MatthewCarman
A look back at a few of the deadliest tornadoes in America's history. I did not copy this from any book or site and wrote the whole thing myself from information I gathered.
March 18, 1925 Tri-State tornado.
Possible the only tornado to ever move across 3 different states. The states affected were Missouri,Illinois and Indiana. This is possibly one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded and was on the ground for 3.5 hours. This tornado formed in MO and then traveled to IN injuring 2000 people and killing a total of 695 people a possible record for a single tornado. It traveled 219 miles, destroyed 4 towns completely and left 6 more severely damaged and destroyed 15,000 homes. Annapolis MO 90% destroyed. Gorham IL was 100% destroyed. Murphysboro IL was 40% destroyed. Desoto IL was 30% destroyed. West Frankfurt IL was 20% destroyed. Parrish IL 90% destroyed. Griffin IN 100% destroyed. 85 farms destroyed after this in IN. The tornado finally dissipated near Princeton IN. Over 15,000 people injured or killed in just 40 minutes. The town of Parrish was never rebuilt and in Murphysboro one witness said he saw the tornado pick a house up and then watched it explode and others had similar stories. Reasons why this could be the worst tornado in history for the US: longest continuous contact on the ground, third fastest traveling speed, continuous exertion of force resulting in damage throughout most of its lifespan, a 3.5-hour duration. The tornado of May 26, 1917 may have lasted alot longer but that can not be confirmed. The tornado of 1917 was first reported to have lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes but this most likely would have been a family of tornadoes from a long lived supercell.
April 6, 1936 Gainesville GA tornado.
A pair of massive tornadoes moved east-northeast through downtown Gainesville at the start of the work day at 8:27 AM. Earlier a smaller tornado hit north of town and now two large tornadoes were moving through the town causing destructive damage. The tornadoes came in from the west and southwest and came together west of Grove Street, and a four-block-wide area was laid waste across the entire city, beyond which separate courses of destruction appeared again. The wreckage was astonishing, with debris filling the streets up to 10 feet deep. Around 750 houses were destroyed and 254 were badly damaged. Damage totalled $12,500,000. Cooper Pants Factory collapsed and caught fire killing around 70 people. At the Pacolet Mill, the funnel was seen in the southwest, and the 550 workers ran to the northeast corner of the building, adverting what could have been a even greater tradgedy. Newnan's department store collapsed killing around 20 people. The wreckage was so deep and so extensive and swept by fires that it was inpossible to determine how many people were killed in which buildings. At the time that the 203 person death toll was listed, 40 people were still missing. In the downtown area of Gainesville, most of the multi-story businesses and factories were blown over or collapsed. Letters from Gainesville, Georgia were dropped as far as Anderson, South Carolina. The tornado was rated a F4 on the Fujita scale and 203 people died with 1600 injured. Ranked as the fifth deadliest tornado in American history.
April 9, 1947 White Deer and Woodward tornadoes.
Possibly the second Tri-State tornado. A supercell formed in the texas panhandel during the afternoon and may have traveled 220 miles from White Deer, TX (northeast of Amarillo) to St. Leo, KS (west of Wichita). A tornado formed near canadian TX and would later strike Woodward OK and it travled 100 miles. The towns of Glazier and Higgins in TX were both devestated by the tornado as it moved at 50 MPH. 69 fatalities in TX. In Ellis County, Oklahoma, the tornado did not strike any towns, passing to the southeast of Shattuck, Gage, and Fargo. Even though no towns were struck, nearly 60 farms and ranches were destroyed and 8 people were killed with 42 more injured. In Woodward county 1 death was reported. This violent F5 tornado then hit Woodward destroying alot of the town and over 100 city blocks were destroyed. Atleast 107 people killed and another 1000 injured. The bodies of three children were never identified, and one child who survived the tornado was lost and never reunited with her family. 36 homes were destroyed in Woods County with 30 people injured. Althought people believed the tornado continued into KS later study showed this could have been a differint tornado in a family of 5-6 tornadoes that occured with this storm.This was considered to be a family of tornadoes and the Woodward tornado which is believed to haved occured after the White Deer tornado is ranked as the sixth deadliest tornado in American History rated as a F5.
April 5, 1972, Vancouver, Washington tornado.
