| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 27, 1890 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | ≥ 24 confirmed |
| Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Fatalities | ≥ 187 fatalities, ≥ 846 injuries |
| Damage | > $2.7 million (1890 USD)[nb 1] > $91.6 million (2024 USD) |
| Areas affected | Middle Mississippi Valley |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
On Thursday, March 27, 1890, a major tornado outbreak struck the Middle Mississippi Valley. To this day, this outbreak is still one of the deadliest tornado events in United States history. At least 24 significant tornadoes, several of which were generated by cyclic supercells, were recorded to have spawned from this system, and at least 187 people were killed by tornadoes that day, including a devastating F4 tornado that struck Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 115 people and injuring at least 200 others. Five other violent tornadoes occurred elsewhere, including a long-tracked F4 tornado family that crossed two states, killing 21 people and injuring 200, and two other F4s that killed 14 altogether. A pair of F3s near the Tennessee–Kentucky state line may have killed a combined 37 people.[nb 2][nb 3][nb 4]
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- ^ Schneider, Russell S.; Brooks, Harold E.; Schaefer, Joseph T. (2004). Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875–2003) (PDF). 22nd Conf. Severe Local Storms. Hyannis, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
- ^ Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
- ^ Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
- ^ Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.