At this moment, 99 years ago, the worst tornado in United States' history began. Over the next 3.5 hours, nearly 700 people in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana would be dead. The F-5 intensity storm was on the ground for a stunning 219* miles. A reconstructed survey of the path, from the late Dr. Stanley Changnon, is below.
The tornado was so powerful it leveled everything it touched. It killed 695. Other tornadoes in the region brought that day's total deaths to 751. These phenomenal death tolls occurred even though no major, or even medium-sized, cities were involved.
Today, of course, there would be tornado warnings that would -- hopefully -- mitigate the death toll. But, the Tri-State** is a reminder of how cruel nature can be and how we need to be vigilant as this tornado season unfolds.
For those interested, there is an outstanding meteorological paper about this storm,
here.
* Some meteorologists believe it was a series of tornadoes.
** Today, this tornado would be blamed on climate change.
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