Tornadoes Through U.S. History
U.S. Tornadoes
Approximately 1,000 tornadoes strike the United States every year. The results are often deadly. On average 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries occur each year from these natural disasters. Some tornado winds reach in excess of 250 mph. Tornadoes can occur anywhere in the United States at anytime.
Kansas Tornado Destruction
Greensburg, Kan., lies in ruin after a tornado struck the small town on May 5. The tornado was part of a violent storm system which resulted in at least 11 deaths. Officials say that 95 percent of the town was damaged. The twister was classified as an F5 (the most severe category) on the Fujita Damage Scale.
Kansas High School Demolished
The main doorway of the Greensburg High School stands amongst the rubble. At least 50 people were injured when a twister hit the Greensburg farming community on May 5.
Total Devastation, Feb. 14, 2000, in Camilla, Ga.
Winds strong enough to blow over trees miraculously leave a trailer home standing. The destruction was caused by a tornado which hit Camilla, Ga. on Feb. 14, 2000. Officials reported at least 22 deaths.
Oklahoma's Worst Ever, May 3, 1999
Sixty-one tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, killing 44 people and causing $1.3 billion in damage. An F5 twister -- the strongest on the Fujita scale -- tore through Oklahoma City. The photo shows one tornado causing a power line to explode in a flash at the bottom of the funnel.
Tennessee Twisters, Jan. 22, 1999
This photo shows some of the destruction done in Clarksville, Tenn., by a series of tornadoes that left 17 dead and caused $1.3 billion in damage in Tennessee and Arkansas.
'Like a Big Vacuum,' May 27, 1997, in Jarrell Texas
Cars were thrown in the air and houses ripped from their foundations when tornadoes blasted through this town north of Austin. The path of destruction was a mile long and a quarter-mile wide.
Super Tornado Outbreak, April 3-4, 1974
The worst outbreak in U.S. history spawned 148 twisters that ravaged 13 states in the East, South and Midwest, killing 330 people and covering 2,500 miles. This funnel swirls through Xenia, Ohio.
The Tri-State Tornado, March 18, 1925, in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana
The most violent single twister in U.S. history -- it killed 689 people -- tore this house from its foundation and carried it more than 50 feet in Griffen, Ind. This tornado set two other records: The fastest-moving tornado ever, at 73 mph, and the longest path of destruction, some 219 miles long.
Threatening a Space Shuttle
Space shuttle Columbia sits on the launch pad Tuesday, July 20, 1999 as a tornado looms to the left. Luckily, the twister dissipated only a few minutes after the photo was taken. The shuttle, however, was delayed for 48 hours when the orbiter's hazardous gas sensors detected high concentrations of hydrogen. Launch managers eventually concluded the readings were false and cleared Columbia for lift-off (on its way to deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory).
A Wicked Waterspout, June 21, 1975, Off Key West, Fla.
Small boats are dwarfed by a waterspout off Key West, Fla., June 21,1975. The cloud mass from which the waterspout appears to originate was estimated at an altitude of 3,500 feet. Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water. They can range from 20 to 200 feet in diameter and occur most often in the tropics, but can form at higher latitudes and are not uncommon on the Great Lakes.
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