Major Events Quick Timeline
The first recorded tornado in American history takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts .
1680
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October 1st President Harrison creates the U.S. Weather Bureau out of the former Civilian Signal Service, under the Department of Agriculture.
1890
The 1925 Tri-State Tornado kills more people than any other tornado in U.S. history, before or since...taking 695 souls.
The Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak devastates the country after it kills 454 people in 2 days, across 5 states.
The first tornado warnings are given from Tinker Airforce Base, and research on the use of computers in forecasting begins.
The "Fujita Scale" is formally accepted..it was created by Ted Fujita, known as Mr. Tornado, because of his massive contributions to the study of tornadoes.
Apr 5th 1936
Tupelo, MS kills 216-4th deadliest in u.s. history!
1925
1936
1849
The Smithsonian Institution creates the first extensive weather observation network.
1919
The American Meteorological Society is Formed, and still exists today an important institution in the study of weather and how it relates to the social sciences.
A hurricane warning service is established, with regional offices in Jacksonville, Florida, Washington, D.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
1935
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1942
The U.S. Navy gives 25 surplus aircraft radars to the Weather Bureau, to be modified to observe ground meteorological uses.
1948
The Palm Sunday Outbreak rewrites tornado history causing a devastating 266 deaths, 3700 injuries, and 1.2 Billion dollars in damages.
1965
1971
Record Breaking-On November 23d the most tornadoes spawned in the shortest time happens in the UK- a dumbfounding 104 tornadoes in 5 hours and 26 minutes.
A world record: The Bridge Creek-Moore EF5 tornado has the highest winds ever recorded at 302 mph- and the first ever "Tornado Emergency" declaration is issued. 1 billion in damages, apprx. 600 injuries, and 41 deaths.
1985
1999
1974
The 1974 Super Outbreak breaks all records, spawning 148 tornadoes in 24 hours, and the most long-track/ violent tornadoes (30 EF4+) in an outbreak in history- damages 3.7 Billion.
1989
A single tornado in Bangladesh takes 1300 souls in 1989, surpassing the 1969 Bangladesh tornado that killed 1000...Likely the most deaths ever recorded in world history...
2004
Record: Hurricane Ivan spawns 120 tornadoes, beating Beulah (115) and Francis (103.) for the most generated from a hurricane.
2004 Holds the record for the most tornadoes ever recorded in a single year: A whopping 1817 tornadoes are confirmed.
2004
An improvement on its predecessor, the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF) if formally adopted in 2007.
2007
2005
Hurricane Katrina kills 1833 people, with
$125 Billion in damages, and calls for better forecasting, and more importantly better government responses reach an all time high.
2011
The 2011 Super Outbreak spawns a massive 360 Tornadoes in 3 days: 15 were EF4+, and tragically 324 people were killed in 3 days.
The Joplin Tornado kills 158 people, seriously injures over 1000, and causes a record breaking 3 Billion dollars in damage, destroying thousands of homes, and major parts of the city.
On May 20th a massive- extremely violent tornado destroys parts of the Moore, OK region, killing 26 people, and leaving 2 Billion dollars worth of damage.
This was the last recorded EF5...
On march 3d a catastrophic EF4 ripped through Baxter and Cookeville, TN with winds estimated at 175 mph with 19 deaths and 87 injuries. It struck at night, with little if any warning.
2011
2013
2020
2013
The widest tornado ever recorded strikes, when multiple vortices combine to create the 2.6 miles wide terror known as El Reno, tragically killing several highly respected, science driven, veteran storm chasers.
A violent EF 4 tornado strikes Beauregard, Alabama wrapping a car around a tree, taking 23 lives and robbing hundreds of people of their homes.
Joplin: The clock stopped when the tornado struck...
2019
2021
The Dec. 10th 2021 Tornado Outbreak raged across the U.S. spawning over 61 Tornadoes, including 2 violent EF4's: One travelled through 3 states, and the other struck Mayfield, KY. Nocturnal Tornadoes are particularly terrifying, and happen in Tennessee more than any other state.
2023
Today serious inquiries are being conducted to better understand the role of climate change in Tornado genesis.
2024
Historian Thomas P. Grazulis establishes the Outbreak Intensity Score (OIS) to better record events, as well as contextualize Multi-Supercell producing weather systems.
Weak Minor Significant Major Devastating Historic Super
2–6 7–10 11–29 30–79 80–119 120–249 250+
