Meteorological history | |
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Formed | May 7, 1846 |
The Grenada, Mississippi tornado of May 7, 1846, killed 21 people, injured 60, and destroyed 60 or 70 buildings in the southern half of Grenada, Yalobusha County, Mississippi[a] in the United States.[1][2][3] Other accounts had it that 112 buildings were destroyed,[4] including 17 homes.[5] Property damage was estimated at $65,000[6] to US$80,000 (equivalent to $2,712,889 in 2023).[4] According to the Mississippi Democrat of Carrollton, Mississippi, "When the tornado passed through Grenada it must have been at least 600 yards (550 m) from one extreme to the other; but about the centre and 50 yards (46 m) each way therefrom, the principal damage was done."[7]
According to the New Orleans Picayune, "On the outside of a letter to a friend, is written the words, 'Grenada is in ruins, and many of her inhabitants are destroyed; names cannot be given, or numbers set down."[8] The tornado struck at about 2:30 p.m.[5] Both schools in the town were in session at the time the hurricane struck, and both were destroyed.[9] The teacher of the girls' school was killed, her body was found across the river in a tree.[9] The force of the tornado "shattered" the logs of the cabin that housed the girls' school.[9] The teacher of the boys' school survived but was seriously injured.[9] The newly built Baptist church was leveled.[6][10]
According to a scrapbooked clipping of a news article entitled "The Great Hurricane," written by Aaron Davis, the tornado approached the town from the west.[11] The same tornado later continued northward into Maury County, Tennessee, where there were no casualties but three farms were damaged.[12]
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