INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Tuesday marks 100 years since the deadliest tornado in recorded U.S. history cut a 219-mile path of destruction across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, claiming the lives of 695 people.
The Tri-State Tornado formed in southeastern Missouri around 1 p.m. on March 18, 1925. For nearly four hours, the funnel — which, by some accounts, was a mile wide — tore apart everything in its path, destroying entire communities and leaving 2,000 people injured before finally dissipating near Princeton, Indiana.
The tornado touched down near the town of Ellington, Missouri, killing a farmer before moving northeast, according to the National Weather Service. It destroyed 90% of the buildings in the town of Annapolis before hitting two schools in Bollinger County. At least 30 children were injured.
The powerful twister crossed into southern Illinois and hit the town of Gorham, killing over half of the town’s population…