From April 2–3, 1982, a major tornado outbreak resulted in over 60 tornadoes and 30 fatalities, primarily over portions of Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas, as well as Southeastern Oklahoma. Three of the tornadoes were rated F4, and one officially was recorded as an F5 near Broken Bow, Oklahoma, all on April 2. Beginning on April 2, a series of tornado-producing supercells formed across portions of northeastern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma. One produced an F5 tornado, the first since April 4, 1977, which crossed mostly rural areas near Speer and Broken Bow, and deposited a motel sign from Broken Bow 30 miles (48 km) away in Arkansas. However, reanalysis a decade later found the rating to be lower, owing to unsound construction practices.[note 2] The F5 tornado resulted in no fatalities, but an F4 tornado in Paris, Texas, resulted in 10 fatalities and 170 injuries.[4] Additionally, the Storm Prediction Center, known then as the Severe Local Storms Unit, issued its first officially documented high risk on April 2, as well as the first tornado watch to contain the wording Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS).[5][note 3]
Background
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Outbreak statistics
Daily statistics of tornadoes during the tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982
Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRADDoppler weather radar in 1990–1991.[15][note 7] 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.[19][note 5] Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.
Color/symbol key
Color / symbol
Description
†
Data from Grazulis 1990/1993/2001b
¶
Data from a local National Weather Service office
※
Data from the 1982 Storm Data publication
‡
Data from the NCEI database
♯
Maximum width of tornado
±
Tornado was rated below F2 intensity by Grazulis but a specific rating is unavailable.
Confirmed tornadoes – Friday, April 2, 1982[note 4]
A brief tornado unroofed a garage, destroyed two sheds, and damaged two windmills and a farmhouse. An 80-foot-tall (24 m) radio tower was downed, shingles were torn loose, and windows were smashed as well.[26][27]
1 death – This tornado developed near Ravenna and tracked eastward at 50 mph (80 km/h) through Allens Chapel and Allens Point. The most extensive damage occurred in these two communities; an elderly woman in the area was killed, and her husband sustained injuries. Along its entire path, the tornado destroyed numerous frame houses, mobile homes, barns, and rural outbuildings. The NCEI incorrectly list the path as extending from north of Ector to just north of Brookston.[3][43][44][45][46]
This was the first member of a long-tracked tornado family, the parent thunderstorm of which generated a 100-mile-long (160 km) swath of scattered damage, felling 60 transmission towers along the way, and traveled as far as Forrest City. Two homes and a cropdusting firm were destroyed or damaged. Two people were injured.[3][24][49]
Outflow by the Paris F4 may have helped generate this near-simultaneous tornado. A small structure was destroyed on the outskirts of Paris. The tornado may have continued farther, damaging trailers on the southern sides of Blossom and Reno, as it paralleled the main event.[52][53]
This tornado began and ended a few miles west-southwest and east-northeast of town, respectively. Some businesses and homes were unroofed. Trees were torn apart as well.[50][54][55]
1 death – This tornado damaged or destroyed a dozen homes, seven mobile homes, half a dozen businesses, and a school. The death occurred in a trailer. 13 people were injured.[50][24][58]
3 deaths – This powerful tornado proceeded generally eastward at 25 mph (40 km/h) and affected several rural communities. 15 homes, two mobile homes, 16 chicken coops, and various outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, along with many trees. All of the deaths occurred in the community of Buck Range, near Nashville, where a home was flattened. Most of the damage was F2 or F3 in intensity. Storm Data and the NCEI listed 23 injuries, but a reanalysis by Grazulis found 27.[59][60][24][61][62][63]
A few trailers were destroyed, along with a pair of homes, the fire department, and city hall. 29 homes sustained damage as well. Five injuries occurred.[24][65]
5 deaths – This erratic tornado destroyed or damaged 37 homes. A five-member family at home was fatally crushed beneath a 40-foot-tall (12 m) oak tree. The tornado also damaged 850 acres (340 ha) of pine and hardwood forest. 23 people were injured.[69][24][70][71][72]
2 deaths – This violent tornado damaged 20 homes and destroyed five trailers, but leveled only one home. Lesser damage occurred to businesses. Most of the damage was to 200 used automobiles at a dealership. 28 people were injured, three seriously.[59][60][73][74][75]
2 deaths – A machine shop, 38 trailers, and 10 homes were flattened. A few other trailers and three homes were seriously damaged. One of the dead was a stillborn infant. 37 injuries occurred, many quite severe.[60][81][82]
Windows were broken and structures damaged at a Texas Gas Transmission facility. A few trailers were wrecked elsewhere, and several better-built buildings were damaged, along with trees.[60][84][86][87]
A five-block swath of town was impacted. A trailer and five homes were wrecked. 15 other homes sustained damage as well. Five injuries occurred.[93][95]
This tornado blew central heating and refrigeration units off rooftops. A wall was knocked down as well. After hitting Chatsworth the tornado apparently redeveloped to the south, damaging high-voltage cables, sheds, a pair of large barns, a garage, a home, and roofing. 41 utility poles along the path were felled as well.[93][96]
A few steel outbuildings were wrecked and a couple of big trees splintered near a hunting camp. One other outbuilding sustained damage as well. The NCEI incorrectly list the touchdown as Adams County and spuriously count 40 injuries; the latter are not listed in Storm Data.[97][98][99]
3 deaths – This intense tornado destroyed five automobiles, 25 mobile homes, seven businesses, and 29 homes. Severe damage occurred to 47 other homes, 25 vehicles, 16 mobile homes, and seven more businesses. All the dead were killed in a trailer. 40 injuries occurred.[97][98][100][101][102][103]
