90th Anniversy of the Great Tri-State Tornado

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Today marks the 90th anniversary of the Great Tri-State Tornado, which devastated a wide area across Missouri, southern Illinois, and Indiana.  The tornado still holds numerous records in the meteorological charts, including the tornado with the greatest loss of life in the US, with a confirmed death toll of 695 and many more injuries.  It is also had the longest track of any single tornado, extending at least 150 miles and possibly up to 230 miles.

Among the local communities that were affected by the tornado were Gorham (which was totally destroyed), Murphysboro, De Soto, West Frankfort (where an ancestor of mine was one of the 150 dead).  Numerous schools were also destroyed, which were full of children at that time of day.  I always find it amazing to look at some of the old houses and structures in my area and to take note of the few structures that survived the massive storm.  In a single span of 40 minutes the tornado killed well over 500 people, but yet little physical evidence remains of its path of terror.  Only a few solitary wood structures and the written accounts of those who survived.



Path of the tornado



Newspaper after the storm



The ruins of De Soto



Damaged school



The ruins of Murphysboro

[LittlefootAndAliTogether]

The only tornado I know of around here was the infamous one of April 20, 2004.   It was in Utica (which got in on the show "Storm Stories" and Granville.)  One student form my high school died from that.

The building was supposed to be safer than the trailer parks, where many had left there to go to the building, but a tree fell onto the roof, collapsing it.  The trailer parks weren't harmed that much.  Had some stayed there, they might have lived.

I take that back, there were one in Streator that did damage and that was a year or two ago.  

There might have been more, though those two are the ones that stand out.