Storm Prediction Center
NOTE:Having happened before the era of comprehensive damage surveys, some of these events may have been composed of multiple tornadoes along a damage path. Death counts for events in the 1800s and early 1900s should be treated as estimates, since recordkeeping of tornado deaths was erratic back then.
| DATE | LOCATION(S) | DEATHS |
1 | 18 Mar 1925 | Tri-State (MO/IL/IN) | 695 |
2 | 06 May 1840 | Natchez MS | 317 |
3 | 27 May 1896 | St. Louis MO | 255 |
4 | 05 Apr 1936 | Tupelo MS | 216 |
5 | 06 Apr 1936 | Gainesville GA | 203 |
6 | 09 Apr 1947 | Woodward OK | 181 |
7 | 22 May 2011 | Joplin MO | 158 |
8 | 24 Apr 1908 | Amite LA, Purvis MS | 143 |
9 | 12 Jun 1899 | New Richmond WI | 117 |
10 | 8 Jun 1953 | Flint MI | 116 |
11t | 11 May 1953 | Waco TX | 114 |
11t | 18 May 1902 | Goliad TX | 114 |
13 | 23 Mar 1913 | Omaha NE | 103 |
14 | 26 May 1917 | Mattoon IL | 101 |
15 | 23 Jun 1944 | Shinnston WV | 100 |
16 | 18 Apr 1880 | Marshfield MO | 99 |
17t | 01 Jun 1903 | Gainesville GA | 98 |
17t | 09 May 1927 | Poplar Bluff MO | 98 |
19 | 10 May 1905 | Snyder OK | 97 |
20 | 3 Jun 1860 | Comanche IA, Albany IL | 92 |
21 | 24 Apr 1908 | Natchez MS | 91 |
22 | 09 Jun 1953 | Worcester MA | 90 |
23 | 20 Apr 1920 | Starkville MS to Waco AL | 88 |
24 | 28 Jun 1924 | Lorain/Sandusky OH | 85 |
25 | 25 May 1955 | Udall KS | 80 |
FAQs
Deadliest single tornado in US history
The Tri-State tornado of March 18, 1925, killed 695 people in Missouri (11), Illinois (613), and Indiana (71). The outbreak it occurred with was also the deadliest known tornado outbreak, with a combined death toll of 747 across the Mississippi River Valley.
What is the number 1 state for tornadoes? ›
The two most active states for tornadoes are Texas, with 124, and Kansas, with 87, in an average year. They are both located in the heart of Tornado Alley, a nickname given to an area in the Plains between Central Texas and South Dakota that has some of the most tornadic activity in the world.
What state has the most EF5 tornadoes? ›
The state with the highest number of F5 and EF5 tornadoes per square mile, however, was Iowa. The state with the most number of tornadoes classified as "violent", or F4 and F5, is Kentucky, and the state with the highest average intensity ranking for tornadoes is Alabama.
What is the most dangerous type of tornado? ›
Supercell Tornadoes
Tornadoes that come from a supercell thunderstorm are the most common, and often the most dangerous. A rotating updraft is a key to the development of a supercell, and eventually a tornado.
Has there ever been a F6 tornado? ›
In total, two tornadoes received the rating of F6, but both were later downgraded to F5. Based on aerial photographs of the damage it caused, Fujita assigned the strongest tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, which affected Xenia, Ohio, a preliminary rating of F6 intensity ± 1 scale.
What is the scariest tornado? ›
1. Tri-State Tornado: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana (1925) On March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, tore a 219-mile-long path across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Where is Tornado Alley 2024 in the USA? ›
That's exactly what was happening in spring 2024. The tornadoes mostly occurred in the traditional Tornado Alley, from northern Texas to South Dakota, with an extension across the Corn Belt through Iowa and as far east as Ohio, matching the findings of that study.
What is the biggest tornado in history? ›
1. The Tri-State Tornado of March 25, 1925. The ”single” deadliest tornado in U.S. history was the famous Tri-State Tornado of March 25, 1925. At least695 people died in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana when a F5 mile-wide monster carved a course that was apparently 219 miles through the three states.
What was the worst tornado outbreak in history? ›
The largest tornado outbreak on record was the 2011 Super Outbreak, with 362 tornadoes and about $10 billion in direct damages. It surpassed the 1974 Super Outbreak, in which 148 tornadoes were counted. Both occurred within the United States and Canada.
What is the rarest tornado ever? ›
Out of all those tornadoes, only 60 (0.085 percent) have ever been rated an F5 or EF-5. 59 of those tornadoes touched down in the U.S., with Canada's sole F5 twister hitting Elie, Manitoba, on June 22, 2007. That's an exceptionally small number—and it's not just because violent tornadoes are particularly uncommon.
The 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado was a large, long-lived and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado in which the highest wind speeds ever measured globally was recorded at 321 miles per hour (517 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar.
What is the slang word for tornado? ›
Twister – (slang) A colloquial term for a tornado.
What is worse than a tornado? ›
Hurricanes tend to cause much more overall destruction than tornadoes because of their much larger size, longer duration and their greater variety of ways to damage property.
Has there ever been a snow tornado? ›
Yes, the elusive 'snownado' is real
While it likely won't cause any damage, the whirl of wind that lofts up light and fluffy snow is technically classified as a type of tornado, equal to that of the dust devil you would see during the spring and summer months.
Has there ever been an F12 tornado? ›
Though the F scale actually peaked at F12 (Mach 1), only F1 through F5 were used in practice, with F0 attached for tornadoes of winds weaker than hurricane force.
What is the most powerful tornado ever recorded? ›
The 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado was a large, long-lived and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado in which the highest wind speeds ever measured globally was recorded at 321 miles per hour (517 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar.
What was the deadliest F5 tornado? ›
1. The Tri-State Tornado of March 25, 1925. The ”single” deadliest tornado in U.S. history was the famous Tri-State Tornado of March 25, 1925. At least695 people died in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana when a F5 mile-wide monster carved a course that was apparently 219 miles through the three states.
When was the last EF5 tornado? ›
The nation's last EF-5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013.