Everything about Hudsonville-standale Tornado Of April 1956 totally explained
The
Hudsonville-Standale tornado was an
F5 tornado that devastated the
Hudsonville and
Standale,
Michigan areas on
April 3,
1956. It was one of three tornadoes to move across southwest
Lower Michigan on that day. A fourth tornado struck north of the
Manistee area. The Hudsonville-Standale tornado killed 18 and injured 340.
Meteorological Synopsis
Tuesday April 3, 1956 was a warm and humid day across most of the Midwestern
United States, the
Great Lakes and the
Ohio Valley. Temperatures in the areas affected by the worst of the outbreak were well into the 70s approaching 80 degrees with high dew points. A low pressure system with a strong cold front located across the western Great Lakes was moving to the west. The front was already responsible for deadly tornadoes in
Oklahoma and
Kansas on April 2 in which 7 people were killed by the storms. Early during the afternoon of April 3, thunderstorms were already starting to form across
Wisconsin,
Illinois and
Iowa with the first deadly tornado reported in Wisconsin. A powerful F4 tornado later struck the town of
Berlin, Wisconsin in which 7 people were killed and a large portion of Berlin destroyed. Prior to the arrival of the storms in the Midwest, schools had closed earlier than usual due to the threat of severe weather.
Michigan tornadoes
By late afternoon, the cold front crossed over the western Great Lakes including
Lake Michigan. Three major tornadoes, including the killer F5, touched down. Just before 6:00 PM EDT, the first tornado touched down near
Saugatuck, Michigan and proceeded through 9 miles producing F4 damage and injuring 7 while destroying barns, outbuildings and garages. The historic lighthouse in Saugatuck was also leveled by the winds. The
Tornado History Project and some of the
NOAA archives notes that 2 people were killed in the storm along with a longer storm track of 47 miles long .
As the initial tornado progressed and later dissipated near
Holland, a new tornado formed southwest of the
Grand Rapids metropolitan area at around 6:30 PM. Beginning in
Vriesland in
Allegan, the F5 tornado moved northeast for over 50 miles over areas just north and west of Grand Rapids causing extensive devastation to Hudsonville, Standale and suburban areas of Metro Grand Rapids where some of the buildings and homes were swept away by the wedge tornado. 17 people were killed and hundreds injured by the storm. This was the last F5 (confirmed and/or possible) to ever hit the state of Michigan and occurred three years after the
Flint Tornado which killed 116 .
As the Grand Rapids tornado occurred, the final Michigan known tornado touched down in
Van Buren County near
Bangor and proceeded for 55 miles before dissipating southeast of Grand Rapids in southeastern
Kent County near
Alto. The F3 tornado injured 12 people and several cottages and farms were destroyed and/or swept away.
Larger outbreak
Midwest and the
Great Lakes regions. In addition to the fatalities in Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan and
Berlin, Wisconsin, 3 people were killed in
Tennessee, 1 in
Kentucky and 2 more in
Wisconsin. In total, 40 were killed during the entire event.
Confirmed Tornadoes
April 2, 1956 event
| List of confirmed tornadoes |
| F# |
Location |
County |
Time (UTC) |
Path length |
Damage |
| Missouri |
| F1 |
SE of Allendale |
Worth |
0200 |
2.7 miles
(4.32 km) |
|
| F1 |
NW of Sulphur Springs |
McDonald |
0130 |
8.8 miles
(14.1 km) |
|
| Illinois |
| F1 |
Wilmette |
Cook |
0230 |
2 miles
(3.2 km) |
|
| Oklahoma |
| F1 |
E of Owasso |
Tulsa |
1130 |
0.3 mile
(0.48 km) |
|
| F3 |
E of Hopeton |
Woods, Alfalfa |
2005 |
20 miles
(36 km) |
|
| F2 |
N of Enid |
Garfield, Grant |
2045 |
18.4 miles
(29.4 km) |
|
| F2 |
