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By WeatherBug's Intern Meteorologist, Christopher Smith
On this day nearly 100 years ago, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history tore through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in what would become known as the Tri-State Tornado.
On the morning of March 18, 1925, a disturbance sat over northwestern Arkansas before lifting northeast across the Midwest. Accompanied by a warm front and a strong batch of winds above the surface, the stage was set for severe weather. Temperatures rocketed into the 60s and 70s with a humid air mass in place across the lower Midwest before a cold front would fire off dangerous thunderstorms.
Around 1 p.m. CT, the first report of a dangerous tornado came out of Ellington, Mo., where the first death of the day occurred. Following that, more reports came out of Annapolis and Leadanna, Mo., with over half a million dollars of damage inflicted. The tornado would cause 11 deaths in Missouri before targeting Illinois.
Illinois was the hardest-hit state by the tornado with over 600 people killed. The tornado, nearly a mile wide, flattened towns such as Murphysboro and West Frankfort, Ill. The number of injuries surpassed 1,400 people.
The tornado wreaked further havoc in Indiana before finally ending its trail of terror. Countless numbers of farms were destroyed in the state with towns such as Princeton, Ind., becoming unrecognizable. The tornado finally dissipated in southwest Indiana around 4:30 p.m. CT, but not before killing another 71 people.
In total, the Tri-State tornado killed 695 people, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado on record. The tornado was rated an F5 on the Fujita Scale, the highest rating possible, with estimated wind speeds in excess of 261 mph.
While there later was debate if the Tri-State tornado stayed on the ground continuously along its 219-mile path, or if there were two separate tornadoes, it matters little due to the catastrophe that was witnessed.
Unlike in 1925, the National Weather Service has much more advanced radar today and issues Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Warnings to help alert the public of dangerous storms.
Sources: weather.gov, vlab.noaa.gov
---------- Story Image: The ruins of the Baptist Church at Murphysboro, Illinois. (NOAA Photo Library)