Which tornado was the worst

In fact, the parent supercell was tracked for over 7 hours from its formation in Newton County, Mississippi, to its final demise in Macon County, North Carolina, a distance of around miles. Just when we all thought the spring of couldn't be more violent, one single, mammoth tornado left Joplin, Missouri, staggered. A mile-wide, EF5 tornado with peak winds over mph, tore a six-mile long gash through the heart of the city of about 50, the afternoon of May 22, The sheer scope of the damage was beyond belief.

Neighborhoods were left unrecognizable, including the destruction at St. The tornado generated roughly 4. In addition to the residential dwellings mentioned above in "fast facts", more than businesses were affected, impacting between 4, and 5, employees. Over 15, vehicles including buses, vans, and semis were tossed up to several blocks away, either crushed, rolled into balls, or wrapped around trees beyond recognition. Some owners never found their vehicles! Even when correcting past U.

Louis, then crossed the Mississippi River and carved through E. Louis, on May 27, Prior to the Joplin tornado in , when adjusting for inflation, this late 19th century tornado qualified as the costliest in U. Over 8, buildings were either damaged or destroyed. The Eads Bridge lost about feet of its eastern approach, but otherwise survived.

After an tornado damaged its superstructure on its eastern abutment, the bridge was rebuilt to be "tornado-proof". The official fatalities make this the third deadliest single tornado in U. On April 10, , a supercell thunderstorm unleashed a hailstorm in the city, with up to 3" diameter hail larger than baseballs.

Vehicles were damaged at a Ford Motor plant, and both commercial and military aircraft were damaged at airports. Given the more recent devastation we've witnessed in Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, it's hard to fathom anything worse. That said, according to our statistics, the infamous "Tri-State Tornado" of takes the top spot by a wide margin. First, the death toll was double that of the next deadliest U.

Of the total fatalities, of those were in the town of Murphysboro, Illinois, the single greatest tornado death toll in any U. Tragically, 33 other deaths occurred at a school in De Soto, Illinois. There were at least 9 total tornadoes on this March day, claiming a total of lives in 7 states Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky. Then, there's the incredible path. Due to data quality issues in the s, it hardly seems possible a tornado could churn over a mile long path.

Remaining in a favorable environment, the Tri-State tornado continued for over three hours, with an average width of 0. Greg Forbes. In an era without television, watches or warnings, news traveled by word of mouth or from the local newspaper, an especially frightening thought given the speed of movement of this tornado. At least 19 separate communities were affected. Gorham, Illinois, and Griffin, Indiana, were totally destroyed.

Ninety percent of Annapolis, Missouri, and Parrish, Illinois, were destroyed. The "St. Louis Tornado" killed people and injured 1, on May 27, , in Missouri and Illinois. It had winds of between mph and mph. Read More. The "Tupelo Tornado" killed people and injured on April 5, , in the northeastern Mississippi city.

The "Gainesville Tornado" was a pair of storms that converged April 6, , in Gainesville, Georgia, killing people and injuring 1, The tornado destroyed four blocks and houses in the northern Georgia town. One of the most infamous of Texas Tornadoes, this huge F4 first touched down about 3 miles northeast of Holliday, a town lying southwest of Wichita Falls, where it damaged homes and businesses. It damaged a shopping center and numerous vehicles, then proceeded across US where it destroyed additional vehicles.

It killed 42 people in Wichita Falls, 25 of those deaths were vehicle related. It caused over injuries, destroyed over homes and left 20, homeless. This F4 tornado touched down near Bynum, in Hill County, crossed into Navarro County east of Mertens, struck the town of Frost, where it killed at least 25 persons.

Continuing toward the northeast, it caused additional deaths south of Rankin, south of Bardwell. It then crossed into Ellis County and killed citizens of Ennis. Its total death toll was 41, with over persons injured. Tornado number 7 occurred on the same day as the Frost tornado.

It touched down 3 miles northwest of Kenedy in Karnes County. Moving to the east-northeast, it crossed 3 miles south of Runge and dissipated 3 miles south of Nordheim. Along its path, this F4 tornado encountered numerous weakly constructed homes and shelters that provided little safety. This is the reason for a death toll as high as 36 with 60 injuries. Tornado number 8 formed somewhere close to the town of Zephyr, in Brown County, near midnight and destroyed large parts of the town during the early morning hours, leaving little to view except vacant lots.

Not much is known of the tornado path, except that most deaths occurred in the residential areas on the south and east sides of the town. Rated an F4, the tornado damaged nearly 50 homes, 6 businesses, 2 churches, and a high school. It killed 34 and injured Tornado number 9 touched down 2 miles southwest of Saragosa in Reeves County, and moved northeastward for 3 miles. Most of these deaths were among the parents and grandparents who shielded children from the debris with their bodies.

The Jarrell tornado is the last confirmed F5 tornado in the state of Texas. This tornado followed an unusual path, moving to the south-southwest and has revived studies on the role of gravity waves on thunderstorm initiation.