1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak

The 1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that hit the Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States on June 22–23, 1944. Particularly hard hit was the town of Shinnston, West Virginia in Harrison County which was completely destroyed by a violent tornado before 9:00 PM EDT on June 23. It was and still remains the worst tornado outbreak ever to hit the state of West Virginia.[1] At least 154 people were killed and hundreds others injured in the eastern U.S., while at least 9 were killed across the Midwest.

Contents

Event

After producing several tornadoes across the Midwest and Ohio Valley region on June 22 and killing at least nine people near the Wisconsin-Illinois border,[2] the storm produced a particularly deadly tornado (or several tornadoes) across the Appalachian region of West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania on June 23. The storms killed at least 100 in West Virginia alone (72 in Harrison County), 50 others in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and injured at least 800 across the three states.

In addition of Shinnston, the West Virginia communities of Flemington, Meadowsville, Montrose and Thomas were also hit. In addition to Harrison County, West Virginia's Marion (3 deaths), Barbour (9 deaths), Taylor (9 deaths) and Randolph Counties (7 deaths) were also hit. Eleven people were killed in Chartiers, Pennsylvania by another tornado which killed in total 30, and 17 were killed by the McKeesport, Pennsylvania tornado near Pittsburgh. All three tornadoes were rated F4 on the Fujita scale.[2][3][4] At least 400 structures were destroyed and another 800 damaged.[5]

While it is unclear if one single tornado produced all fatalities in the Appalachian region, the Shinnston tornado is ranked at least as the 14th deadliest tornado of all time in the United States.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dietz, Leah (2007-09-14). "Quiet Montrose Community Was Marked By Tragic Tornado". The Inter-Mountain. http://theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/16569.html?nav=5056. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
  2. ^ a b US F4 , F5 TORNADOES
  3. ^ "CATASTROPHE: They Hoped for a Storm". Time. July 3, 1944. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,852023,00.html. Retrieved April 20, 2010. 
  4. ^ Learning Center Article
  5. ^ Hur Herald
  6. ^ 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes

External links

Rank Name (location) Date Deaths
1 "Tri-State" (Missouri, Illinois and Indiana) March 18, 1925 695
2 Natchez, Mississippi May 6, 1840 317
3 St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois May 27, 1896 255
4 Tupelo, Mississippi April 5, 1936 216
5 Gainesville, Georgia April 5, 1936 203
6 Woodward, Oklahoma April 9, 1947 181
7 Joplin, Missouri May 22, 2011 159
8 Amite, Louisiana and Purvis, Mississippi April 24, 1908 143
9 New Richmond, Wisconsin June 12, 1899 117
10 Flint, Michigan
 June 8, 1953
 116
11
- - -		 Waco, Texas
Goliad, Texas		 May 11, 1953
May 18, 1902		 114
114
13 Omaha, Nebraska March 23, 1913 103
14 Mattoon, Illinois May 26, 1917 101
15 Shinnston, West Virginia June 23, 1944 100
16 Marshfield, Missouri April 18, 1880 99
17
- - -		 Gainesville and Holland, Georgia
Poplar Bluff, Missouri		 June 1, 1903
May 9, 1927		 98
98
19 Snyder, Oklahoma May 10, 1905 97
20 Worcester, Massachusetts June 8, 1953 94
21 Natchez, Mississippi April 24, 1908 91
22 Starkville, Mississippi and Waco, Alabama April 20, 1920 88
23 Lorain and Sandusky, Ohio June 28, 1924 85
24 Udall, Kansas May 25, 1955 80
25 St. Louis, Missouri September 29, 1927 79
Sources: Storm Prediction Center: The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes, SPC Annual U.S. Killer Tornado Statistics