May 7, 1840: The Great Natchez Tornado
This massive tornado hit Natchez, Mississippi. 317 killed, 109 injured.
269 were killed on boats on the Mississippi River.
February 19, 1884: The Great Southern Tornado Outbreak
Over 60 tornadoes swept the entire Southeast. At least 170 were killed,
possibly more. Considered the largest outbreak until the Super Outbreak of April 3-4,
1974.
March 27, 1890: The Louisville, KY Outbreak
125 people were killed in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. 76 people
alone were killed in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, 44 of those in one building.
May 27, 1896: St. Louis Outbreak
Outbreak for Missouri and Illinois devastated parts of St. Louis. Of the 305
killed, 255 were in and around St. Louis, Missouri. There were 1000 injuries and
$10 million in damage for St. Louis alone.
June 12, 1899: New Richmond Tornado
Tornadoes struck New Richmond, Wisconsin, killing 114 people. Many of those
that died were in town attending an outdoor circus.
April 23-24, 1908: The Dixie Outbreak
There were 16 killer tornadoes that struck from Texas to Georgia, resulting in 320
deaths. The worst of the outbreak was in Purvis, Mississippi. The town was
leveled, killing 55 people. At one point this tornado was 2 miles wide.
March 23, 1913
Devastating tornadoes marched across east, northeast and west Iowa. The deadliest tornado
struck Omaha, Nebraska, killing 94 and injuring 350. Over 600 homes were
lost.
April 20, 1920
Mississippi and Alabama were raked by 7 killer tornadoes taking 224 lives.
March 18, 1925: Tri-State Tornado
The deadliest tornado event in U.S. history. 747 died. It is remembered
for one tornado which traveled 219 miles from Ellington, Missouri across the southern tip
of Illinois to Princeton, Indiana, killing 695. The city hardest hit was Murphysboro,
Illinois where 234 were killed.
Apr. 12 1927 Rock Springs, Tex. 74 died
May 8-9, 1927: Poplar Bluff Outbreak
An F4 tornado ripped through Poplar Bluff, Missouri killing 92 people. A total of 217
would die from 17 major tornadoes across Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.
Sept. 29 1927 St. Louis, Mo. 90 died
May 6 1930 Hill, Navarro, Ellis Co., Tex. 41 died
March 21-22, 1932
An outbreak of terror. There were 10 violent tornadoes which smashed through Alabama,
Georgia, and Tennessee. 37 people were killed near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The final total
for the entire outbreak was 330 lives lost.
April 5-6, 1936: Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak
Over 10 tornadoes swept across Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and South
Carolina. Two devastating tornadoes did most of the damage. One hit Tupelo, Mississippi on
the evening of April 5, 1936 and leveled over 200 homes, killing 216 and
injuring 700. The next morning another tornado smashed into Gainesville, Georgia, killing
203 and injuring 1600. 455 total dead
Sept. 29 1938 Charleston, S.C. 32 died
Mar. 16 1942 Central to NE Miss. 75 died
Apr. 27 1942 Rogers & Mayes Co., Okla. 52 died
June 23, 1944
A series of tornadoes hit Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. A mile wide
funnel killed 72 people in Harrison County, West Virginia. A total of 154 people
were killed during the outbreak.
Apr. 12 1945 Okla.-Ark. 102 died
April 9, 1947
A family of tornadoes swept through Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The worst tornado of the
event was an F5 tornado that razed the town of Glazier, Texas. It was never rebuilt. That
tornado killed 181 people and injured 970.
Mar. 19 1948 Shortly after 6:00 AM, A tornado touched down in North Alton, Illinois quickly growing to strong F4, it leveled 80% of Fosterburg, then continued NE to Bunker Hill & Gillespie. 33 people died. Half of the Fosterburg town hall was never found.
Jan. 3 1949 La. & Ark. 58 died
March 21-22, 1952
Tornadoes slashed over Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The town of
Judsonia, Arkansas was obliterated. 30 people were killed and 385 homes were destroyed.
Overall, 208 people died.
May 11, 1953: The Waco Tornado
An F5 tornado smashed into downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114 people. Over
200 businesses were destroyed. Damage reached $41 million.
June 8-9, 1953: The Flint Tornado/The Worcester Tornado
The last single tornado to kill over 100 people struck the north side of Flint, Michigan.
There 115 were killed, 844 injured and left 27 dead in
Ohio. This weather system would continue eastward spawning another tornado that would
become the deadliest New England twister on record. It started in Petersham, in
Northwestern Worcester County, and ended in Westborough, in Eastern Worcester
County -it traveled 46 miles from West to East- all in Central Massachusetts, killing 94 people, 60 in Worcester alone. Over 4000
buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Dec. 5 1953 Vicksburg, Miss. 38 dead
May 25, 1955: The Udall, Kansas Tornado
Over half the population of Udall, Kansas was killed as a powerful F5 tornado slashed
through it. Tornadoes that day killed 115 people in Texas, Oklahoma and
Kansas.
