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 home of Henry Kuhns, 4 miles east northeast of Thurman. 10 people were killed at this location while another person died 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 record for the state of Colorado.

Photograph from the Rocky Mountain News via the Colorado Historical Newspapers Collection 

Location and Timeline

In September of 2023, based on newspaper accounts, historical records from the BLM Landowners database and satellite imagery, two meteorologists from the NWS Denver/Boulder Office drove out to where the Kuhns 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 destroyed house was rebuilt by David Rediger and the Kuhns continued living there before eventually moving to Iowa.  One of Rediger daughters 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 200 pm and 230 pm MDT.  Two of these funnels eventually touched down, however, they couldn't tell whether these 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 get into two separate cars and drive to where they 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 with other farm outbuildings and equipment.   A clock was found which had stopped at 245 pm MDT, so that was likely when the house was hit.   Most of the debris, some people in the house, farm equipment and a few cars were 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 then dissipated 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 had stopped 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 photographs show it could have been in 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 a tornado to the west southwest of Thurman as seen by a few farmers, which is described in an article on Wikipedia.  However, it's unclear whether 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 southwest of Thurman.  Keep in mind, the town of Thurman wasn't destroyed as referenced in the Wikipedia article.  This likely came from the Rocky Mountain News which stated that Thurman had been destroyed by a large tornado.  However, this ended up being a false report, as additional newspaper accounts stated the only substantial damage was to the Kuhns house along with outbuildings, equipment and cars 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 the tornado, initially seen by farmers west southwest of Thurman, was still on the ground as it passed to the south of Thurman towards the Kuhns house, then the estimated track would have been from 8 to 10 miles before it dissipated.  We also know after it hit the Kuhns house 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 house which 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, 8 of 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 infection associated with her injuries, four months later at a hospital in Denver.   Of the 11 people killed, 9 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

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 analyzing many 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 and Yoder), at the Kuhns house, that had gathered 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 done any 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 Maggie Kuhns (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 (14 years 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 who referenced 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 sent to 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.