What the record says
On 11 May 1953, a tornado touched down near Waco, Texas. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 20.9 miles long and up to 583 yards wide, rated F5 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 114 people and injured 597. That makes it the 3rd deadliest tornado in the record, which runs from 1950.
- F5Fujita rating
- 114deaths
- 597injuries
- 20.9 mipath length
- 583 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 31.55, -97.15 and the end point at 31.75, -96.88 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Texas
- Wichita Falls, Texas tornado10 April 1979, F4, 42 deaths, 1,740 injuries, 46.9 miles long
- Balmorhea, Texas tornado22 May 1987, F4, 30 deaths, 121 injuries, 3 miles long
- Jarrell, Texas tornado27 May 1997, F5, 27 deaths, 12 injuries, 5.1 miles long
- Lubbock, Texas tornado11 May 1970, F5, 26 deaths, 500 injuries, 8.4 miles long
- Silverton, Texas tornado15 May 1957, F4, 21 deaths, 80 injuries, 17 miles long
- Rochester, Texas tornado13 March 1953, F4, 17 deaths, 25 injuries, 13.9 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1953
- Flushing, Michigan tornado8 June 1953, F5, 116 deaths, 844 injuries, 18.9 miles long
- Framingham, Massachusetts tornado9 June 1953, F4, 94 deaths, 1,228 injuries, 34.9 miles long
- Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado5 December 1953, F5, 38 deaths, 270 injuries, 9 miles long
- Warner Robins, Georgia tornado30 April 1953, F4, 18 deaths, 300 injuries, 1 mile long
- Cleveland, Ohio tornado8 June 1953, F4, 17 deaths, 379 injuries, 118 miles long
All tornadoes of 1953 · Texas tornado history · All notable tornadoes