 In addition to the tornado activity discussed above, tornadoes and/or severe thunderstorms wrought havoc to a lesser degree in a number of other States during the outbreak. Affected were Missouri, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Preceding the major tornado outbreak, a very severe thunderstorm struck St. Louis, Mo., about 1:05 p.m. CDT on April 3. This storm, which had high winds and hail the size of baseballs, caused 25 injuries and a record $45 million in damage. Michigan was affected by several types of severe weather. Heavy snow and freezing rain hit por tions of the upper peninsula, flash flooding from thunderstorm downpours washed out roads and a bridge in Sanilac County, and damaging wind gusts were reported in St. Clair County. The major activity came between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. CDT, when tornadoes struck parts of six southeastern counties. The most severe of these entered the State from Indiana about 7:30 p.m. CDT, causing intermittent damage in southeast Branch County and southwest Hillsdale County, then continuous damage from just west of Hillsdale to just west of Clark's Lake (Jefferson County) where it lifted. This storm accounted for Michigan's three deaths and 31 of 37 reported injuries. The two deaths and 27 of the injuries were in mobile homes. Weaker tornadoes were reported later in southeast Hillsdale County and from Monroe County into south Detroit (Wayne County). One of these storms killed eight persons in Windsor, Ontario. Severe activity was reported in Mississippi between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. CDT, including one tornado and several funnels aloft. Large hail and local wind damage affected six counties in the extreme eastern part of the State. The tornado (98) skipped across Jones County around 5:00 p.m. CDT to cause one injury and damage estimated at $150,000. In New York, a small tornado (46) struck about 10:00 p.m. CDT. This tornado caused minor damage to the business section of Frewsburg (Chatauqua County). North Carolina had two separate periods of severe activity. The first wave struck between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. CDT. At least three tornadoes caused seven deaths and many injuries in the extreme western counties. The communities of Stecoah (Graham County) and the Bealtown section of Murphy (Cherokee County) were in the paths of these storms. About 9:00 a.m. CDT the following morning, Cherokee County again had tornado activity. Brief touchdowns were reported at Marble and Brasstown. At the same time, 140 miles to the east northeast, a skipping tornado injured several persons and caused damage south of Lenoir (Caldwell County). While South Carolina recorded no tornadoes, a series of severe thunderstorms invaded the northwest part of the State during the afternoon and early evening. Communities damaged included Travelers Rest, Campobello, Pickins, Spartanburg, and Greenville, where three injuries occurred. During the predawn hours of April 4, a squall line struck West Virginia and extreme western Virginia. It moved eastward as the morning progressed. The area south and east of Beckley, W. Va., was struck by several tornadoes between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. CDT. Thirty-two persons were injured and six people died including a child in a mobile home. In Virginia, damage was widespread,
with 19 counties affected by severe thunderstorms or torna does.
At least four tornadoes occurred. One of these (124) struck near
Saltville (Smyth County) about 3:30 a.m. CDT April 4, where it
caused property damage but no injuries. Another (126) touched
down about 5:00 a.m. CDT just outside Roanoke near Salem (Roanoke
County). This storm caused over $500,000 damage, including extreme
damage to two apartment houses. There were two deaths in Virginia
including one which occurred when a thunderstorm gust destroyed
a mobile home in Washington County before sunrise. |