Tornadoes are one of the worst natural disasters on earth
While tornadoes do occur from time to time in other countries, unfortunately the United States is hit by tornadoes more often than any other place in the world
Because of this, all major hurricanes on record have occurred in the United States
Although there have been more hurricanes than on this list, these are the only hurricanes where the width was noted, which is the method we used to compile the list
Tri-State Tornado
Date: March 18, 1925
High Winds: Unknown, but sustained winds of over 73 mph (11748 km/h)
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Although it was not a major tornado, the Tri-State Tornado is known for setting several other records, including being the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the United States
With 695 deaths, it doubles as the second deadliest tornado in the US since the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, reclassified as a category 5 tornado on the Fujita scale
The Tri-State Tornado holds the record for the longest track, which is estimated to have been between 151 – 235 miles (243 – 3783 kilometers)
Additionally, the Tri-State Tornado has the longest recognition time of any tornado at 3 hours and 37 minutes
Although the Tri-State Tornado was strong, it was very small compared to the rest of the tornadoes on this list and reached a width of only one mile (161 kilometers)
No one knows for sure if the Tri-State Tornado was just one tornado or if it was 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 tornado’s name implies, the town of Bridge Creek was hit hard by the tornado
By the time the tornado reached the city, it had reached a width of between 1 – 14 miles (161 – 2315 kilometers)
Unfortunately, the path of the tornado cut through a large number of mobile homes in Bridge Creek and about 200 homes/houses were completely destroyed
The Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado also lasted for an hour and passed through several towns
At the end of the typhoon’s destruction, 36 people had died and about 600 people were injured in all the affected areas
In total, the Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado destroyed and estimated 1,800 homes, damaged approximately 2,500 homes, which amounted to $1 billion in damages
Mulhall Tornado
Location: Mulhall, Oklahoma
Source: news9com
Depending on its origin, the Mulhall Tornado is a contender for being the largest tornado ever recorded
Various accounts report that the maximum width of the Mulhall Tornado was over 15 miles (24 kilometers) and the maximum 438 miles (705 kilometers)
Like every tornado on this list, the Mulhall Tornado did extensive 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 through rural, uninhabited 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 largest tornado on record with a width of 25 miles (4 km)
Although the Hallam Tornado swept through many counties, it was named after the town of Hallam, which was hit the hardest
The tornado destroyed nearly every home and business in Hallam
Fortunately, the Hallam Tornado mostly passed through sparsely populated rural areas
When the storm ended, one person had died and about 40 people were injured
According to news reports, the Hallam Tornado was so large that many people did not even know they were witnessing a tornado
El Reno Tornado
Location: Canadian County, Oklahoma, USA – mainly south of El Reno
Date: May 31, 2013
Date: May 31, 2013
Date: May 31, 2013
Date: May 31, 2013
Duration: 40 minutes
Main category: EF3
The 2013 El Reno Tornado is widely considered the largest tornado ever recorded, based on size
However, according to some sources the Mulhall Tornado was bigger
At its peak, the large El Reno Tornado reached a width of 26 miles (42 km) and a speed of up to 301 mph (484 km/h)
Despite its power, the El Reno Tornado was only classified as an EF3
The El Reno Tornado lasted for about 40 minutes and at the end eight people were killed, all in their cars
In addition to killing, the El Reno Tornado injured more than 150 people
In 2015, scientists developed a new tool that allowed them to piece together video from the event and see what was going on inside the El Reno Tornado