Tornado Rips Fargo with Ten Dead
Fargo, N.D.
June 21, 1957
A killer tornado dropped from the sky at about 7:30 last night. Ten are dead; 1,364 homes have been damaged or destroyed; 2,000 people are homeless. This extremely intense tornado swept a path which was 9 miles long and 700 feet wide. Debris has been found near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, 54 miles to the east.
The Weather Bureau issued warnings which local radio and television stations aired. Many people took shelter in their basements or drove out of town. The seven children of Harold and Mercedes Munson who lived in the Golden Ridge area were not as fortunate. A neighbor urged the children to leave with her, but they refused, wanting to stay home to greet their mother on her thirty-sixth birthday. The tornado snuffed out their lives.
Tornado causes damage and deaths. Courtesy of the NOAA’s National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office.
By Dr. D. Jerome Tweton
Source
Originally published as The North Star Dakotan student newspaper, written by Dr. D. Jerome Tweton and supported by the North Dakota Humanities Council.
Grade Level
1, 4, 6
Subject Matter
Social Studies
