The uptick in tornado count can be credited in part to better technology, expansive radar networks, weather spotters, storm chasers, and overall public awareness. Smaller and weaker tornadoes may have ‘slipped under the radar’ in past years, but today’s meteorologists and technology, and the ever-growing ‘storm chasing’ community that tracks outbreaks across the country, are all relentless in their work.
There are a number of ways the public can be notified of impending severe weather, including outdoor sirens, television and radio coverage, and weather radios. In the modern world, information can be found directly on mobile phones via apps, and social media sites are filled with live broadcasts and detailed updates.
Tornadoes and severe weather can still wreak havoc and cause injury and even death, despite all of the ways to get warnings. In the past, however, these destructive storms could not be tracked and unleashed upon urban and rural communities unannounced.
Just over 100 years ago, on March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in United States history struck Illinois. Known as the “Tri-State Tornado,” the storm claimed 695 lives over three states, with most of the fatalities occurring in Illinois. The large twister originated in the early afternoon hours in southeast Missouri near Ellington and forged a deadly path to the northeast, crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois and destroying nearly everything in its path.
Communities such as Murphysboro and West Frankfort were among the hardest hit as the storm raced across farmland and small communities in Little Egypt before crossing into southwest Indiana, where it finally dissipated near Princeville, Indiana. The tornado was on the ground for nearly four hours, injuring over 2,000 people and causing $16.5 million in property damage.
The most populous area hit by the F-5 twister was Murphysboro, where 234 people lost their lives and over 600 were injured. Just northeast of Murphysboro, 148 people were killed in West Frankfort. Two-thirds of the overall property damage from the storm occurred in Murphysboro.
The twister destroyed entire small towns in its path, including Gorham and Parrish in Illinois. The storm came with no warning on a weekday afternoon, with schools in Murphysboro and DeSoto decimated. Reports indicate 33 children died from the storm at a school in DeSoto, and 25 were killed at schools in Murphysboro. The damage from the storm was consistent with what is considered an F-5 tornado, the largest such rating on the Fujita intensity scale. The tornado was over a mile wide at times, wreaking catastrophic chaos with everything in its path.
The storm packed winds over 200 miles per hour, and it originated from a surface low pressure system located near the Arkansas/Missouri border. As the system moved northeast, it merged with a warm front moving north. This pairing provided the ingredients for a long-track, violent tornado.
Author Angela Mason wrote a book titled ‘Death Rides the Sky: The Story of the 1925 Tri-State Tornado,’ which includes interviews with survivors and stories of grief and resilience. This comprehensive look back at the Tri-State Tornado includes accounts from nearly 50 survivors and eyewitnesses.
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