Friday,  May 3, 2013 • Vol. 14--No. 287 • 11 of 29 •  Other Editions

(Continued from page 10)

home, an abandoned house, and an old barn were also burned. Seven miles of road had to be closed due to poor visibility for smoke. Eleven fire departments with nearly 150 firefighters extinguished the fire. The fire was completely put out during the afternoon hours of the 4th. This was one of the largest grassland fires in Brown County history.

1895: Four schools were leveled by what was probably an F5 tornado in Sioux County, IA. A teacher killed at the first school struck was the brother of a teacher killed at the second school struck, several miles away. School children were carried for up to half a mile, sustaining severe injuries. There were 9 fatalities in the tornado.

1968: A severe thunderstorm moved into the path of a Braniff Airlines plane between Houston and Dallas, TX. The plane got caught in hail and severe turbulence. The aircraft broke up in mid-air, resulting in 85 casualties.

1999: In less than 48 hours, a total of 76 tornadoes touched down across Oklahoma. An F5 tornado tracked for 40 miles, skirting south of Oklahoma City through the communities of Moore and Chickasaw. The tornadoes killed 42 people and caused $1 billion in damage. It was the NWS's first use of "tornado emergency" wording in its Tornado Warnings.

© 2013 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.