List of schools struck by tornadoes

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Major structural damage at Briarwood Elementary School following the 2013 Moore tornado

This is a list of tornadoes which struck primary and secondary schools or post secondary colleges or universities, organized by the tornado’s intensity. These scales—the Fujita scale, the Enhanced Fujita scale, and the International Fujita scale—are used to rate and estimate the done by a tornado.

See also: List of tornado-related deaths at schools

F5/EF5/IF5 tornadoes

See also: List of F5, EF5, and IF5 tornadoes
Tornado F#/EF#/IF# (school) Location (school) Notes
1953 Flint–Beecher tornado F0–F5[a] Beecher High School The school was heavily damaged as it was directly struck.
1955 Udall tornado F0–F5[a] Udall Public School The school building was badly damaged by the tornado, with beams snapped and blown away.
1957 Spring Hill–Rusking Heights tornado F0–F5[a] Ruskin Heights High School The school was badly damaged.
1957 Fargo tornado F0–F5[a] Shanley High School The school was severely damaged.
Sacred Heart Academy The school was severely damaged.
North Dakota State University Buildings on the university campus were severely damaged.
1966 Topeka tornado F0–F5[a] Washburn University Washburn University took a direct hit, and many large stone buildings on campus were badly damaged or destroyed. A 300-pound section of stone wall was torn from one building and thrown two miles away. One vehicle on campus was reportedly lofted over the top of the university's ROTC building, before coming to rest on the 50-yard line of the football field.
1968 Hansell-Charles City tornado F0–F5[a] McKinley School The school was destroyed by the tornado.
A school was damaged or destroyed by the tornado.
A school was damaged or destroyed by the tornado.
1968 Oelwein tornado F0–F5[a] A middle school was destroyed by the tornado.[1]
An elementary school was destroyed by the tornado.[1]
1968 Tracy tornado F0–F5[a] Tracy Elementary School The school was completely destroyed by the tornado.[2]
1970 Lubbock tornado F0–F5[a] Estacado High School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
Thompson Junior High School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
Arnett Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
Jackson Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
Hunt Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
K. Carter Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
McWhorter Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
North Avenue U Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
Sanders Elementary School The school was damaged by the tornado.[3]
1974 Depauw–Daisy Hill tornado F0–F5[a] Morgan Elementary School The tornado struck the school, destroying several classrooms and throwing cars on top of the building. Fortunately, the children and faculty, who were huddled in the hallways, were not injured. A woman was crushed by a school bus that flew into a ditch she was sheltering in.[4][5][6]
1974 Xenia tornado F0–F5[a] Xenia High School The school was completely destroyed by the tornado. As the tornado struck the school, it was videotaped and was observed to have "as many as five subvortices merging into one" tornado. Students in the school, practicing for a play, took cover in the main hallway seconds before the tornado dropped a school bus onto the stage where they had been practicing and extensively damaged the school building.[7][8]
1990 Plainfield tornado F4 Plainfield High School The tornado directly struck the high school, killing a science teacher and two maintenance workers. Students who had been out practicing for the fall football programs ran into the high school to take shelter a few minutes before the storm hit. After an alarm was pulled by a dean in the main office, the volleyball players preparing for a game in the gymnasium rushed to the nearest door and took shelter in the hallway. It has been reported that as soon as the last player was through the door, a coach quickly closed it, only for it to be immediately ripped back off by the storm. The gymnasium proceeded to fall apart and crash down, which filled the gap in the doorway. They took shelter in the same hallway as the football team, and once the tornado had passed, that was the only hallway left standing in the building. The tornado then demolished the Plainfield School District Administration building, where the wife of a custodian was killed.[9]
St. Mary Immaculate Church and School The tornado completely destroyed the church and school, killing the principal of the school, a music teacher, and the son of the cook at the rectory.[10]
Grand Prairie Elementary School The school sustained significant damage.[10]
1991 Wichita–Andover tornado F0–F5[a] Wineteer Elementary School The elementary school was severely damaged, with sixteen people being injured at the school.[11]
1998 Birmingham tornado F3 Oak Grove High School The high school portion sustained major structural damage, and the elementary school portion was destroyed. The school building was rebuilt two years later and reopened a mile away from the damaged area. No one inside the school was killed, but a group of cheerleaders practicing at the school's gymnasium escaped disaster with only minor injuries when a wall prevented a portion of the roof from falling on them.[12][13]
