This Was The Deadliest Tornado In Midwest History

Garbage and debris in Tennessee after tornado destroyed homes

Photo: Getty Images

We are all at the mercy of the weather, and most Midwesterners have had to experience this first hand. Tornados are rated by intensity on the Enhanced Fujita Scale from an EF0 to an EF5. According to The Weather Channel, to qualify as an EF0 tornado winds must reach up to 85 mph. Going up the scale in intensity, EF1 tornado winds reach up to 110 mph, EF2 winds reach 135 mph, EF3 winds reach 165 mph, EF4 winds reach 200 mph, and an EF5 tornado winds reach over 200 mph.

The deadliest tornado to ever plague the Midwest occurred in 1925 along the Tennessee River Valley. According to The Washington Post, winds from the Tri-State Tornado reached up to 300 mph and killed 695 people. In 1925 there were no severe weather warnings, so those living in the path of the tornado were not prepared.

The tornado leveled buildings in its path encompassing a 219-mile radius across Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. In addition to killing just under 700 people, the Tri-State Tornado of 1925 injured 2,000 civilians and entirely devastated over 15,000 homes. The Washington Post mentioned that meteorologists predicted an event of this caliber to only occur once in every several hundred years.


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