- Overview
- Location/Timeline
- Characteristics/Rating
- Track
- Affected Families
- Photographs
- Newspaper Articles
- Sources
Overview of the Thurman, Colorado Tornado (August 10th, 1924)
On August 10th, 1924, a tornado developed west southwest of Thurman, Colorado in the afternoon. The tornado tracked east northeast and affected a local gathering, of 27 people, at the homeof Henry Kuhns, 4 miles east northeast of Thurman. 10 people were killed at this locationwhile another persondied of their injuries, four months later, at a Denver hospital . Of the 11 people killed, 9 were children with ages ranging from 1 to 14. This still remains the deadliest tornado on recordfor thestate of Colorado.
.jpg "Thurman Colorado Tornado August 10th, 1924 (1)")
Photograph from the Rocky Mountain News via the Colorado Historical Newspapers Collection
Location and Timeline
In September of 2023, based on newspaper accounts, historical recordsfrom the BLM Landownersdatabase and satellite imagery, two meteorologists from the NWS Denver/Boulder Officedrove out to where theKuhns house had been located.
The Kuhns house was located on farmland owned by David Rediger. This house was located roughly one half mile north of the intersection of CR 3 and CR GG. The destroyedhouse was rebuilt by David Rediger and the Kuhns continued livingthere before eventually moving to Iowa. One of Redigerdaughters lived there after the Kuhns moved. The picture below is likely the house that was rebuilt in the mid 1920's. There was considerable overgrowth near the house so this is as close as we could get to it.
Picture taken by the NWS Denver/Boulder Office, 1/2 mile north of the intersection of CR 3 and CR GG
Based on what was written in newspaper articles, people at the house initially saw a storm to the northwest with the appearance of 5 separate funnel clouds sometime between 200pm and 230 pm MDT. Two of these funnels eventually touched down, however,they couldn't tellwhetherthese tornadoes caused any damage or not due to a small hill to the north of their location. The men along with their older sons decided to getinto twoseparate cars and drive to wherethey thought there may have been damage to the north of the Kuhns house.
After finding no apparent damage, they began to drive south back to the Kuhns house and noticed a third tornado approaching from the west.As they got closer to the house, which had women and children inside, the tornado destroyed it along withother farm outbuildings and equipment. A clock was found which had stopped at 245 pm MDT, so that was likely when the house was hit. Mostof the debris, some people in the house, farm equipment and a few carswere found scattered out in a field to the northeast of the house.
The tornado continued northeast and narrowly missed the residence of the Rediger's who had taken shelter in a cellar. The tornado thendissipated without causing any further damage as it moved northeast of the Rediger house. The picture below is from near the Kuhn's house location looking west.
Picture taken by the NWS Denver/Boulder Office, 1/2 mile north of the intersection of CR 3 and CR GG looking west.
EF Rating and other Characteristics
Outside of the date and fatalities, all of the details below are estimates based on newspaper accounts and other sources.
Time: Newspaper articles state a clock was found that hadstopped at 245 pm MDT at the Kuhns house. So the tornado may have been on the ground between 230 pm and 300 pm MDT as it tracked from west southwest of Thurman to northeast of the Rediger's house before it dissipated.
Intensity/Rating:As far as the intensity of the tornado, there are a few photographs of the damage taken by the Rocky Mountain News. The damage photographsshow it could have beenin the EF4 range with peaks winds in the 166 mph to 200 mph range. However, we don't know how well constructed the house was, although it was swept off the foundation.
Maximum Width: There are two different sources with one saying it was 200 yards wide while another claims it was up to 1/2 mile wide. It appears there may have been atornado to the west southwest of Thurman as seen by a few farmers, which is described in an article on Wikipedia. However, it's unclearwhether this was the same tornado that hit the Kuhns house. If it was the same tornado, it's possible the tornado wasn't nearly as wide when it reached the Kuhns house and had decreased in size down to 200 yards or less, as suggested by other sources. The Wikipedia article claims the 1/2 mile wide tornado was located 3 miles to the west but it doesn't say from what location. It's possible they were referring to an area west southwestof Thurman. Keep in mind, the town of Thurman wasn't destroyed as referenced in the Wikipedia article. This likely camefrom the Rocky Mountain News which stated that Thurman had beendestroyed by a large tornado. However, thisended up being a false report, as additional newspaper accounts stated the only substantial damage was to the Kuhns house along withoutbuildings,equipment andcars at the farm.
Distance: Overall, it's impossible to know if the tornado that hit the Kuhns house was the same one farmers saw to the west southwest of Thurman or if it was a separate tornado.
If thetornado, initially seen by farmers west southwest of Thurman, was stillon the ground as it passed to the south of Thurman towardsthe Kuhns house, then the estimated track would have been from 8 to 10 miles before it dissipated. We also knowafter it hit the Kuhnshouse it continued east northeast and just missed the David Rediger house as described by his daughter. According to his daughter, it passed just to the north of their housewhich was located east northeast of the Kuhns house.After passing just to the north of the Rediger house it dissipated over open farmland to the northeast of their place.
