Early-April 1957 tornado outbreak sequence
The 1957 Dallas tornado with multiple vortices observed at the time as it approached the city
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| Type | Tornado outbreak |
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| Duration | April 2–5, 1957 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 72 |
| Max rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | 3 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes |
| Damage | $9.5 million (1957 USD) |
| Casualties | 21 deaths, 338 injuries |
| Areas affected | Central and Eastern United States |
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1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
The Early-April 1957 tornado outbreak sequence was a deadly tornado outbreak sequence that struck most of the Southern United States from April 2–5, 1957. The outbreak killed at least 21 people across three states and produced at least 72 tornadoes from Texas to Virginia. The outbreak was most notable due to a tornado that hit a densely populated area of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, killing 10 people and injuring 200 or more. The tornado, highly visible for most of its path, was at the time the most observed and best-documented tornado in recorded history; hundreds of people photographed or filmed the F3 tornado as it moved just west of Downtown Dallas. The film of this tornado is still known for its unusually high quality and sharpness, considering the photography techniques and technology of the 1950s. Damage from the Dallas tornado reached as high as $4 million (1957 USD). Besides the famous Dallas tornado, other deadly tornadoes struck portions of Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma. Two F4 tornadoes struck southern Oklahoma on April 2, killing five people. Three other significant, F2-rated tornadoes that day killed two people in Texas and one more in Oklahoma. An F3 tornado struck rural Mississippi on April 4, killing one more person. In addition to confirmed tornadoes, a possible tornado hit Ballard County, Kentucky, on April 3, unroofing homes, destroying a drive-in theater, and uprooting trees. A loud roaring noise was heard. Two other brief tornadoes may have hit near Westlake and at Tallulah, Louisiana, late on April 4.
On April 2, 1957, a low pressure system was situated over the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles with a warm front stretching into central Arkansas and a cold front stretching into western Texas east of El Paso, Lubbock, and Amarillo. Temperatures on that day reached the 70s in northern Texas with dewpoints in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees Fahrenheit. A strong upper-level jet, abundant instability in the atmosphere, and substantial wind shear provided additional fuel for the development of supercells across the region.
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