Editing 1925 tri-state tornado outbreak (section)

{{Short description|1925 tornado outbreak in the U.S. states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana}}
{{About||the tornado that struck Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee in 2021|2021 Tri-State tornado|the F5 tornado that tracked over 219 miles that was part of this outbreak|1925 Tri-State tornado}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox weather event
| image = Tri-State Tornado JCHS15.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = A city block damaged by the Tri-State tornado in [[Murphysboro, Illinois]].
| formed = March 17, 1925; 100 years ago
| dissipated = March 19, 1925; 100 years ago
}}{{Infobox weather event/Tornado outbreak
| tornadoes = ≥12
| fujita-scale = F5
| duration = 7 hours
| winds = >{{convert|300|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| hail = {{convert|4 + 1/2|in|cm|abbr=on|lk=on}} at [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], [[Kentucky]]{{sfn|Maddox|Gilmore|Doswell III|Johns|2013}}
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| damages = Over $17 million (1925 USD); at least $1.4 billion (1997 [[United States dollar|USD]])<br>${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|1400000000|1997|r=-4}}}} ({{CURRENTYEAR}} USD)<ref name="Brooks2">{{cite journal |last=Brooks |first=Harold E. |author-link=Harold E. Brooks |author2=C. A. Doswell |title=Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890–1999 |journal=Weather Forecast |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=168–176 |date=February 2001 |doi=10.1175/1520-0434(2001)016<0168:NDFMTI>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=2001WtFor..16..168B |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1234647 |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|name=Losses|All losses are in 1925 [[United States dollar|USD]] unless otherwise noted.}}
| fatalities = At least 751, likely higher
| injuries = > 2,298
| affected = [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] and [[southeastern United States]]
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| part = the '''[[Tornadoes of 1925]]'''
}}
On March&nbsp;18, 1925, one of the deadliest [[tornado outbreak]]s in recorded history generated at least 12 [[Glossary of tornado terms#S|significant]] tornadoes and spanned a large portion of the [[Midwestern United States|midwestern]] and [[Southern United States|southern]] United States. In all, at least 751 people died, including men, women, and children. 2,298 were injured,<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 24, 2022 |title=Tri-State Tornado |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2e302a7bf53a46aca05e7312592fd537 |access-date=November 2, 2024 |website=ArcGIS StoryMaps |language=en}}</ref> making the outbreak the deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history. The outbreak generated several destructive tornadoes in [[Missouri]], [[Illinois]], and [[Indiana]] on the same day, as well as significant tornadoes in [[Alabama]] and [[Kansas]]. In addition to confirmed tornadoes, there were undoubtedly others with lesser impacts, the occurrences of which have been lost to history.{{sfn|Maddox|Gilmore|Doswell III|Johns|2013}}

The outbreak included [[1925 Tri-State tornado|the Tri-State Tornado]], the deadliest disaster in Illinois, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, and the [[List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths|second-deadliest]] registered in world history.<ref>{{cite web |title=The deadliest disaster to ever happen in each state |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/the-deadliest-disaster-to-ever-happen-in-each-state/ss-AA15iVyW?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b852eb5146d44c5497c7b7a63e1e26f8&ei=70#image=14 |website=MSN |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gibson |first=Christine |title=Our 10 Greatest Natural Disasters |journal=American Heritage |volume=57 |issue=4 |date=Aug–Sep 2006 |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/our-10-greatest-natural-disasters?page=show}}</ref><ref>[http://www.tornadofacts.net/tri-state-tornado-facts.php Tri-State Tornado] - History, Facts and Information</ref> The {{convert|219|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} track left by the tornado, as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, and then into southwestern Indiana, is also the longest ever recorded.{{sfn|Johns|Burgess|Doswell III|Gilmore|2013}} Modern meteorological re-analysis has suggested that the extremely long path length and lifespan reported in historical accounts are perhaps more plausibly attributed to multiple independent tornadoes belonging to a [[tornado family]], rather than a single, continuous tornado.{{sfn|Maddox|Gilmore|Doswell III|Johns|2013}} Although not officially rated by [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]], the Tri-State Tornado is recognized by most experts (such as [[Thomas P. Grazulis|Tom Grazulis]]{{sfn|Grazulis|2001b|p=17}} and [[Ted Fujita]]{{sfn|Fujita|1973|pp=56–83}}) as an F5 tornado, the maximum damage rating issued on the [[Fujita scale]].{{sfn|Grazulis|1993|p=796}}{{refn|group=nb|name=Outbreak|An [[tornado outbreak|outbreak]] is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An [[tornado outbreak sequence|outbreak sequence]], prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one [[Fujita scale#Rating classifications|significant]] (F2 or stronger) tornado.<ref name=OutbreakClimo>{{cite conference |url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/schneider/otbrkseq.pdf |title=Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875–2003) |last1=Schneider |first1=Russell S. |last2=Brooks |first2=Harold E. |last3=Schaefer |first3=Joseph T. |author-link2=Harold E. Brooks |year=2004 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |location=Hyannis, Massachusetts |conference=22nd Conf. Severe Local Storms |conference-url=https://ams.confex.com/ams/11aram22sls/techprogram/programexpanded_230.htm |access-date=September 17, 2019}}</ref>}}{{refn|group=nb|name=Fujita|The [[Fujita scale]] was devised under the aegis of scientist [[Ted Fujita|T. Theodore Fujita]] in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.{{sfn|Grazulis|1993|p=141}}{{sfn|Grazulis|2001a|p=[https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz/page/131 131]}} While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the [[Enhanced Fujita scale]] in the U.S. since February&nbsp;1, 2007,<ref name="EFscale">{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Roger |title=Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage |url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html |website=The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC) |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |access-date=February 25, 2016 |date=March 5, 2015}}</ref> Canada used the old scale until April&nbsp;1, 2013;<ref name="FscaleCanada">{{cite web |title=Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) |url=https://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=41E875DA-1 |website=Environment and Climate Change Canada |access-date=February 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220706/http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=41E875DA-1 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the [[TORRO scale]].<ref name="TORROscale">{{cite web |title=The International Tornado Intensity Scale |url=http://www.torro.org.uk/tscale.php |website=Tornado and Storm Research Organisation |access-date=February 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305120332/http://www.torro.org.uk/tscale.php |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |year=2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}{{refn|group=nb|name=Count|Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.{{sfn|Grazulis|2001a|pp=[https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz/page/251 251]–[https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz/page/254 4]}} Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.<ref name="TornadoClimaFAQ">{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Roger |title=The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC) |url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#Climatology |website=Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes |publisher=[[Storm Prediction Center]] |access-date=February 25, 2016 |date=March 5, 2015}}</ref> Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced [[NEXRAD]] was first installed and the [[National Weather Service]] began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.{{sfn|Cook|Schaefer|2008|p=3135}}}}