he Top Ten US Killer Tornadoes

The United States gets about 1000 recorded tornadoes every year. Today, only a few are killers, but that has not always been so. About 200 US tornadoes have killed 18 or more people. Of those, about 150 occurred in the 70 year period between 1879 and 1949. There have been about 45 tornadoes since 1950 that have killed 18 or more people. In the 1950s, there were 18 tornadoes that killed 18 or more people. In the 1960s, there were 12 tornadoes that killed 18 or more people. In the 1970s,there were 11 tornadoes that killed 18 or more people. And in the 1980s, there were only 2 tornadoes that killed more than 18 people. In spite of an ever-burgeoning population, death figures continue to go down as improved forecasting, detection, communications, and public awareness increase. To read more about each of the "Top Ten US Killer Tornadoes," click on the event numbers or locations in the table below.

Rank	State(s)	Date	Time	Dead	Injured	F-Scale	Town(s)
1	MO-IL-IN	March 18, 1925	1:01PM	695	2027	F5	Murphysboro,Gorham, DeSoto
2	LA-MS	May 7, 1840	1:45 PM	317	109	F?	Nachez
3	MO-IL	May 27, 1896	6:30PM	255	1000	F4	St. Louis, East St. Louis
4	MS	April 5, 1936	8:55 PM	216	700	F5	Tupelo
5	GA	April 6, 1936	8:27 AM	203	1600	F4	Gainesville
6	TX-OK-KS	April 9, 1947	6:05 PM	181	970	F5	Glazier, Higgins, Woodward
7	LA-MS	April 24, 1908	11:45AM	143	770	F4	Amite, Pine, Purvis
8	WI	June 12, 1899	5:40PM	117	200	F5	New Richmond
9	MI	June 8, 1953	8:30 PM	115	844	F5	Flint
10	TX	May 11, 1953	4:10PM	114	597	F5	Waco