December 18, 1957

1957Jonathan Cainer, English astrologer and author (died 2016)^[†]

Jonathan Cainer was a British astrologer. He wrote astrological predictions six days a week for the Daily Mail, and forecasts for three Australian newspapers: the Sydney Daily Telegraph, the Melbourne Herald Sun, and the Perth Sunday Times. Cainer's predictions were also published in Hello, the Auckland Sunday News, the Botswana Echo, and Misty Magazine (Japan). It has been estimated that over twelve million people read his predictions.

1957A violent F5 tornado wipes out the entire community of Sunfield, Illinois.^[†]

On December 18–20, 1957, a significant tornado outbreak sequence affected the southern Midwest and the South of the contiguous United States. The outbreak sequence began on the afternoon of December 18, when a low-pressure area approached the southern portions of Missouri and Illinois. Supercells developed and proceeded eastward at horizontal speeds of 40 to 45 miles per hour, yielding what was considered the most severe tornado outbreak in Illinois on record so late in the calendar year. Total losses in the state were estimated to fall within the range of $8–$10 million.