Tornadoes are some of the most violent and awe-inspiring weather events on Earth. These rotating columns of air can reach wind speeds over 300 mph, level buildings, hurl vehicles through the air, and cause catastrophic loss of life. In this article, we‘ll explore records set by some of the widest, longest-lasting, and most destructive tornadoes ever documented.
What Factors Create Enormous Tornadoes?
Before diving into specific historical twisters, let‘s look at why some tornadoes grow to such mammoth proportions compared to average cyclones.
Tornado width and strength are linked to environmental conditions, especially:
- Wind shear: Horizontal wind speed/direction changes with height that cause rotating updrafts
- Instability: Warm, humid air near surface overlying drier air aloft
- Lift: Weather fronts, terrain, outflow boundaries that force air upward
More extreme variants of these parameters allow a vortex to ingest incredible amounts of energy as it crosses land. Tornadoes also merge and intersect within parent thunderstorms, concentrating their combined fury.
Modern forecasting recognizes when such high-end tornado setups are coming together. Advanced numerical weather prediction models can indicate several days out when danger is rising. Doppler radar networks then detect spin within storm cells, allowing earlier and more accurate warnings to those in harm‘s way when compared to decades past. Weather satellites monitor immense storm systems crossing middle America that might spawn large tornadoes.
But back before this technology, some exceptional tornadoes caught people completely off-guard, leaving unfathomable devastation in their wake.
The Widest: 2013 El Reno, OK – 2.6 Miles Wide
On May 31, 2013 an extremely dangerous tornado situation was unfolding across the Southern Plains. A Moderate Risk outlook from the Storm Prediction Center warned of several potentially long-track, violent tornadoes.
One supercell thunderstorm rapidly gained rotation northwest of Oklahoma City late that afternoon. This storm soon spawned a violent wedge tornado that touched down near El Reno. Radar showed debris being lofted thousands of feet into the air as the twister roared eastward at up to 60 mph.
Multiple subvortices within the funnel combined at times into one enormous tornado measuring a record-shattering 2.6 miles wide.
Just after crossing Interstate 40, the vortex took a sudden northeast turn, catching storm chasers and residents off-guard. Tragically, four tornado researchers including renowned chaser Tim Samaras were killed when the circulation shifted towards them. Their twist of fate helped reveal this tornado’s erratic and incredibly dangerous nature when broader environmental winds steered it in unexpected directions.
In all, eight people lost their lives, yet the death toll could have been much higher if not for advance warning and thousands of Oklahoma residents taking shelter ahead of time. Damage across the OKC metro exceeded $40 million.
The Deadliest: 1925 Tri-State Outbreak – 695 Deaths
While the above El Reno giant ranks as the widest tornado ever documented, many twisters in history have claimed far more lives. One such horrific example is the Tri-State Outbreak tornado system that ravaged Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925.
This supercell storm complex spawned an estimated 12+ tornadoes across the Ohio River Valley. Yet one stands out for its mind-blowing 219 mile path length and F5 damage stretching from southeast Missouri through southern Illinois before finally lifting northeast of Princeton, Indiana. Known as the Tri-State Tornado, this singular twister alone accounted for 695 deaths – more than twice the death toll as the next deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history.
With no tornado warning system in place at the time, farmers tending their fields and citizens going about their daily routines had no chance to seek shelter when the fast-approaching cyclone rapidly gained strength from the southwest.
The vortex downed thousands of trees and telephone poles as it approached the mining town of Ellington, Missouri where it killed 11 people before they could react. Structures like schools and churches – typically designated as storm shelters today – took direct hits and were wiped off their foundations leading to hundreds more fatalities. From there, the massive tornado crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois maintaining F5 intensity. Entire towns of Murphysboro, De Soto, and West Frankfort were catastrophically damaged with hundreds more lives lost before the funnel churned onward devastating additional communities.
Over 700 people were injured and 15,000 homeless in the wake of the deadliest tornado barrage in U.S. history. Property damage exceeded $1.4 billion (inflation adjusted). Hard lessons in tornado preparedness and emergency response were learned that day which have saved countless lives in the century since through advanced warnings, well-constructed shelters, and shaking people out of complacency.
