Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925: Deadliest US Tornado

March 19, 2012; 6:00 AM
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Thirteen people perished when the Blue Front Hotel caught fire in the hours following the tornado. Photograph courtesy of the Jackson County Historical Society and NOAA.

March 18 marks the anniversary of the 1925 Tri-State Tornado that tore through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands of homes destroyed.

According to NOAA, the Tri-State Tornado was an F5 tornado that averaged 62 mph and moved at a record speed of 73 mph between the towns of Gorham and Murphysboro, Ill.

The tornado touched down at near the town of Ellington, Mo., and traveled for three and a half hours before it dissipated near the town of Petersburg, Ind.

By the time the tornado passed through the three states, it affected 13 counties and traveled 219 miles. It holds the record for the longest length traveled by a tornado.

The tornado left 695 people dead, injured 2,027 others and destroyed 15,000 homes, according to NOAA.

Homes shattered to pieces at Murphysboro, Ill. About 1,200 homes were completely destroyed in an area. Photograph courtesy of the Jackson County Historical Society and NOAA.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dated March 20, 1925 reported, "All morning before the tornado, it had rained. Then the drizzle increased. The heavens seemed to open up, pouring down a flood. The day grew black..."

The story continued, "Then the air was filled with 10,000 things. Boards, poles, cans, garments, stoves, whole sides of little frame houses, in some cases the houses themselves, were picked up and smashed to earth."

The forecast from the U.S. Weather Bureau for that morning called for "rains and strong shifting winds."

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