May 20 1957 Kan., Mo. 48 died
June 4 1958 Northwestern Wisconsin 30 dead
Feb. 10 1959 St. Louis, Mo. 21 dead
May 5, 6 1960 SE Oklahoma, Arkansas 30 dead
April 11-12, 1965: Palm Sunday Outbreak
Over 48 tornadoes ripped paths of devastation through Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio, killing 271 people and doing over $200
million in damage.
Mar. 3 1966 Jackson, Miss. 57 dead
Mar. 3 1966 Mississippi, Alabama 61 dead
January
24, 1967 an F4 tornado ripped a path through St.
Louis County, the third worst tornado in St. Louis history, 3 dead and
216 injured. An outbreak of 32 tornadoes struck the central
Apr. 21 1967 Ill., Mich. 33 dead
May 15 1968 Midwest 71 dead
Jan. 23 1969 Mississippi 32 dead
February 21, 1971: The Mississippi Delta Outbreak
The Mississippi Delta was dealt a blow by 3 major tornadoes. In Louisiana and Mississippi 119
lives were lost, over 1000 were injured.
May 26-27 1973 South, Midwest (series) 47 dead
April 3-4, 1974: Super Outbreak
There were an amazing 148 tornadoes over 13 states in the South and Midwest! This is the
largest known outbreak for the United States. The deadliest tornado hit Xenia, Ohio,
killing over 34 people and doing $100 million in damage. The total number of deaths
was 350, and there was $600 million in damage.
Apr. 4 1977 Ala., Miss., Ga. 22 dead
April 10, 1979: The Wichita Falls Tornado
One of the most destructive tornadoes in U.S. history. Over 3000 homes were destroyed and
20,000 people were left homeless. The death toll reached 60, and 1,740
were injured.
June 3 1980 Grand Island, Neb. (series) 4 dead
Mar. 2-4 1982 South, Midwest (series) 17 dead
May 29 1982 So. Ill. 10 dead
May18-22 1983 Tex. 12 dead
March 28, 1984: The Carolina Outbreak
The afternoon and evening of March 28 saw 22 tornadoes touch down over South and North
Carolina. There were 67 killed and 1,248 injured. A third of the deaths
occurred in mobile homes. The damage reached $200 million.
Apr. 21-22 1984 Mississippi 15 dead
Apr. 26 1984 Series Okla. to Minn. 17 dead
May 31, 1985: Pennsylvania-Ohio Outbreak
This region's worst recorded tornado event with 41 tornadoes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
York and Ontario, Canada. Of the 90 deaths, 12 of them in Canada. The
damage reached over $450 million.
May 22 1987 Saragosa, Tex. 29 dead
Nov. 15 1989 Huntsville, Ala. 18 dead
Nov. 16 1989 Newburgh, N.Y. 9 dead
June 2-3 1990 Midwest, Great Lakes 13 dead
Aug. 28 1990 N. Ill. 25 dead
April 26, 1991: Andover Outbreak
There were 55 tornadoes from Texas northward to Iowa. The worst tornadoes occurred in
southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma, the most notable being the one that struck Andover,
Kansas, killing 23 people, 13 in a mobile home trailer park. There were
308 injuries and over $280 million damage.
November 21-23, 1992: The Widespread Outbreak
Late season outbreak covered a widespread area from Houston, Texas to Raleigh, North
Carolina and from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley. 94 tornadoes killed 26
and injured 641. Total damage was over $300 million.
March 27-28, 1994: Palm Sunday Outbreak
A devastating mid-morning tornado hit the Goshen United Methodist Church in Piedmont,
Alabama during Palm Sunday services, killing 20. The rest of the afternoon and evening
tornadoes would go on to ravage Georgia and South Carolina, killing a total of
42 and injuring 320.
April 8, 1998 An F5 tornado that destroyed western Jefferson County, Alabama. This tornado left over 30 dead and injured hundreds. It is regarded as one of the most powerful tornadoes in history. The tornado lifted just before moving into Downtown Birmingham.
May 3, 1999 During the late afternoon and evening over 70 large tornadoes swept though Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Some were killers, including the twisters which moved through Dover, Shawnee, Perry and Bridge Creek, Moore and southern Oklahoma City. Other tornadoes hit Wichita and south central Kansas, eastern Oklahoma and northern Texas. The current tornado count makes this outbreak the largest and most costly outbreak ever recorded left 45 people dead and 775 injured and a total cost of $1.2 billion in damage.
December 16, 2000: An F4 tornado ripped Tuscaloosa, Alabama killing 11 People 41 people injured. A total of 20 tornados, 12 of them in Alabama leaves more than 100 people homeless.
Nov. 12, 2002 More than 70 reported tornadoes cut a path of destruction and left 36 dead from Louisiana to Pennsylvania over the weekend and into Monday. Sixteen deaths were reported in Tennessee, 12 in Alabama, five in Ohio and one each in Mississippi and Pennsylvania and devastated entire towns.
Last Updated: May 08, 2003