page_title: Tri-State Tornado
hierarchical_section_title: Tri-State Tornado
caption_attribution_description: A map of the track of the 219-mile, 3.5 hour Tri-State Tornado which killed 695 in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on 18 March 1925.
context_page_description: The Tri-State Tornado was a deadly and destructive tornado that struck parts of three states in the Central United States on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18, 1925. The most exceptional of at least 12 significant tornadoes produced by a major tornado outbreak that spanned a large portion of the Midwestern and Southern United States, the Tri-State Tornado killed at least 695 people, making it by far the deadliest tornado in United States history and the second-deadliest in world history. The 151-to-235-mile track left by the tornado, as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, and then into southwestern Indiana, is also the longest ever recorded.
  Modern meteorological re-analysis has suggested that the extremely long path length and lifespan reported in historical accounts are perhaps more plausibly attributed to multiple independent tornadoes belonging to a tornado family, rather than a single, continuous tornado. Although not officially rated by NOAA, the Tri-State Tornado is recognized by most experts as an F5 tornado, the maximum damage rating issued on the Fujita scale.
context_section_description: The Tri-State Tornado was a deadly and destructive tornado that struck parts of three states in the Central United States on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18, 1925. The most exceptional of at least 12 significant tornadoes produced by a major tornado outbreak that spanned a large portion of the Midwestern and Southern United States, the Tri-State Tornado killed at least 695 people, making it by far the deadliest tornado in United States history and the second-deadliest in world history. The 151-to-235-mile (243 to 378 km) track left by the tornado, as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, and then into southwestern Indiana, is also the longest ever recorded.
  Modern meteorological re-analysis has suggested that the extremely long path length and lifespan reported in historical accounts are perhaps more plausibly attributed to multiple independent tornadoes belonging to a tornado family, rather than a single, continuous tornado. Although not officially rated by NOAA, the Tri-State Tornado is recognized by most experts (such as Tom Grazulis and Ted Fujita) as an F5 tornado, the maximum damage rating issued on the Fujita scale.
caption: The path of the Tri-State Tornado. The storm covered a distance of over 219 miles (352 km) in its 3½-hour lifetime, traveling at forward speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
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