10. 1925 – The Tri-State Tornado Outbreak
We’ve saved the worst for last as this outbreak broke several unwanted records in just one day, Wednesday, March 18, 1925. That fateful day would produce at least 12 significant tornadoes that spanned a large portion of the Midwestern and Southern United States, impacting Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana on the same day and powerful tornadoes in Alabama and Kansas.
This outbreak also included the deadliest tornado in United States history and the second-deadliest registered in world history, known as the Tri-State tornado. The 219-mile-long (352 km) track left by the tornado is also the longest ever recorded. Today, it is still debated if that track was caused by a single tornado or a ‘family’ of tornadoes. At the end of its rampage, it left at least 747 people dead, more than 2,298 injured, resulting in an estimated $2.26 billion in today’s money, although the exact number can’t be confirmed.