Wensday morning cold air began moving inland from the Pacific Ocean and collided with warm air in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and the coastal mountains. A squall line formed between Eugene and Newport, Oregon, and moved north-northeast, gaining strength as it did so. By noon the sqaull line had southerly 50 MPH winds as it moved through Portland. A unofficial wind gust to 120 MPH was recorded before the equipment was damaged and the Portland International Airport had a official wind gust to 63 MPH. No one in Vancouver had any idea of what was coming. The only warning came when the storm reached the McLoughlin Heights neighborhood, about a mile north of the river. There the storm blew down at least a half a mile of transmission lines and sent showers of blue sparks into the air, which were visible to people several miles away. Most of the people who saw this had no idea what it was. 2 homes were demolished and 25 more were damged as the tornado continued into the city. At the Peter Skene Ogden Elementary School, the children ran inside when golfball sized hail and rain began falling. None of the students or teachers had any idea what was happening as the storm struck. Then the tornado hit. The roof was picked up by the tornado and discinigrated over the park possible why nobody was killed because the roof did not fall on any children. Although at least 70 students from the Ogden school were injured, none was killed by the tornado thankfully. The bowling alley and discount store would be hit next.The tornado continued on its north-northeast track as far as Brush Prairie. This tornado lasted for atleast 9 miles and was a qaurter mile wide. Six people were killed and at least 304 were injured. The tornado remains the deadliest in Washington state history and possible the worst tornado for 1972. This tornado was rated as a F3.
May 3, 1999 Moore OK tornado.
Historic Tornado in OK. Very large tornado outbreak in central Oklahoma and Moore and Dover OK are hit hard. A very intense F5 tornado touched down and had it's sites set on Moore OK. Many people saw this tornado and later saw it's destruction. many argued this tornado was the first and soon to be only tornado that could have been a F6! Winds peaked to 318-319 MPH! The winds were not recorded at ground level but at midlevel. Atleast 10,000 homes destroyed in Moore OK. A baby is tossed many miles but survives and is reunited with it's mother at a nearby hospital. Strong tornadoes hit Dover, Shawnee, Perry and Bridge Creek, and the Moore and southern Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. Additional tornadoes also hit areas in south central Kansas, eastern Oklahoma and northern Texas, with over 70 tornadoes being observed across the region. The total tornado count makes this tornado outbreak the largest ever recorded in Oklahoma. 40 people died and 675 injured. The damaged cost a total 1.2 billion dollars. Five deaths, 100 injuries and heavy damage also occured in the Wichita, Kansas metro area.
May 7, 1840 Nachez tornado.
LA and MS are hit hard this day by a killer tornado but the intensity of the tornado is unknown to me. 317 dead and 119 people injured. This tornado like the Comanche IA tornado of 1860 moved across the Mississipi river and the death toll could have been worse then listed. A piece of a steamboat window was carried 30 miles. Reports that "hundreds" of people were killed on plantations in Louisiana were never confirmed, but it is quite possible that there were many more deaths in areas away from Natchez. This was the pre-Civil War era of slavery, and slave deaths were not always counted. Ranked as the second deadliest tornado in American history.
March 18, 1925 Tri-State tornado.
Possible the only tornado to ever move across 3 different states. The states affected were Missouri,Illinois and Indiana. This is possibly one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded and was on the ground for 3.5 hours. This tornado formed in MO and then traveled to IN injuring 2000 people and killing a total of 695 people a possible record for a single tornado. It traveled 219 miles, destroyed 4 towns completely and left 6 more severely damaged and destroyed 15,000 homes. Annapolis MO 90% destroyed. Gorham IL was 100% destroyed. Murphysboro IL was 40% destroyed. Desoto IL was 30% destroyed. West Frankfurt IL was 20% destroyed. Parrish IL 90% destroyed. Griffin IN 100% destroyed. 85 farms destroyed after this in IN. The tornado finally dissipated near Princeton IN. Over 15,000 people injured or killed in just 40 minutes. The town of Parrish was never rebuilt and in Murphysboro one witness said he saw the tornado pick a house up and then watched it explode and others had similar stories. Reasons why this could be the worst tornado in history for the US: longest continuous contact on the ground, third fastest traveling speed, continuous exertion of force resulting in damage throughout most of its lifespan, a 3.5-hour duration. The tornado of May 26, 1917 may have lasted alot longer but that can not be confirmed. The tornado of 1917 was first reported to have lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes but this most likely would have been a family of tornadoes from a long lived supercell.
April 6, 1936 Gainesville GA tornado.
A pair of massive tornadoes moved east-northeast through downtown Gainesville at the start of the work day at 8:27 AM. Earlier a smaller tornado hit north of town and now two large tornadoes were moving through the town causing destructive damage. The tornadoes came in from the west and southwest and came together west of Grove Street, and a four-block-wide area was laid waste across the entire city, beyond which separate courses of destruction appeared again. The wreckage was astonishing, with debris filling the streets up to 10 feet deep. Around 750 houses were destroyed and 254 were badly damaged. Damage totalled $12,500,000. Cooper Pants Factory collapsed and caught fire killing around 70 people. At the Pacolet Mill, the funnel was seen in the southwest, and the 550 workers ran to the northeast corner of the building, adverting what could have been a even greater tradgedy. Newnan's department store collapsed killing around 20 people. The wreckage was so deep and so extensive and swept by fires that it was inpossible to determine how many people were killed in which buildings. At the time that the 203 person death toll was listed, 40 people were still missing. In the downtown area of Gainesville, most of the multi-story businesses and factories were blown over or collapsed. Letters from Gainesville, Georgia were dropped as far as Anderson, South Carolina. The tornado was rated a F4 on the Fujita scale and 203 people died with 1600 injured. Ranked as the fifth deadliest tornado in American history.
