About 1,000 recorded tornadoes touch down within the United States every year. Of these, only about 200 tornadoes have killed 18 people or more. This is a list compiled by FOX 4 Meteorologist Michelle Bogowith.
1. Tri-State Tornado (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana) — 1925 — 695 Dead
The continuous 219 mile track left by the tornado was the longest ever recorded in the world. The tornado crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, then into southwestern Indiana. Although not officially rated by the NOAA, it is considered to be an F-5 on the Fujita scale by many weather experts.
2. Natchez, Mississippi — 1840 — 317 Dead
Following the river channel, the mile-wide vortex of the tornado stripped trees from the sides of both shores. This tornado struck the Natchez Landing river port throwing as many as 60 flatboats in air and drowning the crews and passengers.
3. St. Louis, Missouri — 1896 — 255 Dead
According to experts, more tornado fatalities have occurred in St. Louis than any other city in the U.S.
4. Tupelo, Mississippi — 1936 — 216 Dead
This tornado was part of an outbreak of 17 tornadoes that tore through the southeastern U.S. Elvis Presley, an infant at the time, was a survivor of this storm.
5. Gainesville, Georgia — 1936 — 203 Dead
The tornado that struck Gainesville was a part of the same storm system that struck Tupelo, Miss., ten hours earlier. It regained strength and hit the Georgia town at approximately 8:30 in the morning.
6. Woodward, Oklahoma — 1947 — 181 Dead
This tornado was a part of a system of tornadoes that traveled 125 miles from Oklahoma into Texas.
7. Joplin, Missouri — 2011 — 158* Dead
The storm that stuck Joplin on a late Sunday afternoon was classified as an EF-5 multi-vortex tornado. As it tore through the southern part of the city, the vortex reached its maximum width of over a mile. It was the third tornado to strike Joplin since May of 1971.
(*NOAA confirmed 158 people died as a result of the storm. However, the Joplin coroner had pronounced 161 people were dead due to the tornado.)
8. Amite, Louisiana; Purvis, Mississippi — 1908 — 143 Dead
This tornado was a part of a tornado outbreak that produced 29 tornadoes in 13 states. It has been rated as an F-4.
9. New Richmond, Wisconsin — 1899 — 117 Dead
A circus had come to town and the streets were full of people when the tornado struck. Many of them tried to seek shelter in local stores, but the stores were swept away by the high winds.
10. Flint, Michigan — 1953 — 115 Dead
Before the invention of modern early storm warning systems, this tornado struck without any warning. The major damage was concentrated in an area containing mostly small homes with some businesses and a high school.
