14:45 F4. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.
— 9 West Point, Troup County, 14:45, F4 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–27 LaGrange area SE, Troup County, 17:45, F4. Grazulis. Sig. Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
— 28 Two specific tornadoes (Pike County/1 death); Troup County/10:45pm/27 deaths.)

Illinois (28)
–28 State. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993.
— 8 Kane County, 12:05, F3. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.
–1 Elgin area SE. Man killed when house was destroyed.
–2 Elgin business section when theater collapsed.
–4 Women in two churches which were destroyed.
–20 Will, Cook Counties. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.
— 4 Bellwood-Maywood area, Cook Co. Grazulis. Signif. Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–10 Melrose Park, Cook County. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
— 6 Dunning, Cook County. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.

Indiana (28)
–56 State. Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit. No citation.
–28 State. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993.
— 1 Lake, Porter Counties, 1500/3pm, F3. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.
–1 Beatrice to Palmer, Porter County
–13 Wells, Allen Counties, 1715/5:15pm, F4. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–9 Southeast Allen County, five farms.
–4 Townley, Allen County. “Virtually every building in Townley was leveled…”
–14 Jay, Adams Counties, 1800/6pm, F4. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–7 SW of Liberty to NNW of Portland.
–7 East of Geneva and south of Ceylon.

Michigan (13)
–13 State Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993.
–1 Oceana County, Weare Township, 1500, F2. Grazulis. Signif. Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–1 Eaton, Clinton, Gratiot, Saginaw Counties, 1630 F4. Grazulis. Significant… 1993, 768.
–2 Branch County, 1630/4:30pm, F4. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–2 East Gilead area, two men.
–4 Kalamazoo, Barry, Eaton Counties, 4:30pm, F4. Grazulis. Significant… 1993, 768.
–Maple Grove area, two farms.
–1 Barry County, 4:30pm, F3. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–1 Near Orangeville, home “blown away.
–4 Genesee, Oakland Counties, 5pm, F4. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.
–3 Fenton, 3 miles NNE, homes destroyed, three deaths in one of them.
–1 Fenton area? Overturned car.
–11 State. Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit.
–1 Oceana County, 8 pm.
–1 Eaton, Clinton, Gratiot and Saginaw counties.
–4 Maple Grove, Barry to Eaton Counties tornado, 9:30.
–1 Barry County, 9:30 pm, F3.
–4 Genesee to Oakland counties, ~00:30 am tornado [29th?]

Ohio (29)
–55 State. Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit. No citation.
–29 State. Ohio Historical Society. March 28, 1920 Western Tornadoes.
–29 State. Schmidlin and Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland. 1996, pp. 252-253.
–3 Renolett, Paulding County. “…reported that every building in Renolett was leveled…”
–3 Brunersburg, Defiance County. “Most of the thirty-six homes…heavily damaged…”
–4 Raab’s Corners. “…the small community was virtually leveled…”
–2 Genoa, Ottawa County. 20 injured and 20 homes and businesses destroyed.
–2 Van Wert, Van Wert County. In destroyed farmhouse.
–4 Lightsville area, Darke County, in several destroyed farms.
–8 Nashville area, three miles north of Palestine and near Greenville.
–3 Moulton, west of Wapakoneta, Auglaize County.
–28 State. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993.
–10 Paulding/Defiance/Henry/Fulton/Lucas, Co.’s, 5:15 pm F4. Grazulis 1993, p. 768.
–6 Brunersburg area, Defiance County.
–4 Rabbs Corner, Lucas County.
— 3 Mercer, Van Wert Counties, 6 pm F4. Grazulis. Signif. Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–3 Van Wert area, south, in two different homes.
— 2 Sandusky and Ottawa Counties, 7:30pm F2. Grazulis. Signif. Tornadoes. 1993, 768.
–2 Genoa; mother and child in separate homes.
— 5 Darke County; 7:30 pm F3. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 769.
–5 Southeast of Lightsville, two “practically on the state line” with IN.
— 8 Darke County; 8 pm F4 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 769.
–Greenville area (2 miles northwest of).

Wisconsin ( 1)
— 1 Walworth County. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, 492.

