Tornadoes are one of the most violent and destructive natural disasters to occur on Earth.
While tornadoes occasionally occur in other countries, unfortunately, tornadoes strike the United States more often than any other place in the world.
Because of this, all of the largest tornadoes on record occurred in the United States.
Although there have been many more tornadoes than are on this list, these are the only tornadoes that recorded a width, which is the criteria we used to compile the list.
Tri-State Tornado
Date: March 18, 1925
Strongest Wind: Unknown, but traveling at a forward speed of over 73 mph (117.48 km/h)
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Although not the largest tornado, the Tri-State Tornado is known for setting many other records, including being the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the United States.
There were 695 deaths, twice as many as the second deadliest tornado in the US. Since the Tristate Tornado occurred in 1925, it was retroactively classified as a Category 5 tornado on the original Fujita scale.
The Tri-State Tornado holds the record for longest track, estimated at 151 – 235 miles (243 – 378.3 kilometers).
Additionally, the Tri-State Tornado has the longest known duration of any tornado at 3 hours and 37 minutes.
Although powerful, the Tri-State tornado was quite small compared to the other tornadoes on this list, reaching a maximum width of only about one mile (1.61 kilometers).
No one knows for sure if the Tri-State tornado was just a single tornado or if there was actually a series of tornadoes that caused the reported damage.
Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado
Location: Grady, McClain, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties in Oklahoma, USA
Duration: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Duration: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Erin D.
The Bridge Creek-Moore tornado was part of the Great Plains tornado outbreak that occurred on May 3-4, 1999.
As the name of the tornado suggests, the town of Bridge Creek was hit hardest by the tornado.
When the tornado reached the city, it reached a maximum width of between 1 – 1.4 miles (1.61 – 2.315 kilometers).
Unfortunately, the path of the tornado cut through a large number of mobile homes in Bridge Creek and approximately 200 mobile homes/cottages were completely obliterated.
The Bridge Creek-Moore tornado also lasted more than an hour and passed through several towns.
By the end of the tornado’s destruction, 36 people were dead and nearly 600 people were injured across all affected areas.
The Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado destroyed and estimated a total of 1,800 homes, damaged approximately 2,500 homes, totaling approximately $1 billion in damage.
Mulhall Tornado
Location: Mulhall, Oklahoma
Source: news9.com
Depending on the source, the Mulhall Tornado is a candidate for the largest tornado ever recorded.
Various accounts report that the maximum width of the Mulhall Tornado was over 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) and up to 4.38 miles (7.05 kilometers).
Like all of the tornadoes on this list, the Mulhall Tornado caused significant damage.
Every building in the town of Mulhall was damaged in some way by the devastating tornado.
Surprisingly, only one resident of Mulhall was seriously injured.
Despite the size of the Mulhall Tornado, there were no fatalities because the tornado mostly passed over rural, unpopulated areas.
Hallam Tornado
Location: Jefferson, Saline, Gage, Lancaster and Otoe counties in Nebraska, USA
Prior to the 2013 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma, the Hallam tornado was the widest tornado on record with a maximum width of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers).
Although the Hallam Tornado spanned many counties, it was named after the town of Hallam that was hardest hit.
The tornado leveled nearly every home and business in Hallam.
Fortunately, the Hallam Tornado mostly passed through sparsely populated rural areas.
By the end of the storm, one person had died and about 40 people had been injured.
According to news reports, the Hallam tornado was so wide that many did not even realize they were witnessing a tornado.
El Reno Tornado
Location: Canadian County, Oklahoma, USA – especially south of El Reno
Date: May 31, 2013
Date: May 31, 2013
Date: May 31, 2013
Date: May 31, 2013
Duration: 40 minutes
Highest category: EF3
The 2013 El Reno tornado is generally considered to be the largest tornado ever recorded in terms of width.
However, according to some sources, the Mulhall Tornado was larger.
At its peak, the massive El Reno tornado reached a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers) and speeds of up to 301 mph (484 km/h).
Despite its strength, the El Reno Tornado was only categorized as an EF3.
The El Reno tornado lasted about 40 minutes and by the end eight people were dead, all in their vehicles.
In addition to the deaths, the El Reno tornado injured more than 150 people.
In 2015, scientists created a new tool that allowed them to compile videos of the event and see what was happening in the El Reno tornado.