Most buildings ever destroyed by a tornado?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Simon Timm
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Simon Timm

This is a question that I have been pondering about this question for quite some time now. I don't know if it would be the Wichita Falls tornado, the tri state, or moore. Even all may be incorrect.
 
I think the only way you could guess at the number of structures destroyed would be to use the inflation adjusted damage totals.
 
Here is an obscure one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauk_Rapids_Tornado_of_1886

Not sure how many residential structures were destroyed but with 109 commercial structures, it has to be up there from a single damage path. I'd argue the 1925 Tri State was not a continuous path from a single parent circulation and wouldn't qualify.

I'm actually pretty certain that the tri-state tornado had a continuous damage path, but because of how far back it touched down, we may never know for certain.
 
I saw Chuck Doswell do a presentation on some research he's done on the Tri-State suggesting it did have a continuous path. I'm not sure if he has published the results yet though.
 
I saw a presentation too about the tri-state tornado and they did conclude it was a continuous path, it was very interesting. I believe it was at Tom Skillings tornado seminar in 2006. They even showed trees that are still standing today that are leaning because of that tornado. The biggest challenge for them in that study was trying to find evidence that the tornado was on the ground in really rural areas.

More on topic though, I remember reading an article about a tornado that hit in downtown chicago in i think 1867 that destroyed a whole bunch of buildings, ive been trying to find it so I can get the exact number but I cant seem to locate it. Ill keep looking though, perhaps some else has read it?
 
The number to beat I've seen in a couple minutes of searching on wikipedia and the internet is ~10,500 buildings destroyed in the Moore tornado in 1999. In contrast, the 1896 St. Louis tornado destroyed about 2000 less buildings...
 
The 1975 Omaha tornado that moved right through the heart of the residential part of town would probably need to be considered as well, as when adjusted for inflation it is the third costliest tornado in history...
 
That's right, I completely forgot about the Omaha tornado! For what ever reason, I could never find any photographs of he damage.
 
I saw Chuck Doswell do a presentation on some research he's done on the Tri-State suggesting it did have a continuous path. I'm not sure if he has published the results yet though.
I know of this paper, but still the skeptic in me throws up red flags. Of course I don't have the basis or proof that he does and obviously for me to dig into it would be a huge conflict of interest from all parties. Guess I am a doubter until proven otherwise.
 
That's right, I completely forgot about the Omaha tornado! For what ever reason, I could never find any photographs of he damage.

A couple of years ago when we were shooting TS we did a visit to OAX and if I recall correctly (since I did turn 40, my memory is fading), they have a few pics in the office of both the torn and some of the damage hanging in the hall.
 
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