1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado F4 Westmoore High School An honors ceremony was being held at Westmoore High School at the time of the tornado. Adequate warning time allowed those at the school to seek shelter, however, and more than 400 adults and students attending the awards ceremony at the school's auditorium were moved to the main building, sheltering in reinforced hallways and bathrooms. Ultimately, Westmoore High sustained heavy damage and dozens of cars that were in the school's parking lot were tossed around, some of which were completely destroyed or thrown into nearby homes. No injuries took place at the school, though a horse was found dead between a couple of destroyed cars in this area.[14]
2007 Greensburg tornado EF4 Delmar Day Elementary School The school was completely leveled nearby homes were flattened at EF4 intensity.[15]
Greensburg High School The school was mostly destroyed by the tornado, sustaining high-end EF4 damage. One wing of the school was completely flattened, despite being well-built and constructed with triple-thick masonry walls. Numerous homes were swept away across from the high school, four of which were well-bolted to their foundations, warranting an EF5 rating at those residences.[15]
2008 Parkersburg–New Hartford tornado EF4 Aplington-Parkersburg High School The school sustained EF4 structural damage, and reinforced concrete light poles near the school were snapped and dragged along the ground by the tornado, indicative of extremely intense low-level inflow winds.[16]
2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado EF5 Hackleburg High School The school was completely destroyed at EF5 intensity. Nearby vehicles were tossed up to 200 yards.[17]
Hackleburg Middle School. The school was completely destroyed at EF5 intensity. Nearby vehicles were tossed up to 200 yards.[17]
Hackleburg Elementary School The school was completely destroyed at EF5 intensity. Nearby vehicles were tossed up to 200 yards.[17]
2011 Rainsville tornado EF4 Plainview High School The school sustained $10 to $15 million (2011 USD) in damage to the main school buildings, gymnasiums, sports fields, cafeteria, as well as the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum. Nearby homes were swept clean from their foundations, their debris having been strewn up to a mile away and a school bus was mangled beyond recognition and stripped down to its chassis.[18]
2011 Joplin tornado EF4 St. Mary's Catholic Church and School The building was almost completely leveled, with the only portions of the church and school remaining being the steel cross and a small portion of the metal roof.[19]
Joplin High School Portions of the high school were completely destroyed. A school bus was tossed on top of the destroyed bus garage. Surrounding businesses, homes, and buildings were totally destroyed. Many open fields were covered with boards, limbs, steel beams, fencing, and other materials embedded deeply into the ground.[19]
EF5 East Middle School The school was completely destroyed at EF5 intensity.[19]
2013 Moore tornado EF4 Briarwood Elementary School The school was completely destroyed. Right before destroying the school, the tornado heavily scouring an open grassy field. The National Weather Service originally rated the damage to the school EF5, but further evaluation and a 2014 study published by the American Meteorological Society revealed evidence of poor construction at the school, and the rating was downgraded to EF4. Remarkably, no fatalities occurred at the school.[20][21] Two 12,000-gallon water tanks that were also swept off of the Orr Family Farm grounds were thrown into this area; the roof of Briarwood Elementary was struck by one of them − potentially aiding in compromising the building's structural integrity as it bent the steel girders that held up the roof − shortly before the main vortex struck the building, while the other fell onto and destroyed a home a few blocks east of the school.[22][23]
Plaza Towers Elementary School The tornado completely destroyed the school at EF4 intensity, where seven children were killed when a cinder block wall collapsed on top of them. More than a dozen homes in a subdivision just to the south of Plaza Towers Elementary were swept cleanly away, though they were revealed to have been nailed rather than bolted to their foundations, and damage to this subdivision was subsequently rated EF4, though the tornado was likely extremely violent as lawns in this area were completely scoured down to bare soil. Entire blocks of homes were flattened, trees were completely debarked and denuded, vehicles were thrown and mangled, and the ground was severely scoured in other residential areas nearby, with the damage also rated EF4 in these areas. Most of the fatalities from the tornado occurred in the Plaza Towers neighborhood of Moore.[20][21][23]
EF3 Highland East Jr. High Highland East Jr. High's main building was spared, but the separate gymnasium building was completely destroyed at EF3 intensity, and a set of lockers from the structure was lofted and thrown a considerable distance into a nearby neighborhood.[20][23]
EF1 Moore Public Schools The Moore Public Schools administration building, a converted former hospital located a few blocks to the east, was struck by the tornado and destroyed at EF1 intensity.[20][23]