Narrative Information
(General)

Ohio Historical Society: “The Palm Sunday 1920 tornado outbreak of 30 tornadoes across eight states killed 153 persons, ranking it among the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. Four killer tornadoes moved into western Ohio from Indiana and another moved across Wood and Ottawa Counties. There were 29 deaths from these tornadoes in Ohio. The first tornado crossed into Paulding County and swept northeastward into Lucas County. Ten people were killed along this path in Ohio. Another tornado touched down near Bowling Green and moved into Ottawa County where 2 people were killed at Genoa. A tornado entered Mercer County from Indiana about 6:30 PM destroying a Van Wert County farm house and killing two occupants. A different tornado entered Darke County and destroyed numerous farm houses, a school, and a church, causing four deaths near Lightsville. A few minutes later, a stronger tornado followed a parallel path through Darke County about 8 miles south of the first Darke County tornado. It was a violent storm 1200 feet wide and destroyed homes and farms killing 8 people near Nashville, Palestine, and Greenville. The landmark Linamude School on Union City Pike was “torn brick from brick.” Farther along the track, the community of Moulton, west of Wapakoneta, was leveled and 3 people killed.” (Ohio Historical Society, March 28, 1920: Western Tornadoes)

Wikipedia: “The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 was an outbreak of at least 38 significant tornadoes across the Midwest and Deep South states on March 28, 1920. The tornadoes left over 380+ dead, and at least 1,215 injured. Many communities and farmers alike, were caught off-guard, as the storms moved to the northeast at speeds that reached over 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Most of the fatalities occurred in Georgia (201+), Indiana (56), and Ohio (55), while the other states had lesser amounts.

“Severe thunderstorms began developing in Missouri during the early morning hours. The storms moved quickly to the northeast towards Chicago, Illinois. The first tornado injured five people 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Springfield, Missouri in the pre-dawn hours in Douglas County. This first twister was a harbinger of things to come, as the morning went on and the atmosphere began to destabilize, due to the abundance of sunshine that preceded the cold front in the dry slot area, which covered the lower Great Lakes region, extending southward well past the Ohio River Valley.

“Newspaper accounts and weather records document over 38 storms of major significance; thus, the probable number of actual tornadoes is much higher, especially when the U.S. Weather Bureau (National Weather Service) prior to 1916 did not conduct any aerial/damage surveys, nor was there any public education campaign for the public to properly report them….

“According to Thomas P. Grazulis, head of the Tornado Project, the death tolls in the southern states on Palm Sunday 1920, could have easily been much higher, since the deaths of non-whites were omitted as a matter of official state protocol, even when it came to fatalities from natural disasters. However, U.S. Weather Bureau would change this in the 1950s, when all deaths, regardless of race, that was attributed to severe weather were recorded by federal government policy in every state. Nonetheless, the tornadoes that hit Deep South on March 28, did in fact strike sections of towns that had sizable black populations. No survey information was conducted at this time to determine the actual death toll in these areas which, could be substantially much higher.” (Wikipedia. 1920 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak.)

Narrative Information by State

Alabama

Grazulis: “AL Mar 28, 1920 1400 [2pm] 1k [killed] 10inj. 100y 8m F3. Calhoun [county]—Moved NE, passing near Cedar Springs and ending near West Point, north of Jacksonville. An eight-year-old boy was killed near Cedar Springs when his small home was ‘blown to bits’ and scattered over a half-mile area. Many barns and considerable timber were also blown down SW of that town.” (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, p. 767.)

Grazulis: “AL-GA Mar 28, 1920 1445 [2:45pm] 26k [killed] 125inj 400y 50m F4. Elmore/Tallapoosa/Chambers, AL…Moved ENE from near Red Hill, Alabama to West Point, Georgia. At least 17 people were killed and 60 homes were destroyed in Alabama, mostly near Agricola, Susanna, and Red Ridge….” (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes. 1993, p. 768.)

