page_title: Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence
section_title: 1953 tornado season in perspective
hierarchical_section_title: Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence / 1953 tornado season in perspective
caption_attribution_description: Tornado tracks from the June 8, 1953 tornado outbreak.
context_page_description: The 1953 Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence was a devastating tornado outbreak sequence spanning three days, two of which featured tornadoes each causing at least 90 deaths—an F5 occurring in Flint, Michigan, on June 8, 1953, and an F4 in Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 9. These tornadoes are among the deadliest in United States history and were caused by the same storm system that moved eastward across the nation. The tornadoes are also related together in the public mind because, for a brief period following the Worcester tornado, it was debated in the U.S. Congress whether recent atomic bomb testing in the upper atmosphere had caused the tornadoes. Congressman James E. Van Zandt was among several members of Congress who expressed their belief that the June 4th bomb testing created the tornadoes, which occurred far outside the traditional tornado alley. They demanded a response from the government. Meteorologists quickly dispelled such an assertion, and Congressman Van Zandt later retracted his statement.
context_section_description: The year 1953 saw some of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history, including the Waco Tornado that hit on May 11, the Flint tornado of June 8, and the Worcester tornado on June 9. These 3 storms were also unique in occurring within a 30-day period.
  Other severe tornadoes of 1953 hit Warner Robins, Georgia in April, San Angelo, Texas in May (same day as Waco), Port Huron, Michigan later in May, Cleveland in June (same day as Flint and the day before Worcester), and Vicksburg, Mississippi in December.
caption: Tornado tracks around Lake Erie from the June 8, 1953 tornado outbreak.
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