F4/EF4/IF4 tornadoes

See also: List of F4, EF4, and IF4 tornadoes
Tornado F#/EF#/IF# (school) Location (school) Notes
1991 Oolagah tornado F0–F4[a] Oolagah School Complex The school was severely damaged, with buses from the school being tossed nearly 1 mi (1.6 km) away, into Fourmile Creek.[24]
2012 Henryville tornado EF4 Henryville school complex The school was in the process of dismissing as the tornado approached the community, and sustained EF4 structural damage including total destruction of its cafeteria. Most of the staff and students had already left the area by the time the tornado struck. One bus driver saved numerous student's lives by returning to the school. The small group of students that returned and took shelter in the school building survived without injury, despite being inside as it was destroyed around them. Many cars in the school parking lot were thrown and destroyed, one of which had a wooden beam speared through its hood and out of its undercarriage. The school security cameras recorded video of the tornado striking the building, and it is still viewable on YouTube to this day. Low-level winds in this area were so intense that debris was found wedged underneath plastic reflective strips in the parking lot. School buses were thrown hundreds of feet away, and two were ripped from their chassis. One bus was thrown through the front wall of a nearby restaurant. Numerous homes in and around Henryville were destroyed, and some were flattened or swept from their foundations. The tornado was at its most intense stage when in the Henryville area, with winds estimated at 175 mph (282 km/h). Damage surveyors found evidence of very intense multiple vortices as the tornado entered the community. Massive deforestation occurred in heavily wooded areas around town, and debris from Henryville was found as far east as Ohio.[25]
2021 South Moravia tornado IF3 A school was damaged at IF3 intensity.
2023 Rolling Fork–Silver City tornado EF1 Rolling Fork Elementary School The school sustained damage, including damage to <20% of the roof.[26]
South Delta High School The school sustained damage, including damage to <20% of the roof.[26][23]

F3/EF3/IF3 tornadoes

Tornado F#/EF#/IF# (school) Location (school) Notes
2021 Naperville–Woodridge tornado EF1 Meadow Glens Elementary School "Considerable" property damage occurred.[27]
2024 Sulphur tornado EF0 Sulphur High School The school sustained minor structural damage,[28] and Sulphur Public School's bus fleet was destroyed.[29][23]
2024 Lucama, North Carolina tornado EF3 Springfield Middle School The tornado reached peak intensity of 140 mph (230 km/h) at the Springfield Middle School in Lucama, North Carolina. The school sustained major damage, with multiple walls being blown out and sections of the structure's roof being removed. Shortly after affecting the school, the tornado's sole fatality occurred at a two-story house.[30]

F2/EF2/IF2 tornadoes

Tornado F#/EF#/IF# (school) Location (school) Notes
2024 Frazeysburg tornado EF0 Frazeysburg Elementary School The school sustained minor damage as the tornado was dissipating.[23][31]
2024 Tallahassee tornado EF1 Lively Technical Center Significant tree damage observed on the institution's campus.[32]
Tallahassee Community College Significant tree damage observed on the institution's campus.[32]
Florida State University Significant tree damage observed on campus. Destroyed the tent housing for the FSU Flying High Circus.[32]

F1/EF1/IF1 tornadoes

Tornado F#/EF#/IF# (school) Location (school) Notes
2024 Shawnee tornado EF1 Mill Valley High School Damage occurred to the school's concession stand and an administrative building near the track and football field. Debris from this area was carried a few neighborhoods away.[33]
2024 Lyons tornado EF0 Lyons School Complex The Lyons Elementary, Middle and High school complexes sustained minor EF0 damage.
2024 Greenville tornado EF0 Greenville High School The school's football field was damaged.
2024 Morton tornado EF0 Morton High School The school sustained minor damage and trees near the school were snapped or uprooted.[23]

F0/EF0/IF0 tornadoes

Tornado F#/EF#/IF# (school) Location (school) Notes
2024 St. James tornado EF0 Lucy W. Elementary School The tornado damaged small outbuildings at the school as well as to a light pole at a football stadium. A school camera captured the tornado moving over a school building.[34]
2024 Spearman tornado EF0 Spearman High School The tornado damaged a small shed and utility trailer at the school.[35]
2024 Englewood–Jackson Park tornado EF0 Englewood STEM High School The school sustained minor damage as the tornado formed.[23][36]
2024 Plainfield, Illinois tornado EF0 Plainfield South High School The school sustained minor damage.[23][37]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The exact rating for the damage to the school was not released by the National Weather Service. The maximum rating for damage to the school is the tornado’s rating.

