From there, it crossed over to Columbia Avenue, where it completely wrecked everything along both sides of the pike, from Winstead Hill to the area just adjacent to Battle Ground Academy. 11, had his skull fractured by falling timbers. FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 1 1909, PAGE 12, "PERHAPS FATALLY HURT": McEWEN, Tenn., April 30. B. Barnes'. January's Tornado Outbreak Threat Highest In South | Weather.com Houses, barns and buildings generally were blown down or else badly wrecked. So far as reported, no lives were lost, but on the farm of Mrs. Charles Ward all of the outhouses were blown away and a Mr. Gannon and his wife were injured. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. Four houses are blown down in Franklin. In that general area, at least 55 were killed by tornadoes. - The most horrible catastrophe ever known in Lincoln County was the cyclone which passed through the county last night about midnight, wrecking homes, destroying lives and injuring a large number of citizens. The cyclone wrecked the house and killed Mrs. McGrew and six children, while Mr. McGrew, a son and a baby escaped with serious injuries. The seriously injured are M. J. Farrar and daughter, of Gyruston, the former having a broken collarbone, and the latter a broken arm and leg; residence wrecked and burned. Mrs. Speight, one mile from Charlotte, suffered a severe loss. In addition, the "old negro woman" killed "one-quarter mile west of Franklin" according to the Pulaski Citizen newspaper was actually killed, along with one of her children, on Carter's Creek Pike southwest of Franklin per the Nashville American newspaper. His entire family was wiped out of existence. Mr. Brinkley's house was carried from its foundations, as was a newly completed house of J. NWS Their bodies were recovered the next morning at about daylight. A third son died two days later as a result of injuries sustained during the tornado. The cyclone of the night of April 29th or morning of April 30th, did great damage near Rugby. FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 4 1909, PAGE 5, "THREE CHURCHES DESTROYED": ALEXANDRIA, Tenn., May 3. Columbia, Tenn., April 20. Tennessee 225: Dive into the history of the Volunteer State. This massive tornado then passed into Lincoln County through the northern suburbs of Fayetteville before lifting northeast of Fayetteville. Others moved to towns like Elkton, which is the closest incorporated town to the area, Lancaster said. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The tornado continued into Giles County where nine more people lost their lives. It is miraculous that there was no more personal injuries, as this was the worst storm ever seen in this part of the State. Damage was noted 1 mile N of Franklin. A total of 22 people were killed in that area (Giles County), and seven near "Millville" (Lincoln County). Other F4 recorded were reported in Missouri near Golden, in Illinois near Texas City, and in south-central Tennessee near Bee Springs, just north of the Alabama state line. $150,000 damage. For a strip more than two miles in width along the railroad between here and Tennessee City, and on through that portion of the county traversed by the storm, scarcely a tree is left standing, but all lie as flat as if rolled over by some immense road roller. US Dept of Commerce But for the fact that the country is hilly and in places thinly settled the destruction would have been even greater. One person was killed near Nolensville and another near Walterhill. The emergency is one which as charitable, sympathetic people, we should take prompt steps to alleviate. A number of residences were badly damaged and business houses unroofed, the rain destroying almost the entire stock of John Jewell. However, the party living in this was away. At least 695 . On account of the destitution which is reported to exist in the stricken district, Mayor Northington has issued the following statement: "Reports having reached me of the destitution occasioned by Thursday night's storm, on account of which scored of persons have lost all of their means and been rendered homeless, it becomes my duty to make the fact known in our citizens officially. For several minutes it was as bright as the glare of a noonday sun with this setting, the wind terrific in force and volume halted at no obstacle, and in its path it left an imprint on everything it touched. This particular cyclone began its work of destruction in the neighborhood of Conway, though several barns and tenant houses were blown down west of that place. of those most seriously hurt: Esq. Questions? SHAMBURGER (2016): Despite the death of the child and significant damage to the two homes in Perry County, this tornado was not included in Grazulis' book Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. Tornado destroyed up to nine homes and hit buildings in. Tornadoes in Maury County - Maurypedia On Lick Creek the house of Frank Hunter was badly wrecked and one member of his family blown for a short distance without serious injury. F. H. Hickerson, in the mercantile business, suffered quite a loss. The Evans Mills, on Stones River, one mile north of Florence, were blown into the river and destroyed. Miss Daisy Marshall received a few slight wounds. Dickson was left to the right of the storm's pathway, and fortunately little damage was done here. Dr. Barger lost five of his six barns, and the merchants suffered much loss from their business houses being unroofed. But nowhere was the loss of life greater or the destruction of property more complete than in Giles County. The entire town of Statesville had severe downburst damage. BEE SPRING, Tenn. (WKRN) On April 29th and 30th in 1909, Middle Tennessee suffered its deadliest tornado outbreak in history. Many narrow escaped from death are reported, but only one person is known to have been injured, an old lady, Mrs. Upchurch, but the extent of her injuries is not known FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 1 1909, PAGE 4, "SMYRNA IS STRUCK": SMYRNA, Tenn., April 30. January's largest single outbreak