Tornado records

Here are some notable tornado records that remain unbroken.

Deadliest single tornado in the world

April 26, 1989 - Bangladesh - A massive tornado claimed 1,300 lives

10 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history

1. Tri-State Tornado - March 18, 1925 - 695 dead (third costliest normalized to 1997)
2. Great Natchez Tornado - May 7, 1840 - 317 dead
3. St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado - May 27, 1896 - 255 dead (costliest normalized to 1997)
4. Tupelo Tornado - April 5, 1936 - 233 dead
5. Gainesville Tornado - April 6, 1936 - 203 dead
6. Glazier-Higgins-Woodward Tornadoes - April 9, 1947 - 181 dead
7. Amite-Pine-Purvis Tornadoes - April 24, 1908 - 143 dead
8. New Richmond Tornado - June 12, 1899 - 117 dead
9. Flint Tornado - June 8, 1953 - 115 dead
10. Waco Tornado - May 11, 1953 - 114 dead

(tie) Goliad Tornado - May 18, 1902 - 114 dead

10 deadliest tornadoes in Canadian history

1. Regina, Saskatchewan - June 30, 1912 - 28 dead (The Regina Cyclone)
2. Edmonton, Alberta - July 31, 1987 - 27 dead (Edmonton Tornado)
3. Windsor, Ontario - June 17, 1946 - 17 dead
4. Pine Lake, Alberta - July 14, 2000 - 12 dead
5. Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec - August 16, 1888 - 9 dead
6. Windsor, Ontario - April 3, 1974 - 9 dead
7. Barrie, Ontario - May 31, 1985 - 8 dead
8. Sudbury, Ontario - August 20, 1970 - 6 dead
9. St. Rose, Quebec - June 14, 1892 - 6 dead
10. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba - June 23, 1922 - 5 dead

F5 tornadoes in Canada

Canadian tornadoes tend to be less deadly in part due to sturdier buildings, made for colder weather. The F4 tornado that struck a densely populated area of Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27, may have been rated an F5 due to greater damage had it struck a US city of similar size. Tornadoes in Saskatchewan have been rated F5.

Largest outbreak of tornadoes

The Super Outbreak, in which 148 tornadoes affected 13 states and one Canadian province on April 3 - 4, 1974. The outbreak was also an unprecedented producer of large, long-track, and intense tornadoes; 6 F5s and 24 F4s, far and away a record. This outbreak alone produced more significant tornadoes than any other one week period on record.

Highest (observed) winds in a tornado

During the F5 tornado that moved into Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999, a doppler radar near the tornado indicated winds of 301 +/- 17 mph (484 +/- 27 km/h) inside the vortex several hundred feet above ground level.

Photogrammetry found winds around 285 mph (459 km/h) several hundred feet above ground level in the Parker City, Indiana F4 tornado of the Super Outbreak.

Fastest ground speed (movement)

73 mph (117 km/h) from the Tri-State Tornado (other tornadoes are near or have exeeded this speed, but this is the fastest forward movement for a major tornado).

Longest path length (and longest duration)

The longest track single tornado is thought to be the Tri-State Tornado, which traversed 219 miles (352 km) in about 3.5 hours.

Widest damage width

The widest tornado on record was the Wilber/Hallam, Nebraska tornado during the outbreak of May 22, 2004, with a width of 2.5 miles (4 km) at its peak.

Costliest tornado

The Oklahoma City tornado of May 3, 1999 caused $1.2 billion in damage. This was the first time in history damages from a single tornado reached or exceeded one billion dollars.

Normalized for wealth and inflation, the St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado is very clearly the most destructive and costliest tornado, with damages estimated at $2.9 billion (1997 USD).

Last tornado event to kill more than 40 people in the U.S.

Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak of May 3, 1999 - 42 dead

Least deadly tornado decade (Canada)

There were no tornado fatalities in Canada in the 1990's.

First confirmed tornado and first tornado fatality in the U.S.

• August 1671 - Rehobeth, Massachusetts
• July 8, 1680 - Cambridge, Massachusetts - 1 dead

Deadliest tornado of the 80s

May 22, 1987 - Saragosa, Texas - 30 dead

Biggest outbreak in the fall

143 tornadoes broke out in 41 hours of continuous tornado activity from November 21 to 23, 1992. Many other very large outbreaks have occurred in the fall, especially in November.

Longest span without a tornado rated F5

Probably As of January 27, 2006, it has been 6 years 269 days since the United States has had a F5 tornado. The last hit near Oklahoma City during the May 3, 1999 event.

Latest in the year without a tornado

The first confirmed tornado of 2003 hit in Mississippi on February 15.

Most tornadoes spawned from a hurricane

123 tornadoes spun out of Hurricane Frances upon landfall in Florida in September 2004. The old record was 115 from Hurricane Beulah in 1967.

Exceptional coincidence

A small town in Kansas called Codell was hit by a tornado on the exact same date three years straight. A tornado hit on May 20, 1916, 1917, and 1918. The U.S. has 100,000 thunderstorms a year; less than 1% produces a tornado. The odds of this coincidence occurring again is practically infinitesimal.

Tornado of the Elevens....at Owosso, Michigan - 11:00 pm on 11-11-11

http://www.shiawasseehistory.com/1911tornado.html

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See also

• Tornado myths
• List of F5 tornadoes
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• List of tornado-related deaths at schools

External links

• Terrifying twisters (Canada)