The Great Tri-State Tornado

On March 18 1925, the U.S. was hit with its worst tornado. The Great Tri-State tornado started out from the Ozarks in southeastern Missouri, headed eastward through southern Illinois, and then lifted in southwestern Indiana after a duration of three and a half hours. The tornado was rated as a F5 on the Fujita scale. It traveled at an average speed of 62mph which is approximately double the speed of an average tornado. The wind speeds of the funnel were 261 to 318 mph. Strong frame houses were swept away by the tornado. Automobiles looked like missiles flying through the air which were thrown in excess of 109 yards.

In total, there were 652 deaths and over 2000 people injured. The number of deaths was double the number of the second worst tornado in U.S. history.The tornado traveled the distance of 219 miles which is the longest recorded in history. It destroyed 15,000 homes and damaged more than 164 square miles. Due to the tornado about $16.5 million in damage was caused. Today it would be about almost $2 billion in damage as a result of today’s prices.

The tornado was the worst because it had longest path in history and destroyed 50% more than an average tornado. In that era, there were no warning systems within towns. There were also ineffective communications with other towns because phone and telegraph services were immediately cut off by the tornado. People didn’t even realize a tornado was in its way until it was right in front of them.

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