TRI-STATE TORNADO 1925 - Longest & Deadliest Tornado in U.S.

The longest and deadliest tornado in U.S. history and the devastating toll it left in its wake.

TRI-STATE - vs- QUAD-STATE TORNADO
Recently on December 10th-11th, 2021 a long tracking supercell would track through portions of four states where Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky borders are in close proximity. A family of tornadoes produced by this storm was prematurely and inaccurately hyped as the "Quad-State tornado." NWS damage path surveys revealed two EF4 rated tornadoes rather than one. Though these two horrifying tornadoes killed 60 people*, it still doesn't come close to the overall intensity, destruction and death toll inflicted by the "Tri-state tornado" of 1925.

TRI-STATE TORNADO of 1925
On Wednesday, March 18, 1925 a highly visible funnel appeared under a classic supercell thunderstorm at 1pm near Moore Township, Missouri. Shortly after, the deadliest tornado in US history would claim its first life. Town after leveled town would endure a horror unlike anything the world had ever seen. After crossing into Illinois, the parent storm transitioned to a high precipitation mode, obscuring the intense tornado behind a curtain of rain while the strength and size of the tornado increased. With wind estimates perhaps in excess of 300 mph, this tornado obliterated the towns directly in its path while racing across the landscape at an average speed of 62 mph. Entire rows of homes were leveled and swept away.
Schools were devastated. Railroad tracks were reportedly ripped from the ground and sheets of iron were carried as far as 50 miles / 80km away. In rural areas, farmhouses were also leveled, trees were debarked, and the tornado carved deep scours into the Earth indicating this tornado would have easily earned the highest intensity rating on the Fujita scale… An F5.

Back in 1925, there was no technologies yet available to detect tornadoes, nor systems in place to warn the public. Even using the word “tornado” in forecasts and warnings was banned by the US Weather Bureau at the time to prevent panic among the public. Many victims likely had little to no warning before the tornado struck.

Between The obliterated town of Gorham and the highly devastated town of Murphysboro, the mile-wide tornado raced at an incredible speed of 73 mph and for a long-time it was recognized as the fastest tornado ever recorded. In its wake, large fires burned structures with trapped victims inside, thousands were left without shelter or food and looters raided the rubble. After 3 hours and 38 minutes of unspeakable horror, the tornado, or family of tornadoes, finally dissipated at 4:38 PM near Petersburg Indiana.  

Along a 235 mile damage path, approximately 15,000 homes had been destroyed, and 695 men, woman and children lost their lives, by far the largest death toll registered by any US tornado to the present day. 

Almost a hundred years later, America still hasn’t seen anything like that terrible Wednesday in March 1925.

CREDITS:
Narrated by Dr. Tracie Seimon
Edited by Hank Schyma
Stock tornado footage by Hank Schyma

PIANO:
"Deep River" performed by Dr. Anton Seimon
Sound score by Hank Schyma

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE CONTRIBUTIONS:
Dr. Anton Seimon - Appalachian State University
Dr. Leigh Orf - University of Wisconsin

Electronic Journal of
Severe Storms Meteorology
Johns, R. H., D. W. Burgess, C. A. Doswell III, M. S. Gilmore, J. A. Hart, and S. F. Piltz, 2013: The 1925 Tri- State tornado damage path and associated storm system. Electronic J. Severe Storms Meteor., 8 (2), 1–33.

GRAPHICS
Dr. Leigh Orf
Hank Schyma
Dr. Anton Seimon
Dr. Tracie Seimon
Skip Talbot

This video is a section of "The Fastest Tornado Ever Recorded," a team effort by Dr. Anton Seimon, Dr. Tracie Seimon, Jennifer Brindley Ubl, Skip Talbot and Hank Schyma. To see the complete video including a new world record for the fastest tornado ever documented, follow this link to the Pecos Hank YouTube channel...

   • FASTEST MOVING TORNADO - New World Re...  

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