References

  1. ^ a b National Weather Service (2015). "May 15 1968 Iowa Tornado Summary". La Crosse, Wisconsin: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Fifty-year-old memories haunt Tracy tornado survivors". MPR News. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i
    • The Lubbock, Texas Tornado: May 11, 1970 (PDF) (National Disaster Survey Report). Rockville, Maryland: Environmental Science Services Administration. July 1970. 70–1. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
    • "May 1970" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 12 (5). Asheville, North Carolina: Environmental Service. May 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "Indiana F5". Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  5. ^ "4 Apr 1974, Page 7 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  6. ^ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Tornado Listing". weather.gov. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Rosenfield, Jeffrey (2003). Eye of The Storm: Inside the World's Deadliest Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Blizzards. Basic Books. p. 320. ISBN 978-0738208916.
  8. ^ Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
  9. ^ "1990: Southwest Suburban Tornado Leaves 29 Dead". CBS2 Chicago. 26 August 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  10. ^ a b "The List of the Strongest Tornadoes Ever Recorded: Part IV". extremeplanet.me. 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  11. ^ Narramore, Jen (26 April 2019). "The Wichita-Andover, KS F5 Tornado – April 26, 1991". TornadoTalk. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  12. ^ Legates, David (1999). "WARNING RESPONSE AND RISK BEHAVIOR IN THE OAK GROVE - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, TORNADO OF 08 APRIL 1998". Colorado.edu. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  13. ^ "April 8, 1998 tornado". NWS Birmingham. NOAA. June 17, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena with Late Reports and Corrections" (PDF). Storm Data. 41 (5). National Climatic Data Center. May 1999. ISSN 0039-1972. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 11, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Marshall, Tim (2007). "Damage Survey of the Greensburg, KS tornado" (PDF). ams.confex.com. American Meteorological Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  16. ^ Marshall, Timothy. "The Parkersburg, IA Tornado: 25 May 2008" (PDF). ams.confex.com. American Meteorological Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  17. ^ a b c National Weather Service (2017). "Hackleburg Tornado - April 27, 2011". Birmingham, Alabama: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Plainview School unites after tornado". Gadsden Times. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  19. ^ a b c National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri (17 April 2021). "Commemoration of Joplin, Missouri EF-5 Tornado" (StoryMap). ArcGIS StoryMaps. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2023.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  20. ^ a b c d "NWS Damage Survey for 5/20/2013 Newcastle/Moore Tornado Event – Update 3". National Weather Service Norman, Oklahoma. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 21, 2013. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  21. ^ a b Tim Marshall; Kiel Ortega (February 5, 2014). "Damage Survey and Analysis of the 20 May 2013 Newcastle-Moore, OK, EF-5 Tornado". American Meteorological Society. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  22. ^ Holly Bailey (2015). "3:15 P.M., May 20". The Mercy of the Sky. Viking Books. pp. 160–166. ISBN 978-0-525-42749-0.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Various National Weather Service offices (2024). "Damage Assessment Toolkit" (Interactive map and database). DAT. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  24. ^ Oklahoma Event Report: F4 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  25. ^ "March 2, 2012 Tornado Outbreak". National Weather Service office in Louisville, Kentucky. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  26. ^ a b National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi (22 September 2023). "The Intense Mississippi Tornadoes of March 24, 2023" (StoryMap). ArcGIS StoryMaps. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Naperville Tornado Help". Naperville Community Unit School District 203. 21 June 2024.
  28. ^ Kliewer, Addison (2024-04-28). "Sulphur cancels class after tornado devastates town". KOCO. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  29. ^ "Sulphur Public Schools' bus fleet destroyed by tornado, district working to get students back to class". KGOU. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  30. ^ NWS Damage Survey for 08/08/24 Lucama NC Tornado Event (Report). National Weather Service Raleigh, North Carolina. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  31. ^ National Weather Service forecast office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 6, 2024). NWS Damage Survey for 06/06/24 Tornado Event (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  32. ^ a b c NWS Damage Survey for the May 10, 2024 Tornado Event (Report). National Weather Service Tallahassee, Florida. 12 May 2024.
  33. ^ National Weather Service in Kansas City, Missouri (May 20, 2024). NWS Damage Survey for 05/19/2024 Tornado and Damaging Wind Event Update # 1 (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  34. ^ National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri (2024). Missouri Event Report: EF0 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  35. ^ National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas (May 14, 2024). NWS Damage Survey for 05/01/2024 Tornado Event - Update #2 (Report). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  36. ^ National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois (July 16, 2024). NWS Damage Survey for the July 14, 2024 Tornado Event Update 1 (Report). National Weather Service. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  37. ^ National Weather Service in Chicago, Illinois (July 22, 2024). NWS Damage Survey for July 15, 2024 Derecho Event Update #4 (Report). National Weather Service. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
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