page_title: 1953 Waco tornado outbreak
section_title: Waco, Texas
hierarchical_section_title: 1953 Waco tornado outbreak / Daily statistics / Waco, Texas
caption_attribution_description: English: Tornado track map of Waco tornado (Courtesy of NWS Fort Worth).
context_page_description: A deadly series of at least 33 tornadoes hit at least 10 different U.S. states on May 9–11, 1953. Tornadoes appeared daily from Minnesota in the north to Texas in the south. The strongest and deadliest tornado was a powerful F5 tornado that struck Waco, Texas on May 11, causing 114 of the 144 deaths in the outbreak. Alongside the 1902 Goliad tornado, it was the deadliest tornado in Texas history and is the 11th deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The tornado's winds demolished more than 600 houses, 1,000 other structures, and over 2,000 vehicles. 597 injuries occurred, and many survivors had to wait more than 14 hours for rescue. The destruction dispelled a myth that the geography of the region spared Waco from tornadoes, and along with other deadly tornadoes in 1953, the Waco disaster was a catalyst for advances in understanding the link between tornadoes and radar-detected hook echoes. It also generated support for improved civil defense systems, the formation of weather radar networks, and improved communications between stakeholders such as meteorologists, local officials, and the public.
  The Waco tornado was not the only deadly and damaging tornado in the outbreak sequence.
context_section_description: According to an old legend—attributed without corroboration to the Huaco, a local Native American tribe—tornadoes, or at least severe ones, could not touch down in Waco, a city located in a geological depression. Supposedly due to the bluffs around the Brazos River, tornadoes and other severe weather were relatively rare and mild in the city. The 1953 storm, however, disproved the myth when it tracked directly through downtown Waco as an F5 tornado. The tornado first formed around 4:10 p.m. CST (22:10 UTC) about 3 miles (5 km) north-northwest of the Lorena community. It quickly began damaging structures, destroying a home near Lorena as it tracked north-northeastward. As it neared Waco, operators of weather radar at Texas A&M University detected a hook echo in association with the parent supercell. This was one of the first times that radar linked tornadogenesis with hook-echo signatures. However, because heavy rain obscured the tornado, it was largely invisible to people in its path. The high-precipitation nature of the parent storm may have heightened the death toll in Waco by delaying appropriate action. The storm also generated baseball-sized hail in its path. The tornado passed close to Hewitt before entering downtown Waco.
  As the thunderstorm began pounding the city with rain, many people on the streets crowded into local buildings for shelter, including department stores, banks, and other downtown businesses. Located on Fifth Street, the five-story R. T. Dennis building was quickly filling with people who came in to escape the rain. The tornado, almost ¹⁄₃ mile (0.54 km) across, struck downtown Waco at 4:36 p.m. When the tornado struck the Dennis Building, it first knocked a large water tank off the roof, then blew in the windows onto the terrified customers and employees. Beatrice Ramirez, an employee just one year out of high school, stood still knowing that there was nowhere safe to hide. Ten seconds after the tornado struck, the building was destroyed, leaving dozens of people trapped beneath its ruins. Beatrice was able to crawl out of the rubble into the rain. Many others would not be so lucky that day: 30 people died in the R. T. Dennis building alone. Remarkably, eighteen hours after the rescue efforts started and all hope had been lost, rescue workers recovered a survivor: Lillie Matkin, who was a switchboard operator for the store, was saved by a mattress that fell on her.
  The tornado's next target was the ten-story Professional Building. The windows were blown out and the roof was taken off. One woman had a very lucky escape from death. Right before the tornado hit, the rain calmed down and Bobbye Bishop decided to make a dash to her car. She reached the car just as the tornado struck. Her car was thrown up into the air, then fell back to the ground. Seconds later a two-ton vehicle was thrown on top of her car, pinning her inside it. Due to the weight of both vehicles, the tornado was unable to lift her car and she was also protected by flying debris due to being pinned inside. Twelve people were killed in cars crushed in the street, one of which was crushed by a traffic light to only 18 inches (460 mm) in height. After devastating downtown Waco, the tornado continued to the north-northeast and dissipated about 5 miles (8 km) west of Axtell. While the tornado destroyed homes outside the city, media largely focused on destruction in downtown Waco.
  Few of the buildings in downtown Waco were constructed sturdily enough to withstand the winds, and they collapsed almost immediately. Newer buildings with steel reinforcement, including the 22-story Amicable office building (now called the ALICO Building), weathered the storm. The Dr Pepper bottling plant, today the Dr Pepper Museum, also remained standing but sustained damage. Bricks from the collapsed structures piled up in the street to a depth of 5 feet (1.5 m). Some survivors were trapped under rubble for 14 or more hours; numerous bodies remained submerged beneath piles of rubble and for many days were unaccounted for. In all, 114 deaths occurred in the W
caption: Path of the Waco tornado
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