1976 Spiro tornado

1976 Spiro tornado

Damage to a home in Spiro
Meteorological history
Date	March 26, 1976
Formed	3:28 PM CST
Dissipated	3:45 PM CST
Duration	17 Minutes
F5 tornado
on the Fujita scale
Highest winds	>261 mph (420 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities	2
Injuries	64
Areas affected	Spiro, Oklahoma
Part of the Tornadoes of 1976

The 1976 Spiro tornado remains one of the most violent and memorable severe weather events in Oklahoma history, striking LeFlore County on the afternoon of March 26, 1976. Officially rated F5 on the Fujita Scale, the tornado tore a path of destruction measuring 11.9 miles long and 440 yards wide, primarily devastating the community of Spiro. The tornado claimed 2 fatalities and 64 injuries.

Tornado summary

The tornado touched down 4 miles east of Bokoshe and 0.75 miles north of OK State Highway 31 in Leflore County at 3:28 pm CST. It began moving to the northeast, crossing OK State Highway 59 about 2 miles south of the intersection of Highway 59 and OK State Highway 9. A local business structure and a mobile home were destroyed in this area. The tornado enters the southeastern part of Spiro. The tornado produced a lot of destruction described as a great destruction because it destroyed trailer homes, houses and business buildings but the more impressive damage is that it destroyed many railroad cars. The tornado then crossed OK State Highway 9 where additional homes were either damaged or demolished. A survey of the damage in this area indicated that the tornado reached F5 intensity after crossing OK State Highway 9 and entering the rural Murray Spur area east of Spiro. One man was killed, seven homes were destroyed, and one mobile home was demolished in the Murray Spur area. The tornado then turned east after crossing the Lock and Dam/Fort Coffey Road where 3 mobile homes were destroyed. The eastward movement lasted for about a bit over 1 mile at which point the tornado already had crossed Oklahoma State Highway 9 for a second time. The tornado lifted about 3/10 of a mile east of the point where it had crossed OK State Highway 9 at 3:45 pm CST.

Aftermath

After the tornado dissipated, many people came to help the injured and trapped people in wreckages of their homes due to them being hit with violent tornado damage. In the weeks and months that followed, the interconnected, tight-knit community of Spiro rallied together to clean up the wreckage. Many displaced families chose to rebuild their lives and homes on the exact same foundations where they had stood before.

Fatalities

Name	Age	Location	Additional notes	Reference
Marvin Trout	30	Spiro	Marvin Trout, 30, of Spiro. After hearing a tornado warning, he left his home with his pregnant wife and young daughter to seek shelter at his parents’ house across the street. The building collapsed during the tornado, killing Trout, critically injuring his wife, and causing a concussion to his daughter.
Ray Dean Philips	35	Spiro	Died during the tornado as it hit Spiro

Rating change

The tornado was once rated F4 but it was upgraded to F5 after a revision check showing it produced F5 damage

See also

• 1976 Brownwood tornado - The 2nd F5 of 1976
• 1976 Jordan tornado - The 3rd F5 of 1976
• 1976 Lemont tornado - Another violent tornado from 1976
• List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
• List of Oklahoma tornadoes
• Multi-vortex tornado