Seventy years ago, on April 15, 1956, a deadly F4 tornado struck McDonald Chapel in Jefferson County, killing 25 and injuring 200. The devastation was widespread, leaving hundreds homeless. What followed is a statistical anomaly – deadly tornadoes that occurred in Jefferson County 21 years apart through 1998.
On April 4, 1977, an F5 tornado struck the nearby community of Smithfield, killing 23. On April 8, 1998, an F5 hit the nearby Oak Grove and Edgewater communities, killing 32 people.
In 2019, 21 years later, no deadly tornadoes struck Jefferson County but on March 3, 2019, 23 people died when an EF4 tornado that struck in Lee County.
McDonald Chapel twister 70 years later
Oak Grove, Pleasant Grove, McDonald Chapel, Edgewater, Sylvan Springs and Maytown –all towns whose names spoke of their picturesque quaintness, their residents’ wholesomeness, dogged hold on tradition and belief in God, family and community. All were accustomed to taking shelter in spring when storm warnings were issued, particularly in March and April. It almost seemed a test that tornadoes so often came down from the heavens during Holy Week, striking their schools and churches, their homes, their loved ones and their hearts and souls…