More Extreme Outbreaks Through History
While the Tri-State tornado ranks as the deadliest single tornado in American history, even more prolific outbreaks have unfolded that spawned dozens of violent tornadoes simultaneously.
Just one day in history tops the Tri-State event‘s death toll – the Tupelo-Gainesville Tornado Outbreak of April 5-6, 1936. Occurring before tornado tracking and warnings were possible, this two-day period brought a series of deadly tornado families across the Southeast. An estimated 17 tornadoes touched down, including several long-track F5s. The most severe carved a 225 mile path from northeast Mississippi to Gainesville, Georgia where it claimed 203 lives. Combined with earlier tornadoes near Tupelo, Mississippi, the two-day outbreak killed 454 people across five states.
More recently, the largest tornado outbreak came on April 3, 1974. A powerful springtime low pressure system interacted with a strong jet stream plunging out of Canada to produce prime tornado conditions across the Eastern U.S. In only 18 hours, 147 confirmed tornadoes ravaged more than a dozen states. An F5 leveled the town of Xenia, Ohio in just 4 minutes, killing 32 residents. Tiny Monticello, Indiana was also laid to bare by an F4 twister. Areas surrounding Louisville, Kentucky experienced F3 and F4 strikes. All told 300 souls perished during this hellacious 1-day tornado barrage.
Fujita Scale Measures Tornado Damage
When examining records related to tornado severity and damage, meteorologists assign numerical ratings based on the original Fujita (F) scale introduced in 1971 or the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF) updated in 2007. Using a consistent standard helps compare tornado events across decades.
Both scales link observed structural damage and debris scatter to estimate 3-second wind gusts the tornado likely produced. More scientifically, Doppler On Wheels radar trucks can obtain direct surface wind speed measurements inside tornadoes as well.
The original Fujita scale categories are:
- F0: Light damage (40-72 mph)
- F1: Moderate damage (73-112 mph)
- F2: Considerable damage (113-157 mph)
- F3: Severe damage (158-206 mph)
- F4: Extreme damage (207-260 mph)
- F5: Incredible damage (261-318 mph)
Enhanced ratings add more damage indicators (28 for EF0 to 8 for EF5). Rating teams assign the highest wind speed that fits the evidence, so an EF5 doesn‘t have to destroy a strongly engineered concrete home to earn that rating if all other damage matches.
Only .1% of all observed tornadoes achieve EF4/EF5 status, which speaks to the truly awe-inspiring anomalies highlighted in this article that obliterate well-built structures and render entire forests bare.
Let‘s reflect on another that left indelible scars across the American psyche in recent history.
Costliest Tornado – 2011 Joplin, MO EF5 – $3 Billion Damage
On May 22, 2011, one of the most dangerous tornado outbreaks in history was forecast across the central United States. A high-risk outlook centered over Oklahoma and Kansas warned of multiple intense, long-track tornadoes. While dreams of storm chasing danced through meteorologists‘ heads, the reality that played out was tragic.
172 tornadoes ripped from Texas to Minnesota that day, across terrain with virtually no hills or trees to impede their assault. Small towns and urban corridors alike suffered billions in damage. Fatalities numbered 553, the 7th deadliest tornado day ever recorded.
Yet one tornado left deeper psychological scars than the rest – the Joplin wedge tornado that chewed through the southwest Missouri city in the early evening of May 22.
This half-mile wide vortex impacted densely populated neighborhoods as citizens were going about Sunday night dinners and activities. It flattened block after block of brick and mortar homes on foundations swept clean. Steel guardrails from an industrial plant were wound through collapsed warehouses in a grim shroud. A hospital took a direct hit, its walls collapsing inward on patients and staff alike. There was simply no wind-speed rated construction or underground space sturdy enough to withstand this EF5 beast.
The Joplin tornado killed 158 people as it cut a 6-mile swath of apocalyptic devastation across the heart of town. It injured over 1,000 more, some needing months to recover from crushed limbs or traumatic stress. With nearly $3 billion in damage, it ranks as the costliest tornado on record.
Physically and emotionally, Joplin continues recovering a decade later with more storm shelters, resilient building codes, and mental health resources should another violent tornado threaten. But for Joplin natives driving down its streets today, vivid and painful memories surround them of the horrific EF5 that forever reshaped their hometown.
