The Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925, was the most destructive twister known in American history. This tornado, most likely an F5, started in Missouri, tore across southern Illinois, and finally dissipated in Indiana. It killed at least 695 persons, mostly in southern Illinois. Another 100 died in other tornadoes spawned by the same storm system. The small community of Murphysboro, Illinois, by itself had 234 fatalities. The tornado destroyed, among other things, nine schools (many of the fatalities were school children) and over 15,000 homes.
Most single tornadoes dissipate before they go five miles on the ground; reports of tornadoes with longer paths are usually found afterwards to have been based on a series of twisters. The Tri-State Tornado appears to have been a legitimate single tornado which traveled over 200 miles. The funnel was so wide that most observers did not even recognize it as a tornado but thought it a bank of fog instead.
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