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On the evening of June 20, 1957 at 7;36 pm, a deadly F5 tornado moved through north Fargo, killing 12, injuring over 100, and destroying or badly damaging over 1,300 homes. To view the National Weather Service Web site click here.
Fargo, N.D. Friday Evening, June 21, 1957


 
The twister struck down in Fargo Thursday a few minutes after this picture was taken by Fargo Forum photographer Alf Olsen. You are looking northwest from 11th Avenue and 21st Street South.
The twister

At Least 7 Killed, Scores Injured As Tornado Smashes North Fargo

06/20/2007
A tornado struck Fargo about 7:40 p.m. Thursday, killing at least seven persons and injuring scores.

Munson Children Stayed

06/20/2007
There was room in one of the cars for the Munson children.

Grim Search Goes Ahead In Stricken Area Of North

06/20/2007
Rescue workers continued to search for bodies today in ruins on Fargo’s North Side where a tornado struck Thursday evening killing at least ten persons.
WITH THE BODY of 5-year-old Jeanette Irene Munson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Munson, tenderly cradled in his arms, Richard Shaw, 21, stumbled through wreckage of the tornado as he was photographed by Fargo Forum Photographer Cal Olson. Jeanette was one of three Munson children killed by the twister. Shaw, 902 26th St. N., is a neighbor of the Munson family.
5-year-old Jeanette Irene Munson

Bible Words Prophetic of Tornado Fury Here

06/20/2007
I will overturn, overturn, over-turn it; and it shall be no more . . . ”
Palmer Forness

Firefighter not hurt in storm, but by a nail

06/19/2007
Palmer Forness made The Forum’s list of people injured by the tornado, but he wasn’t hurt.
Dick Leverson, seen here at age 26, and his mother, Bessie Leverson, left this car and took shelter from the tornado. The storm left a large dent in the car’s hood. Special to The Forum
Dick Leverson

Tornado halted ball game

06/19/2007
Dick Leverson pounded frantically on a stranger’s door.
A Weather Service article described the ’57 tornado as an “extremely intense, tornadic supercell.” Forum file photo

Thunderstorm spawned tornado

06/18/2007
Tilting of supercell storm key to massive formation
The deadly 1957 twister that struck Fargo 50 years ago was spawned by a thunderstorm that released an estimated 25 times the energy of an atomic bomb and dropped four other tornadoes to boot.

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Tornado topped scale for destruction

06/18/2007
Though the Fujita Scale wasn’t developed until more than a dozen years after the 1957 Fargo tornado, that twister is recognized today as an F-5, the most destructive level on the scale.

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50 years have passed, but it isn’t forgotten

06/17/2007
It happened 50 years ago, but the tornado that swept away a large chunk of Fargo left an indelible mark on the memories of thousands.
Men and women survey the damage following the 1957 tornado. Chet Gebert / Forum file photo
Surveying the damage

Price tag today: $150M

06/17/2007
The 1957 tornado caused roughly $150 million in damages, measured in today’s dollars.

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