April 9, 1947 White Deer and Woodward tornadoes.
Possibly the second Tri-State tornado. A supercell formed in the texas panhandel during the afternoon and may have traveled 220 miles from White Deer, TX (northeast of Amarillo) to St. Leo, KS (west of Wichita). A tornado formed near canadian TX and would later strike Woodward OK and it travled 100 miles. The towns of Glazier and Higgins in TX were both devestated by the tornado as it moved at 50 MPH. 69 fatalities in TX. In Ellis County, Oklahoma, the tornado did not strike any towns, passing to the southeast of Shattuck, Gage, and Fargo. Even though no towns were struck, nearly 60 farms and ranches were destroyed and 8 people were killed with 42 more injured. In Woodward county 1 death was reported. This violent F5 tornado then hit Woodward destroying alot of the town and over 100 city blocks were destroyed. Atleast 107 people killed and another 1000 injured. The bodies of three children were never identified, and one child who survived the tornado was lost and never reunited with her family. 36 homes were destroyed in Woods County with 30 people injured. Althought people believed the tornado continued into KS later study showed this could have been a differint tornado in a family of 5-6 tornadoes that occured with this storm.This was considered to be a family of tornadoes and the Woodward tornado which is believed to haved occured after the White Deer tornado is ranked as the sixth deadliest tornado in American History rated as a F5.
April 5, 1972, Vancouver, Washington tornado.
Wensday morning cold air began moving inland from the Pacific Ocean and collided with warm air in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and the coastal mountains. A squall line formed between Eugene and Newport, Oregon, and moved north-northeast, gaining strength as it did so. By noon the sqaull line had southerly 50 MPH winds as it moved through Portland. A unofficial wind gust to 120 MPH was recorded before the equipment was damaged and the Portland International Airport had a official wind gust to 63 MPH. No one in Vancouver had any idea of what was coming. The only warning came when the storm reached the McLoughlin Heights neighborhood, about a mile north of the river. There the storm blew down at least a half a mile of transmission lines and sent showers of blue sparks into the air, which were visible to people several miles away. Most of the people who saw this had no idea what it was. 2 homes were demolished and 25 more were damged as the tornado continued into the city. At the Peter Skene Ogden Elementary School, the children ran inside when golfball sized hail and rain began falling. None of the students or teachers had any idea what was happening as the storm struck. Then the tornado hit. The roof was picked up by the tornado and discinigrated over the park possible why nobody was killed because the roof did not fall on any children. Although at least 70 students from the Ogden school were injured, none was killed by the tornado thankfully. The bowling alley and discount store would be hit next.The tornado continued on its north-northeast track as far as Brush Prairie. This tornado lasted for atleast 9 miles and was a qaurter mile wide. Six people were killed and at least 304 were injured. The tornado remains the deadliest in Washington state history and possible the worst tornado for 1972. This tornado was rated as a F3.
May 3, 1999 Moore OK tornado.
Historic Tornado in OK. Very large tornado outbreak in central Oklahoma and Moore and Dover OK are hit hard. A very intense F5 tornado touched down and had it's sites set on Moore OK. Many people saw this tornado and later saw it's destruction. many argued this tornado was the first and soon to be only tornado that could have been a F6! Winds peaked to 318-319 MPH! The winds were not recorded at ground level but at midlevel. Atleast 10,000 homes destroyed in Moore OK. A baby is tossed many miles but survives and is reunited with it's mother at a nearby hospital. Strong tornadoes hit Dover, Shawnee, Perry and Bridge Creek, and the Moore and southern Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. Additional tornadoes also hit areas in south central Kansas, eastern Oklahoma and northern Texas, with over 70 tornadoes being observed across the region. The total tornado count makes this tornado outbreak the largest ever recorded in Oklahoma. 40 people died and 675 injured. The damaged cost a total 1.2 billion dollars. Five deaths, 100 injuries and heavy damage also occured in the Wichita, Kansas metro area.
May 7, 1840 Nachez tornado.
LA and MS are hit hard this day by a killer tornado but the intensity of the tornado is unknown to me. 317 dead and 119 people injured. This tornado like the Comanche IA tornado of 1860 moved across the Mississipi river and the death toll could have been worse then listed. A piece of a steamboat window was carried 30 miles. Reports that "hundreds" of people were killed on plantations in Louisiana were never confirmed, but it is quite possible that there were many more deaths in areas away from Natchez. This was the pre-Civil War era of slavery, and slave deaths were not always counted. Ranked as the second deadliest tornado in American history.
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