Injuries/Deaths: Based on newspaper accounts, 8of the 11 people killed by the tornado passed away shortly after the tornado hit the house. Another child died that evening, while another passed away on Monday. One additional adult, died of an infectionassociated with her injuries, four months later at a hospital in Denver. Of the 11 people killed, 10 were children ranging from 1 to 15 years of age. Meanwhile, newspaper accounts suggest up to 7 other people were injured (minor to serious) at the house. Furthermore, several livestock at the farm were killed as well.
Overall Summary
| Date | August 10th, 1924 |
| Time | Est. 230 pm to 300 pm MDT |
| EF Rating | Estimated EF4 |
| Peak Winds | Estimated 166-200 mph |
| Path Length | Estimated 8 to 10 miles |
| Max Width | Est. 200 yds up to 1/2 mile |
| Injuries/Deaths | 7 Injuries/11 Deaths |
The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
| EF0 Weak 65-85 mph | EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph | EF2 Significant 111-135 mph | EF3 Severe 136-165 mph | EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph | EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
 | |||||
Estimated Tornado Path
Naturally, trying to determine a tornado path is virtually impossible. After analyzingmany sources, our best guess is that it started somewhere west southwest of Thurman. The exact distance from Thurman isn't known. Supposedly, two farmers saw a 1/2 mile wide tornado near Thurman but it's not clear of the exact location. Also as mentioned before,it's possible the tornado wasn't on the ground the entire time as it approached the Kuhn's house. At any rate, we have shown the estimated path as we do know it tracked to the north of the Rediger house, before dissipating northeast of their house over open farmland.
Estimated Track Map created by Bob Kleyla, Meteorologist, NWS Denver/Boulder Office
Affected Families
Newspaper accounts suggest there were up to six different families (Birky, Garrett, Huffman, Ioter, Kuhns andYoder), at the Kuhns house, that hadgathered for a Sunday dinner after church. Keep in mind,the men and their older sons had left the house, in a few cars, to see if a previous tornado to the north had doneany damage. As a result, this left the women and younger children at the house when the tornado struck at 245 pm MDT. A newspaper article stated all of them were in the house when the tornado approached so this may explain why they didn't know it was coming.
Unfortunately the following families lost loved ones in the tornado.
Yoder Family: Ray Vernon Yoder (1 year old), Robert Stanley Yoder (7 years old), Vera Ruth Yoder (9 years old) and
Blanche Yoder (10 years old). All of the Yoder's were buried in the Thurman Cemetery.
Gravestone for Robert and Ray Yoder (picture taken by NWS Denver/Boulder Office)
Gravestone for Blanche and Vera Yoder (picture taken by NWS Denver/Boulder Office)
Kuhns Family: Delmar Kuhns (6 years old), Stella Mae Kuhns (9 years old) and Maggie Ernst Kuhns (40 years old). All of the Kuhns were buried in the Thurman Cemetery.
Gravestone for Delmar, Stella and MaggieKuhns (picture taken by the NWS Denver/Boulder Office)
Garrett Family: Zelda Unita Garrett (9 years old), Opal Fern Garrett (13 years old) and Leola lantha Braman Garrett (39 years old). Leola didn't die immediately and passed away at a Denver hospital 4 months later from an infection associated with her previous injuries. All of the Garretts were buried in the Flagler Cemetery.
Birky Family: Nellie Birky (14years old). Nellie was buried in the Thurman Cemetery.
Gravestone for Nellie Birky (picture taken by the NWS Denver/Boulder office)
Photographs
Photographs from the Rocky Mountain News via the Colorado Historical Newspapers Collection
Newspaper Articles
Article from the Rocky Mountain News August 11th, 1924 (Colorado Historical Newspaper Collection)
Rocky Mountain News August 12th, 1924 (Colorado Historical Newspaper Collection)
The Akron News August 14th, 1924 (Colorado Historical Newspaper Collection)
Personal account from Lydia Stutzman of Brownsville, Oregon on April 2, 1964
(She was one of David Rediger's daughters)
Sources
Bureau of Land Management Historical Landowner Patents (https://glorecords.blm.gov/)
Carl Lindahl: Personal Communication whor*ferenced the article by Lydia Stutzman of Brownsville, Oregon on April 2, 1964
Colorado Historical Newspaper Collection (https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org): Rocky Mountain News August 11th, 1924 Edition
Colorado Historical Newspaper Collection (https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org): Rocky Mountain News August 12th, 1924 Edition
Colorado Historical Newspaper Collection (https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org): The Akron News August 14th, 1924 Edition
Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com)
Grazulis, T. P. (1993). AUG 10, 1924. In Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (p. 792). St. Johnsbury, VT. The Tornado Project Of Environmental Films.
Hali Thompson, Washington County Assessors Office
Martha Graham: Personal Communication/Research
Rita Young from Washington county: Personal Communication
Tornado Archive (https://tornadoarchive.com/home/)
Tornado Talk (https://www.tornadotalk.com/):Correspondence
Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurman,_Colorado)
Web Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/20120311162149/https://www.gendisasters.com/colorado/14525/thurman-co-tornado-aug-1924-fatal-storm)
Yancy Family Genealogy (https://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/BOOK_MichaelBYantzi_Family_History_and_Genealogy3.pdf)
Questions regarding this tornado can be sentto robert.kleyla@noaa.gov who was responsible for researching this event. Furthermore, anyone who has additional information, not included in this writeup, can email him as well.
