1956 Berlin tornado
 The tornado as seen from Highway 49, looking north towards Berlin | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 3, 1956, 1:45 PM CST (UTC–06:00) |
| Dissipated | April 3, 1956, 1:53 PM CST (UTC–06:00) |
| Duration | 8 minutes |
| F4 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Max width | 400 yd (370 m) |
| Path length | 12 mi (19 km) |
| Highest winds | 207–260 mph (333–418 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 7 |
| Injuries | 50[1] |
| Damage | $1,000,000 |
| Areas affected | Berlin, Wisconsin and Omro, Wisconsin |
Part of the Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1956 and Tornadoes of 1956 | |
Amid a widespread and potent tornado outbreak extending from the Great Plains to the Great Lakes region, an F4 tornado tracked a total of 12 mi (19 km) throughout East-Central Michigan.[2] The tornado would claim the lives of 7 within Berlin before tracking northeastward. The tornado would remain over rural areas until it dissipated 2 miles west of Omro, Wisconsin at around 1:53 PM CST. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The tornado is commonly known as the 1956 Berlin tornado or the 1956 Berlin, Wisconsin tornado
Meteorological synopsis
The afternoon of Tuesday, April 3rd, 1956 was warm and humid. Strong south winds had brought summer-like temperatures and humidity, with record highs as high as 70 °F (21 °C) at Muskegon and Grand Rapids. Holland and Kalamazoo both reached 80 degrees. Dew points were in the 60°s even near Lake Michigan. At the same time, a strong cold front was approaching from the west and out ahead of it, a line of violent thunderstorms had formed over Wisconsin and Illinois.[9]
Tornado summary
Before the tornado formed
An hour before, The Bancroft F3 tornado formed, and it casued devastating damage to the town of Bancroft, it served as a prelude tornado to the Berlin F4. An hour later after the Bancroft F3 tornado, approximately at 1:45 PM CST, an violent F4 tornado formed. [10]
The tornado
A thin but violent tornado would touch down southwest of Berlin, Wisconsin in Green Lake County at 1:45 PM CST.[11] It would form near the Mascoutin golf club.[1] The tornado then crosses county road A, and then into a small lake, causing the tornado to become a temporary waterspout.[1] The tornado then crosses straight into the heart of Berlin near State Highway 49 and County Trunk V.[1][12] Here the tornado would do its strongest damage by completely destroying a factory and 20 homes.[13] The tornado also would strike the vacant Carnation Company (208 S. Church Street) and Sand Knit it traveled northeast just missing the 1918 Berlin High School building and the Brown Wilcox Retirement home.[12] Skipping over Berlin's large quarry it destroyed several sections of Oakwood Cemetery and the city water tank.[12] It travels north-east for a long time into Eureka, Wisconsin.[13] But fortunately the tornado was already very weak. The tornado travels near Omro before dissipating near the town at 1:53 PM CST.
See also
- Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1956 - The outbreak the tornado was apart of
- 1956 Hudsonville–Standale tornado — The F5 of the outbreak
- 1956 Saugatuck–Holland tornado - The other notable violent F4 tornado part of the outbreak
References
- 1 2 3 4 F4 tornado in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. Storm Events Database (Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 3, 1956. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
- ↑ "1956 Tornado Outbreak Overview". April 3, 1956.
- ↑ Grazulis 1984, p. A-66.
- ↑ Grazulis 1993, p. 994.
- ↑ Storm Data Publication 1956, #10147921
- ↑ Storm Data Publication 1956, #10147922
- ↑ USWB 1956, p. 112.
- ↑ "1950S TORNADO / WATERSPOUT GUIDE FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST WISCONSIN" (PDF). Weather.gov.
- ↑ "1956 Tornado Outbreak Overview". April 3, 1956.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ↑ "Remembering Michigan's last F-5 tornado in April of 1956". April 3, 1956.
- ↑ "Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Centers for Environmental Information". www.ncei.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 3 "Tornado in Berlin, Wisconsin: Personal Experiences and Stories". Associated Press. April 4, 2025.
- 1 2 "Winnebago County Emergency Management's post". Associated Press. April 4, 2017.
- Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
- Grazulis, Thomas P . (May 1984). Violent Tornado Climatography, 1880–1982. OSTI (Technical report). NUREG. Washington, D.C.: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. OSTI 7099491. CR-3670.
- National Weather Service (April 1956). Storm Data Publication (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information – via Storm Events Database.
- U.S. Weather Bureau (April 1956). "Storm data and unusual weather phenomena". Climatological Data National Summary. 7 (4). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 106–14.