A Tale of Two Centuries

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Many of you in America know that there is a severe weather outbreak this weekend in the Midwest and Deep South. This presents a tale of two centuries. This weekend’s severe weather has been, excuse the pun, on the radar for over a week. There has been a severe outlook since last Friday. The area has been defined as ranging from Louisiana to Minnesota, so basically the length of the Mississippi River. But let’s go back a hundred years. Tuesday (3/18) is the centennial anniversary of the worst tornado in American history, and the second-worst single tornado in recorded world history. It’s known as the Tri-State Tornado. On March 18, 1925, the tornado touched down in Ellington, Missouri at about 12:45 PM central time. It didn’t lift until 4:30 PM central time in Pike County, Indiana, some two hundred and nineteen miles later. The tornado left nearly 700 dead and a number of towns quite literally removed from the map. Annapolis, Missouri wasn’t rebuilt. Neither was Biehle, MO or Gorham, Illinois or Parrish, IL. The town of Murphysboro, Illinois had a fatality count of 234. For comparison, the entire fatality rate in the state of Alabama in the April 27, 2011 “super outbreak” was 252. And that is part of the story of the difference in the storms. The people whose lives and properties were destroyed in 1925 had NO idea that the storm was coming. In contrast, we’ve known this outbreak was possible for over a week. If you’re outside enjoying a walk in the park and a tornado warning is issued, your phone will go off. (If you’re like me, with six weather apps on the phone, it’ll buzz a lot. ) The people outside in 1925 had no warning until they looked up and saw it coming. Then it was too late. That’s part of the blessings of our modern scientific and technological advances. There will probably still be millions, if not billions, of dollars in damage this weekend; however, thanks to the ability to see things way in advance, the loss of life will be nowhere near what it was in 1925. A video about the track of the Tri-State Tornado in 1925 (view discretion advised because there are photos of bodies in the video):