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By: Emerson Kester and Jasmine Puma
Tornados are horrible things that cause destruction and mess in their path. It takes lives, hurts people, and takes away the wonderful part of where people live. Their homes. Their family. But thankfully, we’re here to tell you about these tornadoes, and some of the worst types of tornadoes. We will also tell you about a few of the worst tornadoes that have ever hit places.
The Tri-State tornado, which hit on March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado to ever occur in recorded history. The event lasted for over three hours with 2,027 injured and 695 dead. That’s a record for a single tornado. The Tri-State tornado formed at about 1 pm around Ellington, Missouri. This tornado traveled through Indiana during the time that it lasted. It was a 219-mile path length, 70 miles (per hour) at its average speed, and went a devastating 164 square miles. 15,000 homes were destroyed on average, making the Tri-State tornado the worst tornado ever.
The Tri-State Tornado in the process of forming.
During the early evening of Friday, May 31, 2013, an extremely large and powerful tornado occurred over rural areas of Central Oklahoma. This rain-wrapped, multiple-vortex tornado was the widest tornado ever recorded. The tornado initially finished forming at 6:03 pm, and about 8.3 miles from El Reno. It rapidly grew in size and became more violent as it tracked through central parts of the Canadian county. Remaining over mostly open terrain, the tornado did not impact many structures; however, measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme winds up to 135 miles (per hour) within the vortex. As it crossed U.S. 81, it had grown to a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles. This tornado also killed four storm chasers, which had a follow-up funeral. These storm chasers are where half of our information came from.
What was left after the outbreak passed through a town.
April 3, 1974, will always be remembered as the date of the worst tornado outbreak during the 20th century. The “Super Outbreak,” as it is commonly referred to, featured 148 tornadoes that occurred in a 24-hour period from 1:00 PM EST on April 3rd to 1:00 PM EST on April 4th. The combined path length of all tornadoes during this period was approximately 2500 miles with 315+ fatalities, over 5000 injuries, and an estimated $600+ million loss (in 1974 dollars).
One of the most destructive tornadoes (including the longest path length) of any tornado during the outbreak was the Monticello Tornado. The Monticello Tornado was spawned by an intense supercell thunderstorm. The same thunderstorm produced a series of 9 tornadoes across Illinois and Indiana, known as the Monticello tornado family.
The Monticello tornado family was responsible for 18 deaths across Illinois and Indiana, several injuries, and an enormous amount of damage above $100 million (1974 dollars). The Monticello tornado was originally rated as having an impressive 121-mile path length from southeast Benton County to La Grange County.
The Monticello Tornado.
A student at EJHS, ZZ Welding, has encountered a tornado first hand. “I don’t really know what kind of tornado it was, since it was late at night.” ZZ said. “First, we heard the sirens go off. It was all over the news, and after the power went out, we went to our basement and hid until it was over.” She said, “I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody.”
The inside of a Supercell Tornado.
Supercell tornadoes are the worst type of tornadoes in the world. Although they’re the most dangerous, they are also the most common. There are many different ideas on how this rotation begins. One way columns of air can begin to rotate is from wind shear when winds at two different levels above the ground blow at different speeds or directions. An example of wind shear that can eventually create a tornado is when ground-level winds, often slowed down by friction with the earth's surface, come from the southwest at 5 mph. But higher up, at 5000 feet above the same location, the winds are blowing from the southeast at 25 mph!
In conclusion, the tornadoes mentioned in the article are some of the worst in recorded history. They have caused significant destruction, taken numerous lives, and resulted in massive losses. It's important to be aware of the dangers of tornadoes and take necessary precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Stay safe!
Author Bio: Jasmine Puma and Emerson Kester plan to do Journalism in 7th grade.
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