Tornado records

A map of the tornado paths in the 1974 Super Outbreak

This article lists various tornado records. The most "extreme" tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State tornado, which spread through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It is considered an F5 on the Fujita Scale, holds records for longest path length at 219 miles (352 km) and longest duration at about 3+1⁄2 hours, and held the fastest forward speed for a significant tornado at 73 mph (117 km/h) anywhere on Earth until 2021. In addition, it is the deadliest single tornado in United States history with 695 fatalities.[1] It was also the second costliest tornado in history at the time, and when costs are normalized for wealth and inflation, it still ranks third today[as of?].[2]

The deadliest tornado in world history was the Daulatpur–Saturia tornado in Bangladesh on April 26, 1989, which killed approximately 1,300 people.[3] In the history of Bangladesh, at least 19 tornadoes killed more than 100 people each, almost half of the total for the world. The most extensive tornado outbreak on record was the 2011 Super Outbreak, which resulted in 367 tornadoes and 324 tornadic fatalities,[4] whereas the 1974 Super Outbreak was the most intense tornado outbreak on tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis's outbreak intensity score with 578, as opposed to the 2011 outbreak's 378.[5]

  1. ^ Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
  2. ^ Brooks, Harold E.; Doswell, Charles A III (September 2000). "Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890–1999". Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  3. ^ Paul, Bhuiyan (2004). "The April 2004 Tornado in North-Central Bangladesh: A Case for Introducing Tornado Forecasting and Warning Systems" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2006-08-17.
  4. ^ Hoxit, Lee R; Chappell, Charles F (October 1975). "Tornado Outbreak of April 3–4, 1974; Synoptic Analysis" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-09-13. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  5. ^ Grazulis, Thomas P. (2023). Significant Tornadoes 1974–2022. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project. ISBN 978-1-879362-01-7.