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Tornadoes

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Austin, Burch, Geist, Hart and 6 others
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Tornadoes

Add profiles for those who have DIED in or as a result of injuries from a Tornado.

  • If the tornado is a well-known historic event, please consider making a project for it, and listing it in this umbrella.
  • If all you know is "died in a tornado," add to this project.
  • Use discussions to ask questions, make comments, etc.

Also Known as: twisters or cyclones


A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology, in a wider sense, to name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but they are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).

Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. However, the vast majority of tornadoes occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America. They also occasionally occur in south-central and eastern Asia, northern and east-central South America, Southern Africa, northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia, and New Zealand.

There are several scales for rating the strength of tornadoes. The Fujita scale rates tornadoes by damage caused and has been replaced in some countries by the updated Enhanced Fujita Scale. An F0 or EF0 tornado, the weakest category, damages trees, but not substantial structures. An F5 or EF5 tornado, the strongest category, rips buildings off their foundations and can deform large skyscrapers.

Deadliness of Tornadoes:

  • List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths (Here are the top 10 world wide of 43 listed)
    • 26 Apr 1989 Daultipur & Salturia, Bangladesh – 1300 deaths
    • 18 Mar 1925 in Tri-State (MO/ IL / IN) – 695 deaths
    • 17 Apr 1973 in Manikganj, Singair & Nawabganj in Bangladesh – 681 deaths
    • 14 Apr 1969 in East Pakistan, Pakistan (now Bangladesh) – 660 deaths
    • 23 Sep 1551 in Grand Harbour at Valletta, Malta – 600 deaths
    • 11 Apr 1964 in Magura & Narail, Bangladesh – 500 deaths
    • Dec 1851 in Sicily, Italy – 500 deaths
    • 1 Apr 1977 in Madaripur & Shibchar, Bangladesh – 500 deaths
    • 1 Jun 2015 in Yangtze River, China – 442 deaths
    • 9 Jun 1984 in Belyanitsky, Ivanovo & Balino, Russia – 400 deaths
  • The 25 Deadliest US Tornadoes (Here are the top 10)
    • 18 Mar 1925 in Tri-State (MO/ IL / IN) – 695 deaths
    • 6 May 1840 in Natchez, MS – 317 deaths
    • 27 May 1896 in St Louis, MO – 255 deaths
    • 5 Apr 1936 in Tupelo, MS – 216 deaths
    • 6 Apr 1936 in Gainesville, GA – 203 deaths
    • 9 Apr 1947 in Woodward, OK – 181 deaths
    • 22 May 2011 in Joplin, MO – 158 deaths
    • 24 Apr 1908 in Amite, LA, Purvis, MS – 143 deaths
    • 12 Jun 1899 in New Richmond, WI – 117
    • 8 Jun 1953 in Flint, MI -- 116

Notables who died in a tornado:

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