NWS, Birmingham AL WFO on Deatsville-Agricola-West Point Tornado: “This, the principal tornado in Alabama on the 28th, first appeared about 1 mile north of Deatesville, in western Elmore County, near the Autauga-Elmore County line, at about 3:30 p.m. From Deatesville it moved east-northeastward over northern Elmore County, through south-central Tallapoosa County, wiping out the little village of Agricola, thence across southern Chambers County, crossing the Georgia-Alabama line at West Point, Ga., at about 3:37 p.m. The length of the track in Alabama, from Deatesville, Ala., to West Point, Ga., is about 65 miles on a straight line. Assuming the times as given above as correct, the speed of translation was about 60 miles per hour. As shown by a number of reports received, the tornado was well defined, from 100 yards to a quarter of a mile in diameter, marked by the usual funnel-shaped cloud, and accompanied by winds of very destructive violence….

“Seventeen persons were killed in Alabama by the tornado and 40 and 50 persons were injured, some of them seriously…The greatest destruction was in Tallapoosa County in the vicinity of Susanna, Agricola, and the Red Ridge settlement. There is one reference to hail at Deatesville contained in newspaper reports. No reference to thunder is made in any of the reports received, but it is very likely that the tornado was accompanied by thunder and lightning, at Montgomery, Wetumpka, and Dadeville, points in close proximity to the storm’s path. Numerous references are made in press reports to torrential rains in Tallapoosa County attending the tornado’s passage. At Alexander City, an estimated rainfall of 5 inches in one hour was reported. These reports are in part corroborated by the record of the rainfall station at Dadeville of 3.45 inches of rainfall from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.” (NWS Forecast Office, Birmingham, AL. “The Deatsville-Agricola-West Point Tornado – March 28, 1920.”)

Indiana

NWS, Northern IN WFO: “As part of a much larger tornado outbreak across the Great Lakes, this was one of this area’s worst tornadoes on record. The tornado first touched down near Uniondale and intensified south of Ossian, leveling farm after farm. The destruction continued across southeast Allen county, with 9 deaths on 5 different farms. After just missing Hoagland, the tornado devastated the village of Townley 3 miles north of Monroeville. Virtually every building in Townley was leveled and included 4 deaths. In Indiana, over 100 buildings were destroyed, wind damage totaling $1,000,000 at the time. Crossing into Ohio, the tornado skipped across Paulding county, damaging farms and uprooting trees. Losses were much greater in Defiance county, as 6 people were killed near the town of Brunersburg. The tornado continued northeast in a skipping fashion across rural farm country before leveling the unlucky community of “Rabbs Corner” in northwest Lucas county where 4 more deaths occurred. The destruction seen below is from Defiance county.” (National Weather Service, Northern Indiana Weather Forecast Office. “Saint Michael’s Ridge. March 28, 1920.”)

Sources

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

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

National Weather Service Forecast Office, Birmingham, AL. “The Deatsville-Agricola-West Point Tornado – March 28, 1920.” Accessed 3-9-2020 at: https://www.weather.gov/bmx/event_03281920

National Weather Service, Northern Indiana Weather Forecast Office. “Saint Michael’s Ridge. March 28, 1920.” Syracuse, IN: NWS Northern IN WFO. Accessed 3-9-2020 at: https://www.weather.gov/iwx/19200328_tornado_outbreak

Nunn, Roscoe. “Tornadoes, With Special Reference To Those That Have Occurred in Tennessee” (Paper delivered before the Tennessee Academy of Science). Nov 25, 1921. Accessed at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bna/research/tornadoes.htm

Ohio Historical Society. Severe Weather in Ohio. “March 28, 1920: Western Tornadoes.” 2008. Accessed 3-9-2020 at: http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/swio/pages/content/1920_tornadoes.htm

Skilling, Tom. “The Palm Sunday tornadoes of March 28, 1920.” Chicago Tribune, 3-26-2007. Accessed 3-10-2020 at: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-03-26-0703260190-story.html

Stevens, Welby R. “Tornadoes in Alabama,” Monthly Weather Review, October 1925, pp. 437-443. Accessed at: http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/053/mwr-053-10-0437.pdf

Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak.” Accessed 1-6-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday_tornado_outbreak_of_1920

Wikipedia. “1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.” 9-10-2019 edit. Accessed 3-10-2020 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Palm_Sunday_tornado_outbreak