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Looking back at the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak

In 1965 a devastating tornado outbreak hit six midwestern states and left behind a path of destruction with many injured or killed.

By: Katie McGraw

Posted at 6:30 AM, Apr 11, 2023

and last updated 2023-04-11 10:20:46-04

Exactly 58 years ago, on April 11, there was a devastating tornado outbreak that ended up being one of the worst in recorded history.

According to Jon Chamberlain with the National Weather Service, the 1965 Palm Sunday outbreak affected six Midwestern states including Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. It lasted around 12 hours, spawning at least 37 tornadoes, with some studies reporting over 400. Some of the longest tornado tracks were across Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. This event was also unique because of the number of F3+ tornadoes and supercells. This is uncommon for the Great Lakes Region because most tornadoes are produced from squall lines.

Powerful storms and tornadoes first developed to our west during the afternoon and eventually shifted east toward Ohio with isolated supercells well into the evening. The NWS said the Northern suburbs of Toledo were hit by a powerful tornado that destroyed entire blocks, with many houses leveled to the ground. Vehicles were tossed through the air, including a bus that was lifted and dropped upside down by the tornado, killing five people. The total death toll was 18 for the tornado.

As bad as that storm was, communities farther south in Ohio saw even worse destruction. A series of deadly tornadoes struck one after another from Lima in Western Ohio to Strongsville, killing more than 40 people. The last tornado reported was near Cleveland around midnight. When it was finally over, all that was left was a cold wind blowing through areas of devastation filled with shattered lives, farms, businesses and neighborhoods. The outbreak resulted in over 3,000 people injured, and more than 250 people were killed by the storms. The economic loss in 1965 was estimated at $238 million.

In the decades following the storms, meteorologists have continued to study and learn more about the atmospheric conditions ahead of the destructive event. A recent study re-examined the outbreak using modern-day severe weather forecast parameters derived from observational data to help understand why this storm system produced such violent thunderstorms.