The Great 1925 Tri-State Tornado: American Nightmare

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Hello everyone, thank you so much for being here. Today’s video is a little heavier than usual, but I hope you get something out of it. I want to say thank you to the new channel members , and to everyone for your continued support and encouragement.
If you are interested in any of the written accounts or historical documents pertaining to the Tri-State tornado, I have listed some links that I encourage you to look through:

Timestamps:
00:00 - 01:53 Introduction
01:54 - 03:47 Tri-State Intro
03:48 - 05:58 1925 Historical Context
05:59 - 09:50 Meteorology
09:51 - 11:03 Touchdown / Annapolis
11:04 - 14:31 Missouri damage
14:32 - 17:13 Into Illinois / Gorham
17:14 - 22:43 Murphysboro
22:44 - 24:34 De Soto
24:35 - 25:45 Rural Illinois
25:46 - 27:23 Griffin Indiana
27:28 - 27:57 Princeton IN and Tornado End
27:58 - 31:36 Aftermath
31:37 - 33:38 Injury and Fatalities
33:39 - 35:36 Survey
35:37 - 40:13 Recovery Process
40:14 - 44:05 Lasting Implications and End

MUSIC
Interdimensional by Cody Martin: N2MNBV6USLJ6PENO
Dark Crazed Cap by Isaac Joel: G3PV5CLS9PBW5QU3
Outlandia by Falls: SAZMEM5VA4FRWZJ3
Things Stranger Than by Falls: 8UQDGSIXVX5IFXGD
Just A Dream by CJ-0: XR3822KOJAV1B5RW
Druid by Wicked Cinema: BR7XVHEJAPJ62KOR
West by Shimmer: GJFELGAEYOCNTHFZ
Love Frequency by Roze Sound: HN1GZFM6KLZFU5T7
Silence by Featherland: ZLWYBKGKZL8DUYI2
In The Beginning by Salon Dijon: MXEJNCPQHOELYAU4
Changing by Outside The Sky: ZQWAJAZV3ZF6E2IO
Murmur by Lost Ghosts: 3AAFEXDFGOFM3RGT
Petrichor by Cody Martin: W5BUXZ8O1AW4RVAG
Reason Beach by Soulplusmind: PDAAOFZFE56LBLWY
Hello Hawkins by Alternate Endings: ZCPYUIIRC7O1S0LI

[twisterdavemd]

One of the most beautiful stories of compassion came in the aftermath of the Murphysboro fire. A cook in the hotel, this unnamed black man ran into the fire over and over to rescue those trapped in the rubble. A doctor who arrived on the scene reported that the man had second and third degree burns on his hands, forearms, and face, but refused medical treatment, and wordlessly turned and ran back into the fire.

He was found by the doctor the next day, sitting motionless under one of the lone surviving trees, having passed from his injuries.

He had pulled 71 people out of the fire.

At the doctor's request, he was given a funeral with full honors, as "the most selfless and compassionate man who stepped forward in our most desperate hour of need."

[windycityliz]

One of the saddest stories (to me) is that miners had to climb out via air shafts and then rush in the rain to dig their children out of ruined homes. They were safe; their families were not.

[davashorb]

I've lived in southern Illinois all of my 65 years. I still recall older folks talking about "the storm.". They never got over it.

[itsnotthesamething]

Banned tornado forecasts is probably why my grandmother ushered everyone into the storm cellar every time a cloud blew up. I never heard of her being in or near a tornado, but she was absolutely terrified of storms.

[georgemcnair]

My great grandma was alive for this and I think this is where her fear of storms came from. She was mortally afraid of them until her death. She lived in southeast Missouri.

[tripplebrown]

in 2013 Bill Paxton from the movie Twister was going to make Twister 2 and base it on the Tri-State Tornado. he was going to set it in Modern Day setting. But unfortunately, he passed away. He even took a drive through the towns and areas that were hit by the Tri-State twister.