Engineering Against Tornadoes
Advanced meteorology and public communication may warn of impending tornadoes today, but sturdy refuge remains key to surviving strikes by the most violent vortices.
Uniform foundation construction standards enacted after events like the Tri-State tornado have improved homes‘ anchoring against extreme winds. But EF4 and EF5 events easily shred wooden structures from above. Reinforced safe rooms and below-ground storm shelters provide the only near-absolute protection when tornado warnings sound.
Dr. Ernst Kiesling revolutionized school storm shelter design through testing at Texas Tech’s National Wind Institute. His guidance informs FEMA standards adopted across Tornado Alley requiring anchor bolts tying foundations to the slab, double stud walls, and layered roofs that withstand 250+ mph winds. Shelters built to these codes prevented 88 deaths in the Moore, Oklahoma tornadoes of 1999 and 2013.
Building codes are stricter for critical facilities like hospitals that must serve as community shelters. Joplin’s St. John’s Medical Center couldn’t withstand 2011’s direct hit, but was rebuilt to Icon shelter standards using reinforced cinderblock exterior walls, few windows, and a “safe core” to retreat. Construction techniques that stood up to Joplin’s vortex are being incorporated into schools and businesses across the region.
Even small safe rooms can protect families for < $5000 using steel-reinforced doors and cinderblock walls. But rural areas and vulnerable communities often lack awareness or funding for personal shelters against violent tornadoes. More Federal investment and tornado safety education is vital so future extreme outbreaks don’t inflict mass casualties we have the engineering knowledge to prevent.
Meteorology Revolutionized Tornado Detection
Today‘s Doppler radars detect rotational velocity signatures well before tornadoes form, allowing warning lead times averaging 13 minutes. But even into the 1970s, tornadoes struck communities virtually undetected.
Mesonet surface weather stations now monitor conditions supportive of tornado development on 5-minute updates. But prior to 1950, surface data was sparse. Forecasters had little understanding of local atmospheric patterns and complex fluid dynamics favoring tornadogenesis.
Pioneering researchers like Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita advanced tornado science through scrutiny of ground scouring and aerial damage surveys. His Fujita Scale helped systematically categorize observed destruction, linking it to estimated wind speeds. This quantified tornado intensity based on actual effects, not just visible funnel size.
Meteorologists like Joshua Wurman take mobile Doppler trucks directly into tornadoes’ paths to record 3D velocity structure and wind gusts. His non-profit Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) deployed sticknets to measure pressure and temperature drops in vortices’ cores. Revolutionary data like this helps model and warn for tornado behavior posing greatest threats to life and property.
Climate Change Effects on Tornadoes
Amidst overall warming temperatures and increased climate variability, scientists ask how anthropogenic climate change might be impacting tornadoes. With more heat and humidity globally, some studies suggest conditions could encourage more severe thunderstorms rotating updrafts required for tornado development.
Dr. Victor Gensini at Northern Illinois University published Increased tornado frequency with more extreme tornado outbreaks under global climate change in 2021. His high-resolution modeling found the number of days annually favoring significant tornadoes could increase by up to 3 times in the Southeast and Southern Great Plains as greenhouse gas concentrations rise.
While any single tornado still forms based on local wind variants, added global heat and instability may set the stage for more prolific tornado days. This could raise the likelihood of experiencing extreme outbreaks as analyzed in this article. More tornado preparedness and vigilant forecasting will be required if these projections come to pass.
Appreciating Tornadoes’ Destructive Majesty
Tornadoes represent weather at its most violent and awe-inspiring. We denounce the tragic loss and injuries these extreme storms leave behind. Yet an element of their vast destructive power captivates the human psyche as well.
Surveyors tremble at seeing old-growth forests mowed down hundreds of yards from the tornado track, utility poles snapped like twigs,structures granulated through extreme wins and debris impacts. Shock at nature’s forces left unchecked resonates across affected communities.
But the horror stories, like those told here, must also serve as learning tools toward greater preparedness and infrastructure hardening. Advanced warnings abb reactive attempts at dodging tornadoes, storm shelters should become ubiquitous especially across flattened landscapes.
As climate change loads the meteorological dice toward more extreme tornado outbreaks in the years ahead, may the vulnerabilities exposed by past disasters give us wisdom to enact life-saving preparations in tornado-prone regions worldwide.
