Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916
On June 5–6, 1916, a deadly severe-weather episode produced at least 35 tornadoes across the Southern United States on June 5–6, 1916. The outbreak killed at least 143 people, 93 of them in the U.S. state of Arkansas alone. In Missouri tornadoes killed at least 30 people. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a powerful F4 that hit Heber Springs on June 5, killing 25 people; tied with it was an F3 that also took 25 lives in and near Judsonia. Overnight tornadoes spread southeast into Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi, with an F3 tornado hitting the northern suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, killing 13 people there.
Confirmed tornadoes
Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991. 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments. Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.