[alanpeterson]

I live near Annapolis, Missouri, the first town hit that was 90% destroyed. To this day, the town is a shell of what it once was. Today, the whole town is about three blocks long and has one gas station.

[billbombshiggy]

My great grandma was with her mother and they were miles away in Corinth, Illinois. They said that the sky got a little dark there, and they thought it would rain, but instead of water, 2x4s and other shit started falling onto their property. My great grandma was like 21 in 1925.

[rainer]

What's chilling is that eyewitnesses described the Tri-State tornado as some kind of black fog or cloud coming down from the hilltops. The only time they realized it was actually a tornado is when the vortex was on top of them.

[thespiritualnavigatrix]

Carly, Thank you so much for covering this tornado event.. My grandmother rode out this storm in a school wagon in a ravine near the Black River. She lost family, friends, and neighbors. Griffin, Indiana which was the closest town (you mention it here) was wiped completely out. She wouldn't talk about it a lot but she did say in a tornado anniversary newspaper story, "The angels must have been holding the horses' bridles that day because after Mr. Couch yelled at us to get down and drove us off the road as fast and far as he could get down into the ravine- they didn't bolt- even though the wind was roaring and trees were falling and popping like popcorn around us." In later years, Grandma and Grandpa created a living space in the basement of their Southwestern Indiana farmhouse so they could just go down there and stay during stormy weather. I believe she carried the trauma of this horrendous day all of her life. I feel those ancestral memories swirling in me as I watch this. I grew up in Baldwin Heights (Princeton, IN) too. So this tornado is in my cells and DNA. ❤

[stevenorcott]

I was just blown away when you disclosed the forward speed of the Tri-state Tornado, 65 mph and up to 73 mph!! Damn, no wonder people thought they had more time.

[KCGeno]

I lived in Murphysboro IL in the late '70s. I worked at a couple of radio stations there. Found a couple of elderly residents who witnessed the Tri-State Tornado from a half-mile or so away. Fascinating stories!

[janelleallison]

Thank you for covering this tornado. It's crazy how even today, we are just starting to understand Tornadoes, and back then, they were so misunderstood that even attempting to forecast them was forbidden.

[dannyllerenatv]

The two closest tornadoes we have seen in our lifetime to this one are probably the Hackleburg-Phil Campbell tornado and the Mayfield tornado. Long tracked, nasty, and highly destructive.

[SuddenUpdraft]

The position of the weather service regarding tornadoes reminds of the tragic irresponsibility of the bureau for the 1900 Galveston hurricane in which between 6, 000 and 12, 000 people died.

[matthewbrillhart]

That picture of the boy holding his dog was heartbreaking as was the whole story. Carly has anyone ever suggested Niles Ohio f5 and pa's only f5?

Thanks for the awesome video!

[granddadtedindy]

Thanks, Carly, for the great coverage. My Grandmother was 24 years old and survived this monster sheltered under a workbench at her place of employment in St. Louis. My Dad was 4 years old at the time!I remember her stories and miss her greatly. She passed at 94 years of age.

[BeadstringingGenie]

My mother had just turned 3 and was living in Owensville, Indiana. The per capita death rate there was even more horrific than in Princeton, Indiana where my 6 year old father was living. Mom passed down her storm anxiety to me. Dad was more stoic, though he remembered getting home from school (Baldwin Heights, which was destroyed) early and losing part of the roof to the storm.

[LonewolfWRX]

I had no idea this tornado ended the life’s of so many children…. That really wrecked my heart and it gave me a newfound perspective on this tornado. Such a tragic event. Thank you for covering this in your words. Your work is top notch!

[tripplebrown]

Dr. Charles Doswell III and his team of retired meteorologists did research on the Tri-State over ten years ago. They did interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses who were still alive at that time. He showed them pictures of modern day tornadoes and asked which one or ones comes closet to what they saw. Most all of the elderly people pointed to the Wichita Falls, Texas Tornado 1979 from Terrible Tuesday.