St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado

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This article is about the St. Louis, Missouri tornado of 1896. For other St. Louis tornadoes, see St. Louis tornado history.

St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado

Damage at Jefferson and Allen Avenues

Date of tornado outbreak:

May 27, 1896

Duration¹:

Unknown

Maximum rated tornado²:

F5 tornado

Tornadoes caused:

Unknown

Damages:

$3.4 billion (2005 USD)

Fatalities:

284+

Areas affected:

Missouri, Illinois

¹Time from first tornado to last tornado
²Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The "St. Louis - East St. Louis Tornado" is a historic tornado event that occurred on May 27, 1896. It is among the first tornadoes with actual damage photographs. It is one of the deadliest and most destructive tornadoes in U.S. history. This very large, long-track, and violent tornado was but one of many tornadoes in a major tornado outbreak.

The first tornado of the day formed near Bellflower, Missouri and killed a woman. Three students died and sixteen were injured when the Dye School in Audrain County, Missouri was hit at around 6:15 P.M. The same tornado killed one student and injured 19 others at the Bean Creek school a few minutes later. At 6:30, two supercell thunderstorms produced two tornadoes. One decimated farms in New Minden, Hoyleton, Richview, and Irvington, Illinois.

The other became the third deadliest and costliest tornado in United States history. It touched down in St. Louis, Missouri, then one of the largest and most influential cities in the country. 137 people died as the tornado traveresed the core of the city leaving a mile wide continuous swath of destroyed homes, schools, saloons, factories, mills, churches, parks, and railroad yards. More people probably died on boats on the Mississippi River as the bodies may have gone downriver. When the tornado crossed the river and hit East Saint Louis, Illinois, it was smaller but more intense. An additional 118 people were killed. The confirmed death toll is 255, with some estimates above 400. More than 1,000 were injured. The tornado was later rated F4 on the Fujita scale. Adjusted for wealth and inflation (1997 USD), it is the costliest tornado in U.S. history at an estimated $2.9 billion [1].

Twenty-seven more people died in the other Illinois tornadoes of this outbreak.

[edit] St. Louis tornado history

Main article: St. Louis tornado history

It is somewhat rare for the core of a large city to be hit directly by a tornado (due to their relatively small area and the relative lack of large cities in the highest tornado threat region)--especially a large intense tornado--yet several other tornadoes have tracked through the City of St. Louis and several of these tornadoes were also very deadly and destructive [2]. Among these events are: 1871 (9 killed), 1890 (4 killed), 1904 (3 killed, 100 injured), 1927 (79 killed, 550 injured, 2nd costliest in US history), and 1959 (21 killed, 345 injured). This makes St. Louis the worst tornado afflicted urban area in the U.S. [3]. Additionally, the greater St. Louis area is the scene of even more historically destructive and deadly tornadoes.

Deadliest tornadoes in United States history Death counts before 1900 may be approximate
Rank	Tornado	Date	Deaths
1	"Tri-State"	March 18, 1925	695
2	Natchez, MS	May 6, 1840	317
3	St. Louis and East St. Louis	May 27, 1896	255
4	Tupelo, MS	April 5, 1936	216
5	Gainesville, GA	April 5, 1936	203
6	Woodward, OK	April 9, 1947	181
7	Amite, LA and Purvis, MS	April 24, 1908	143
8	New Richmond, WI	June 12, 1899	117
9	Flint, MI	June 8, 1953	115
10	Waco, TX	May 11, 1953	114
10	Goliad, TX	May 18, 1902	114
Source: Storm Prediction Center

[edit] 1896 tornado season

The 1896 tornado season has the distinction of being the deadliest in United States history. There were at least 40 killer tornadoes spanning from April 11 to November 26; including this one, the only one to kill more than 100 people in two separate cities.