This intense tornado tore walls and a steeple off structures in Irwin, causing a church to shift on its foundation. The tornado apparently lifted before causing further damage at Bourbonnais. 174 trailers were damaged or destroyed in a mobile home park at Indian Oaks. The tornado also damaged 10 homes elsewhere in town. 15 injuries occurred.[97][93][104]
A few mobile homes were tipped onto their sides, and 25 others were carried off their homesites. A few trees were downed and a chimney was damaged as well. Damage was discontinuous.[106][107]
A few trailers and a frame home were wrecked. Trees were felled as well, and other structures were damaged. Nine minor injuries were reported.[97][28][110]
This powerful, multiple-vortex tornado touched down near Speer, tracked east-southeastward through the rural community of Messer, and traversed the Hugo Reservoir. A newly constructed home near Messer was obliterated, with only strips of carpet tacking left on its foundation. Surveyed by Ted Fujita, the tornado was assigned a rating of F5 based on this damage and is still listed as an F5 in official records. Photographs of the bare concrete slab suggested, however, that the home was improperly anchored: only F3-level winds may have been needed to produce the observable effects on the structure. A reanalysis by Thomas P. Grazulis in 1993 concluded that the tornado did not attain F5 intensity. Further on, the tornado attained a peak width of 1+1⁄2mi (2.4 km; 2,600 yd; 2,400 m) and produced F4-level damage to ranch-style homes near Golden. In all, the tornado destroyed approximately 35 homes and yielded losses of $8 million, though it missed densely populated areas. The tornado also destroyed chicken coops, mobile homes, and a church, along with agricultural implements, electrical lines, and tracts of timber. Up to 40 barns were wrecked as well. As it passed just south of Broken Bow, the tornado struck the Tri-A-Nite Motel; signage from the motel was later found 30 mi (48 km) distant, in Arkansas. Near Messer, the tornado hurled a 2-by-4-inch (51 by 102 mm) board into and pierced a tree. 29 injuries occurred along the path. The NCEI incorrectly list the path as extending from south-southwest of Hamden to south of Eagletown.[115]
This destructive tornado, the deadliest of the outbreak, headed eastward through the northern section of Paris. Developing near the intersection of Campbell Street and Loop 286, it extensively damaged or destroyed more than 465 residences and left approximately 1,000 people homeless in town. Of the 10 deaths in Paris, two occurred at a trailer park; the rest of the fatalities were mainly in unsheltered locations. Debris from the trailer park was dispersed for hundreds of yards. Most of the damage in Paris was rated F2 or F3 on the Fujita scale, but a few CBS homes were leveled at low-end F4 intensity. These homes, however, were dubiously constructed, so the official rating may have been too high. Large, well-built apartments with numerous interior walls were unroofed as the "ragged funnel cloud" left behind $50 million in losses at Paris. 92 homes and other structures were heavily damaged or destroyed in the neighbouring communities of Reno and Blossom. That more casualties did not occur was attributable to the fact that residents of Paris received ample warning, up to half an hour in advance, in part via NOAA Weather Radio.[116]
This intense, long-tracked tornado destroyed barns, outbuildings, trees, and electrical lines as it struck White Rock. Brick homes in the area were wrecked as well, indicating F3 intensity. The tornado then tracked to the north of Annona, Avery, and English. Entering Bowie County, it destroyed five homes in Beaver Dam. Two minor injuries occurred nearby. The tornado then widened to 400 yd (370 m) as it neared the Red River. Upon crossing the river, it damaged a 4-mile-long (6.4 km) swath of trees across McCurtain County, Oklahoma. Some outbuildings were also damaged as the tornado passed through southeastern Oklahoma. In Arkansas, the tornado destroyed 17 homes, a paper mill, a granary, and an orchard. One of the homes dated to the early nineteenth century. One person died and two others were injured near Ashdown before the tornado dissipated. The parent storm continued on and later spawned another F3 tornado in Hempstead County, near McNab.[117]
^All losses are in 1982 USD unless otherwise noted.
^Tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis contested the official F5 rating, having concluded that the basis for it was unsound.[3]
^An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[6]
^ abcAll dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
^ abThe Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[7][8] Tornado ratings were retroactively applied to events prior to the formal adoption of the F-scale by the National Weather Service.[9] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[10] Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013;[11] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[12]
^The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Data publication does not list exact damage totals for every event, instead giving damage categories. As such, damage for individual tornadoes is not comprehensive.
^Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[16] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[17] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[18]
^ abAll starting coordinates are based on the NCEI database and may not reflect contemporary analyses
^ abThe listed width values are primarily the average/mean width of the tornadoes, with those having known maximum widths denoted by ♯. From 1952 to 1994, reports largely list mean width whereas contemporary years list maximum width.[20] Values provided by Grazulis are the average width, with estimates being rounded down (i.e. 0.5 mi (0.80 km) is rounded down from 880 yards to 800 yards.[21][22]
^Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
— (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN1-879362-03-1.
Fujita, Ted, ed. (April 1982). "Tornado Outbreak of April 2, 1982". Outstanding Storms of the Month. Storm Data. 24 (4). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 4–8.
National Weather Service (April 1982). Storm Data Publication (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information – via Storm Events Database.
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