1952

240 tornadoes in 1952, with 0 hail and 0 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width

230

Tornado deaths

Hail reports

Wind reports

F0 32 F1 82 F2 72 F3 36 F4 18

Hail and wind show significant reports only (2 in or larger, 65 kt or stronger). Click a legend item to show or hide it, or "only" to see just that. Select anything on the map to open its record.

Tornadoes by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Storm days

Every day with a tornado, hail or wind report. Warmer colors mean more tornadoes; gray days had hail or wind only; a white ring marks a day with an F4/EF4 or stronger tornado.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Running count

1952 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average

19521991 to 2020 average1950 to 1957 (other years)

240 tornadoes in 1952, 81% below the 1991 to 2020 average of 1,231.

Counts by storm day (12Z to 12Z). Reporting changed a great deal over the decades, so years far from 1991 to 2020 are not a like-for-like comparison with the average.

Busiest tornado days

#	Day	Tornadoes	F/EF4+	Deaths	Strongest	States
1	03/21/52	29	10	205	F4	AR, KY, MO, MS, TN
2	02/13/52	14	1	5	F4	AL, AR, MO, MS, TN
3	04/05/52	9	0	0	F3	MD, NJ, PA, VA
4	02/29/52	8	1	5	F4	AL, GA, TN
5	05/22/52	7	1	0	F4	KS, MO, OK
6	06/23/52	5	1	2	F4	IA, MN, SD, WI
7	01/28/52	5	0	0	F2	FL, GA
8	04/03/52	5	0	4	F3	LA, TX
9	05/10/52	5	0	2	F3	AL, NC, SC
10	05/23/52	5	0	0	F2	FL, IA, TX
11	03/18/52	4	0	0	F2	IL, MO
12	04/20/52	4	0	0	F1	OK
13	04/30/52	4	0	0	F3	KS, OK, TX
14	07/16/52	4	0	0	F2	AR, MN, OK
15	07/01/52	3	1	1	F4	ND

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together

#	Day	All reports	Tornadoes	Largest hail	Top gust
1	03/21/52	29	29	–	–
2	02/13/52	14	14	–	–
3	04/05/52	9	9	–	–
4	02/29/52	8	8	–	–
5	05/22/52	7	7	–	–
6	01/28/52	5	5	–	–
7	04/03/52	5	5	–	–
8	05/10/52	5	5	–	–
9	05/23/52	5	5	–	–
10	06/23/52	5	5	–	–
11	03/18/52	4	4	–	–
12	04/20/52	4	4	–	–
13	04/30/52	4	4	–	–
14	07/16/52	4	4	–	–
15	04/04/52	3	3	–	–

F4/EF4 and stronger

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
02/13/52	F4	Lynchburg to Decherd, Tennessee	TN	12.7 mi	100 yd	3	44
02/29/52	F4	Fayetteville, Tennessee	TN	2.0 mi	300 yd	2	150
03/21/52	F4	Dierks, Arkansas	AR	13.0 mi	833 yd	7	9
03/21/52	F4	Higginson to Bald Knob, Arkansas	AR	14.6 mi	1,760 yd	50	325
03/21/52	F4	Lonoke to Carlisle, Arkansas	AR	7.6 mi	10 yd	2	6
03/21/52	F4	Brinkley to McCrory, Arkansas	AR	13.1 mi	880 yd	29	180
03/21/52	F4	Cherry Valley, Arkansas	AR	0.1 mi	880 yd	4	5
03/21/52	F4	Newbern, Tennessee	TN	4.7 mi	200 yd	2	10
03/21/52	F4	Steele to Caruthersville, Missouri	MO	6.5 mi	880 yd	17	100
03/21/52	F4	Newbern, Tennessee	TN	2.0 mi	200 yd	4	5
03/21/52	F4	Byhalia, MS to Moscow, TN	MS, TN	29.6 mi	427 yd	16	74
03/21/52	F4	Bolivar to Lexington, Tennessee	TN	46.8 mi	177 yd	38	157
03/22/52	F4	Decatur to Huntsville, Alabama	AL	21.6 mi	100 yd	4	50
04/21/52	F4	Crawford to McGregor, Texas	TX	2.3 mi	200 yd	0	0
05/22/52	F4	Lawrence to Lake Quivira, Kansas	KS	26.9 mi	440 yd	0	3
06/23/52	F4	Marcus to Sutherland, Iowa	IA	24.1 mi	400 yd	0	4
07/01/52	F4	Wilton to Carrington, North Dakota	ND	48.0 mi	150 yd	1	26
08/13/52	F4	Wahoo to Louisville, Nebraska	NE	26.7 mi	110 yd	0	20

Deadliest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
03/21/52	F4	Higginson to Bald Knob, Arkansas	AR	14.6 mi	1,760 yd	50	325
03/21/52	F4	Bolivar to Lexington, Tennessee	TN	46.8 mi	177 yd	38	157
03/21/52	F4	Brinkley to McCrory, Arkansas	AR	13.1 mi	880 yd	29	180
03/21/52	F4	Steele to Caruthersville, Missouri	MO	6.5 mi	880 yd	17	100
03/21/52	F4	Byhalia, MS to Moscow, TN	MS, TN	29.6 mi	427 yd	16	74
03/21/52	F3	Halls to Newbern, Tennessee	TN	18.1 mi	1,000 yd	10	30
03/21/52	F3	England to Hazen, Arkansas	AR	16.2 mi	10 yd	9	9
03/21/52	F4	Dierks, Arkansas	AR	13.0 mi	833 yd	7	9
03/21/52	F2	Carlisle to McRae, Arkansas	AR	13.3 mi	417 yd	5	15
03/21/52	F4	Cherry Valley, Arkansas	AR	0.1 mi	880 yd	4	5
03/21/52	F4	Newbern, Tennessee	TN	2.0 mi	200 yd	4	5
03/22/52	F4	Decatur to Huntsville, Alabama	AL	21.6 mi	100 yd	4	50
04/04/52	F2	Cankton to Henderson, Louisiana	LA	20.4 mi	67 yd	4	33
02/13/52	F4	Lynchburg to Decherd, Tennessee	TN	12.7 mi	100 yd	3	44
02/29/52	F1	Lewisburg, Tennessee	TN	0.1 mi	100 yd	3	166

Storm days. A day here runs from 12Z to 12Z (6 a.m. CST to 6 a.m. CST the next morning), the way SPC counts storm days, so an overnight tornado counts with the afternoon and evening before it.
Reporting changed over time. Tornado counts rose from the 1990s on as Doppler radar, spotter networks and cameras caught more weak tornadoes. Counts from different decades are not directly comparable, especially for the weakest ratings.
F and EF ratings. The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale replaced the Fujita (F) Scale on 02/01/07. Both estimate wind speed from damage, but they use different damage indicators, so each rating is shown with its own scale.
Ratings before the mid 1970s. The F Scale came into use in the early 1970s. Tornadoes from 1950 until then were rated afterward from newspaper accounts, photos and records, which tends to make those ratings less certain.
Early record. SPC notes that tornadoes before 1953 were likely underreported.

Titan Archive · a Tornado Titans project Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database · updated 10/03/26