Tri-State Tornado
| Tri-State Tornado Outbreak | |
| date | March 18, 1925 |
| Duration | ~ 5 hours |
| Total damage | 1.65 billion US dollars (2005 US dollars ) |
| Total sacrifice | 695 dead, 2,027 injured |
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The tri-state tornado was the most dangerous tornado in United States history . On Wednesday, March 18, 1925, he crossed southeast Missouri , southern Illinois, and southwest Indiana .
With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed over twice as many as the second deadliest, the Great Natchez Tornado of 1840. The uninterrupted 219-mile track (≈352 km) left by the tornado was the longest in history. The tornado received a rating of F5, the highest rating on the Fujita scale ever achieved.
The tornado was part of a larger series of tornadoes that included several other devastating tornadoes in Tennessee , Kentucky, and Indiana. In total, at least 747 people were killed and 2,298 injured during this unusually early spring series.
The eddy was first sighted at 1:01 p.m. northwest of Ellington , Missouri. The tornado accelerated northeast, causing damage in Annapolis and the mining town of Leadanna. In Bollinger County, 32 children were injured when two schools were damaged. In total, at least 11 people died in Missouri.
The tornado crossed the Mississippi River into southern Illinois, hit the city of Gorham at 2:30 p.m., leaving 34 people dead. At an average speed of 62 miles per hour (and up to 73 mph), the tornado hit a number of localities. In 40 minutes, 541 people lost their lives and 1,423 were seriously injured. The village of Parrish was completely destroyed, killing 22 residents. 234 people lost their lives in Murphysboro , the highest number in any single city in US history. The tornado continued to decimate rural areas across Hamilton and White Counties, killing another 65. At least 613 people were killed in Illinois, most in a single US state in history.
After crossing the Wabash River , the tornado reached Indiana state, devastating mostly rural areas, before finally breaking up at around 4:30 p.m. southwest of Petersburg . At least 71 people were killed in Indiana.
The tornado hit the school at around 2:30 p.m.
In total, at least 695 people were killed and injured in 2027, mostly in southern Illinois. Three states, 13 counties and more than 20 parishes were in the path of the record tornado. Four churches were completely destroyed, some were never rebuilt. The total damage was estimated at $ 16.5 million; Adjusted for inflation and prosperity, that adds up to approximately $ 1.4 billion in 1997, the third highest in history. Over 15,000 homes were damaged by the tri-state tornado. Nine schools in the three states were destroyed, killing 69 students, both record highs in US history.
literature
- Thomas P. Grazulis: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991, A Chronology and Analysis of Events . The Tornado Project of Environmental Films, St. Johnsbury VT 1993, ISBN 1-879362-03-1 .
- Peter S. Felknor: The Tri-State Tornado: The Story of America's Greatest Tornado Disaster . Iowa State University Press, Ames IA 1992, ISBN 0-8138-0623-2 . (Extended edition from 2004 in Google Book Search)
- Wallace E. Akin: The Forgotten Storm: The Great Tri-state Tornado of 1925 . Lyons Press, Guilford CT 2002, ISBN 1-58574-607-X .
Web links
- The Tri-State Tornado
- 1925 Tri-State Tornado
- The Weather Channel's Storm of the Century list - # 7 The Tri-State Tornado
- The 1925 tornado
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harold E. Brooks, Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890-1999