Tri-State Tornado: The Midwest's Deadliest Tornado

Hey y'all! As some of you may be able to tell already, I have a fascination with odd things like pylons and cemeteries, and I highly enjoy blogging about them. Today is no different. Recently, I have been really into tornadoes, especially with the arrival of spring and the official start of tornado season in the Midwest. Hence my interest, this week's blog will explore the deadliest tornado in US history, the Tri-State Tornado of 1925.

The Tri-State Tornado struck Missouri on March 18, 1925. Due to limited technology and lack of understanding about tornados and weather patterns, there was no warning for civilians. To make things worse, the tornado was also "rain-wrapped," meaning it was obscured by heavy rain and storm clouds. This made it nearly impossible to even see the tornado was coming. Although the Fujita scale, a ranking system to measure the strength of tornadoes, was not invented until 1971, scientists are confident that the Tri-State Tornado was an F5 tornado, the highest ranking on the Fujita scale.

This is what a rain-wrapped tornado looks like. This is a photo of a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma in 2013. Sourced from KFOR, Oklahoma's News Channel 4.

This is an example of what a F5 wedge tornado can look like. The Tri-State tornado would most likely look like this if it was not rain-wrapped. Sourced from BN9, Spectrum News.

The tornado lasted about four hours, which is extremely rare. It traveled more than 200 miles, destroying parts of Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. While meteorologists are unsure if the tornado was on the ground the entire time, there is no doubt that the tornado dealt a massive amount of damage. It killed 695 people and left over 2,000 people badly injured. Thousands of people were left with no homes and no towns.

Murphysboro, Illinois got the worst of the damage. Experts believe that the tornado was traveling at 60 to 70 mph when it reached Murphysboro. 234 people died and about 15,000 homes were leveled. Victor Gensini, a tornado expert from Northern Illinois University, states that "most never recovered after the tornado...still today, many towns along the path [of the Tri-State tornado] remain below 1925 population levels."

In terms of what the tornado itself looked like, there are no photos of the tornado due to the limited technology of 1925. There were no digital cameras (obviously) and film cameras were very bulky and took a long time to set up. Not to mention, it is pretty hard to take a photo of a tornado that is covered by rain and clouds. However, there are a few personal accounts from survivors about the day. One is from Lela Hartman:

"Well, it was. … It was such a pretty day that day. … And for March, that was a little bit unusual in itself. But then, after noon, when it began to turn dark and…. You know, I can’t remember that it lightninged and thundered, but it’s bound to have. All I remember is how dark it kept gettin’, and the wind, you know? And, and I, even I, then was scared. I wanted to go to the cellar. But there wasn’t a one of us would go until Grandma would go. And she wasn’t about to go. But she finally, she finally did. I think she finally decided that something was about to give."

In addition to personal accounts, there are also many photos of the aftermath.

Aerial view of the damage in Murphysboro, Illinois. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

Damage in De Soto, Illinois. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

Destroyed Ford Model T vehicle. Sourced from Tornado Facts. The Tri-State Tornado

All that was left of the Durham Family home. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

Damage done to lead mines in Leadanna, Missouri. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

The tornado was so strong that a wooden plank was driven into another wooden plank/board. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

Damage in Griffin, Indiana. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

Graph of the Tri-State Tornado damage path by James Hyde in 2014. Sourced from Tornado Facts.

The Tri-State Tornado is widely known to be the deadliest tornado in US history and is one of the most destructive ones as well. While there will be many more tornadoes like it, it is highly unlikely the death toll will be that high again. We have improved technology to predict tornadoes so meteorologists can tell civilians to take cover or evacuate. We also have faster vehicles and stronger homes that withstand strong winds and weather.

I hope y'all enjoyed this week's blog. Let me know if you would like to read about more tornadoes in future blogs. See you next week!

Information from "100 years ago, USA's worst tornado killed nearly 700 people: Could it happen again?" by Jeanine Santucci and Doyle Rice on USA Today.