SW of Tonkawa |
Kay |
2145 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F1 |
N of Tishomingo |
Johnston |
2229 |
8 miles
(12.8 km) |
|
| F2 |
N of Skedee |
Pawnee, Osage |
2230 |
12.6 miles
(20.2 km) |
|
| F4 |
NE of Ponca City to SW of Burlington |
Kay, OK, Cowley, KS, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Woodson, Coffey |
2230 |
108.3 miles
(173.3 km) |
2 deaths |
| F3 |
E of Fowler to Drumright |
Lincoln, Creek |
2233 |
42.6 miles
(68.2 km) |
5 deaths |
| F3 |
SE of Sobol |
Pushmataha |
0105 |
2 miles
(3.2 km) |
|
| F4 |
SW of Narcissa, OK to SE of Carterville, MO |
Ottawa, OK, Cherokee, KS, Jasper |
0110 |
41.8 miles
(66.9 km) |
|
| Kansas |
| F0 |
SW of Great Bend |
Barton |
1900 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F3 |
N of Claflin |
Ellsworth |
1945 |
5.4 miles
(8.6 km) |
|
| F0 |
NW of Attica |
Harper |
2010 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F? |
N of Hunter |
Mitchell |
2030 |
3.4 miles
(5.4 km) |
|
| F3 |
N of Ellinwood |
Barton, Rice, Ellsworth |
2130 |
20.1 miles
(32.2 km) |
|
| F1 |
NE of Whitewater |
Butler, Marion |
2230 |
22.9 miles
(36.7 km) |
|
| F3 |
NE of Florence to E of Effingham |
Marion, Chase, Lyon, Wabaunsee |
2230 |
127 miles
(203.2 km) |
|
| Nebraska |
| F2 |
SE of Auburn |
Nemaha |
2345 |
2.3 miles
(3.7 km) |
|
Sources: Storm Data for April 2, 1956 |
April 3, 1956 event
| List of confirmed tornadoes |
| F# |
Location |
County |
Time (UTC) |
Path length |
Damage |
| Wisconsin |
| F2 |
W of Clyde |
Iowa |
1200 |
3 miles
(4.8 km) |
|
| F2 |
N of Plainfield |
Portage |
1350 |
18.2 miles
(29.1 km) |
2 deaths |
| F4 |
Berlin |
Green Lake, Waushara, Winnebago |
1445 |
11.5 miles
(18.4 km) |
7 deaths |
| Arkansas |
| F2 |
N of Thebes |
Ashley |
1325 |
2.1 miles
(3.4 km) |
|
| F2 |
NE of Portland |
Chicot |
1400 |
1 mile
(1.6 km) |
|
| Mississippi |
| F2 |
W of Sunflower to E of Saltillo |
Sunflower, Leflore, Grenada, Yalobusha, Calhoun, Lee |
1530 |
124.9 miles
(199.9 km) |
|
| F2 |
W of West Point |
Clay |
2030 |
5.1 miles
(8.2 km) |
|
| Illinois |
| F2 |
NE of Lawrenceville |
Lawrence |
1530 |
3.3 miles
(5.3 km) |
|
| F2 |
SE of Kempton |
Ford |
1700 |
2 miles
(3.6 km) |
|
| F2 |
S of Weldon |
De Witt, Piatt |
1708 |
9.5 miles
(15.2 km) |
|
| F1 |
SE of Cadwell |
Moultrie, Douglas |
1800 |
4.5 miles
(7.2 km) |
|
| Kentucky |
| F3 |
NE of Dixon to Zion |
Webster, Henderson |
1700 |
22.9 miles
(36.7 km) |
1 death |
| F0 |
SW of Pride |
Union |
1830 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| Tennessee |
| F4 |
S of Lexington |
Henderson |
1745 |
11.6 miles (18.6 km) |
3 deaths |
| F1 |
W of Sulphura |
Sumner |
2045 |
0.2 mile
(0.32 km) |
|
| Indiana |
| F2 |
SW of Poland |
Tippecanoe |
1800 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F2 |
W of Salem |
Washington |
1845 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F3 |
NE of Gilead |
Kosciusko |
2004 |
1.5 mile
(2.4 km) |
|
| F2 |
E of Delong |
Fulton |
2030 |
4.1 miles
(6.6 km) |
|
| F1 |
SW of Wawaka |
Noble |
2050 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F2 |
SW of Lagrange |
LaGrange |
2105 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| F2 |
W of Boston |
Wayne |
2130 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| Michigan |
| F4 |
NW of Onekama to NE of Crystal Spring |
Manistee, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau |
1835 |
47.3 miles
(75.7 km) |
2 deaths |
| F5 |
NW of Saugatuck to Trufant |
Allegan, Ottawa, Kent, Montcalm |
1845 |
64.3 miles
(102.9 km) |
18 deaths |
| F3 |
S of Bangor to E of Alto |
Van Buren, Allegan, Barry, Kent |
1915 |
56.4 miles
(90.2 km) |
|
| Ohio |
| F0 |
W of Jenera |
Hancock |
2030 |
0.1 mile
(0.16 km) |
|
| Sources: Storm Data for April 3, 1956 |
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