happened over the course of two days when 129 tornadoes were spawned, mostly in the South, in the record year of 1999. Great injury was done forests. December tornadoes among 20 billion-dollar disasters to strike U.S. in The parent supercell thunderstorm continued on to produce additional tornadoes in Scott County. Several other houses were blown down and a number of people injured. The stock barn of Rural home Stock farm was torn to pieces, and there were many other houses, barns, and outhouses destroyed. Greatest damage and the most horrible loss of life occurred in the community between Bunker Hill and Bryson, but the destruction was by no means confined to one place. Windows were blown from the residence of William H. Gregory, and the barn on his farm was blown down and numerous losses of a similar kind were the result. A force of men from Scott and Morgan counties under the road overseers, cleared the road on May 3rd. The greatest damage was done in the Florence and Walter Hill sections. The town of Statesville, six miles from here, was struck last night by a tornado. Several parties sustained slight injuries. Please select one of the following: Nashville (KOHX) Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Hopkinsville, KY (KHPX) Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Hytop, AL (KHTX) Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Columbus, MS (KGWX) Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), National Radar Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Southern Mississippi Valley Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Central Great Lakes Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Southeast Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), State of Tennessee and Middle TN Daily Climate, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Based on all of this information, the path start and end points were adjusted, path length increased to 30 miles, and path width increased to one mile. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, MAY 1 1909, PAGE 10, "AT WATERTOWN, TENN.". FROM THE NASHVILLE AMERICAN, May 1 1909, PAGE 4, "RUTHERFORD COUNTY. This tornado was almost certainly produced by the same supercell that spawned the even worse Giles/Lincoln County tornado just to the west. FROM THE PULASKI CITIZEN NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON MAY 6, 1909: Centreville, Tenn., April 30. Near Cross Roads, one man was killed and two more people were severely injured (F2) before the tornado lifted somewhere northeast of that community, a distance of roughly 20 miles. All of the buildings belong to the Fentress Coal & Coke Company. It is impossible at this time to estimate the damage. Multiple locations were found. The storm was about two miles south of Alexandria, and the following farmers had their barns demolished entirely or unroofed: James Dinwiddle, J. S. Turner, J. D. Griffith, Oby Jenkins, G. G. Gibbs, Vick Groom, Bob Vannatta, John Midgett (two), Mort Foutch, and Hanison Self. Photos of the damage in the Hillsboro (Leiper's Fork) area from the Nashville American newspaper show extreme damage, with a home wiped off the foundation and a hillside forest completely destroyed, suggesting this tornado reached F4 intensity. The track of the cyclone was about a mile in width, passing across the country from west to east and north of Murfreesboro. W. S. McLaurine's baby were also killed. The tornado was a mile wide at times, and its winds reached 300 mph, putting it at the top of the Fujita scale for tornado intensity. A number of houses have been damaged by falling timber, one or two thrown off the foundations and one large two-story building completely demolished. 22 people were killed here in Giles County from this tornado. Telephone wires are down and roads are in bad conditions. M. Gilbert, 1909 Natural Disasters: 1909 Atlantic Hurricane Season, 1909 Earthquakes, Tornadoes Of 1909, Late-April 1909 Tornado Outbreak|LLC Books . The cyclone wrecked the house and killed Mrs. McGrew and six children, while Mr. McGrew, a son and a baby escaped with serious injuries. Mrs. Brown was seriously if not fatally injured. Their household effects are destroyed. A tornado destroyed 23 homes and damaged a depot and a hotel in Decherd. This page was last edited on 12 March 2022, at 09:35. It was the deadliest known tornado outbreak to affect Tennessee until March 21, 1952, when 64 . Mail service over Route No. At Walter Hill the residence of Mrs. Upchurch was totally destroyed and she herself was fatally injured. National Weather Service. and Mrs. W. S. McLaurine, Mrs. Ella King, widow of the late Mit King, collar bone broken, Hiram Usselton's baby, seriously, perhaps fatally hurt, George Hardy, son of T. J. The most terrible cyclone in the history of Giles County struck with great fury between 11 and 12 o'clock Thursday night. The house of Judge Lewis was also destroyed and several other houses damaged beyond repair. It is impossible to estimate the property loss, probably not less than a hundred thousand dollars. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, 5 reported dead after severe weather in Kentucky,, Rollover crash on I-65N in Davidson County leads, Man hit, killed on Old Hickory Blvd. Did the tornado hit Gatlinburg Tennessee? The cyclone struck Primm Springs, a summer resort in Hickman County, and devastated the country. It is impossible to estimate the property loss, probably not less than a hundred thousand dollars. It is impossible to obtain details, as the wires are all down. That tornado appears to have begun west of Aspen Hill, passing near Aspen Hill and Conway, where the school was destroyed, between Bunker Hill and Bryson, and through Bee Spring. Deadliest Days: Killer tornadoes in Middle Tennessee The rear flank downdraft of the parent supercell also caused significant damage up to 2 miles south of the tornado path, such as the numerous trees blown down across Winchester. The home of Mrs. Ward escaped any serious damage. A. C. Morgan's house was blown away and Mrs. Morgan was badly injured, but not fatally, it is thought.