2011 Tornado Season Already One of Ten Deadliest in U.S. History
Posted on May 23, 2011
This has been a very bad tornado year in the U.S. Powerful tornadoes have killed more people this year than in decades, despite improved warnings about tornadoes. Some of the tornadoes have been too powerful for people to survive, even if they took cover. Hundreds of people were killed in the April 27 outbreak in Alabama and Mississippi. Yesterday, a tornado in Joplin killed at least 116 people. The Joplin twister is the deadliest single tornado in nearly 60 years. A tornado in Flint, Michigan on June 8, 1953 also killed 116 people.
There were 365 tornado fatalities so far this year before the Joplin tornado. Media reports currently indicate 116 fatalities from the Joplin tornado. Here is a list of the deadliest tornado years in U.S. history, according to data from NOAA, NWS and research by Grazulis.
| Date | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| 1925 | 794 |
| 1936 | 552 |
| 1917 | 551 |
| 1927 | 540 |
| 1896 | 537 |
| 1953 | 519 |
| 1920 | 499 |
| 2011* | 481 |
| 1908 | 477 |
| 1909 | 404 |
| 1932 | 394 |
| 1942 | 384 |
| 1924 | 376 |
| 1974 | 366 |
| 1933 | 362 |
*365 + 116 estimated Joplin fatalities as of May 23
Note: The image above, from NOAA, shows the storm system moments before spawning the tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri.