List of tornado-related deaths at schools

These are all known tornadoes resulting in student deaths at primary and secondary schools in the United States from 1865 to 2015. For the deadliest tornado incidents, only fires/explosions and bombings have killed more students.[1]

List

Date	Location (school)	Local time (touchdown)	Fatalities (school)	English Wikipedia article
1820s	Fayetteville, Indiana[2]	?	1
June 28, 1865	Viroqua, Wisconsin[3]	4:00 p.m.	9
May 23, 1878	Mineral Point, Wisconsin[3]	3:00 p.m.	2
June 9, 1878	Augusta, Georgia[3]	3:00 p.m.	3
February 19, 1884	Goshen, Alabama[1]	2:30 p.m.	1	Enigma Tornado Outbreak
May 11, 1886	Kansas City, Missouri[4]	??	15
May 2, 1887	Wauseon, Ohio[1]	12:35 p.m.	1
June 14, 1888	Lexington, Oregon[3]	??	1
May 17, 1889	Forestburg, Texas[1]	4:00 p.m.	2
June 20, 1890	Paw Paw, Illinois[1]	2:30 p.m.	7
September 7, 1893	Lockport, Louisiana[1]	9:30 a.m.	3
May 3, 1895	Ireton - Hull, Iowa[1]	2:30 p.m.	7	Hull, Iowa, Tornado Outbreak of 1895
May 27, 1896	Mexico - Bean, Missouri[1]	3:15 p.m.	4	St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado / May 1896 tornado outbreak sequence
March 22, 1897	Arlington, Georgia[1]	8:30 a.m.	8
January 3, 1906	Josie - Banks, Alabama[1]	11:30 a.m.	2
March 13, 1913	Lawrenceburg, Tennessee[1]	1:45 p.m.	1	Southeast Tornado Outbreak of March 1913
January 4, 1917	Vireton, Oklahoma[1]	11:00 a.m.	16
February 23, 1917	Hollins, Alabama[1]	3:30 p.m.	2	Southeast Tornado Outbreak of February 1917
March 23, 1917	New Albany, Indiana[1]	3:08 p.m.	5	Mid-Mississippi Valley Tornado Outbreak of March 1917
January 11, 1918	Dothan - Cowarts, Alabama[1]	1:40 p.m.	8
November 4, 1922	Holyoke, Colorado[1]	9:30 a.m.	1	Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of November 1922
April 27, 1923	Johnson City, Kansas[1]	12:15 p.m.	1
April 30, 1924	Horrell Hill, South Carolina[1]	11:00 a.m.	7	Southeast Outbreak of April 1924
March 18, 1925	Missouri - Illinois - Indiana (nine schools)[1]	1:01 p.m.	69	Tri-State Tornado
November 9, 1926	La Plata, Maryland[1]	2:35 p.m.	14	La Plata, Maryland, Tornado of November 1926
April 19, 1927	Carrollton, Illinois[1]	11:45 a.m.	1	Southern Plains-Midwest Tornado Outbreak of April 1927
May 9, 1927	Poplar Bluff, Missouri[1]	2:35 p.m.	2	1927 St. Louis Tornado Outbreak
September 29, 1927	St. Louis, Missouri[3]	12:50 p.m.	3	1927 St. Louis – East St. Louis tornado
December 7, 1927	Tunnel Springs, Alabama[1]	11:30 a.m.	1
January 24, 1928	Smithville, Tennessee[1]	2:00 p.m.	4
September 13, 1928	Pender, Nebraska[1]	3:40 p.m.	3	Upper Plains-Midwest Tornado Outbreak of September 1928
January 18, 1929	Maunie, Illinois[1]	11:20 a.m.	2	Middle-Mississippi Valley Tornado Outbreak of January 1929
March 22, 1929	Merrellton, Alabama[1]	11:00 a.m.	5
April 24, 1929	Slocum, Texas[1]	12:20 p.m.	1	Plains, Midwest, and Southeast Tornado Outbreak of April 1929
May 2, 1929	Rye Cove, Virginia[1]	12:25 p.m.	13	1929 Rye Cove, Virginia tornado outbreak
November 19, 1930	Bethany, Oklahoma[1]	9:30 a.m.	6	Oklahoma-Kansas Tornado Outbreak of November 1930
January 5, 1931	Norlina, North Carolina[1]	4:45 p.m.	1
February 14, 1936	McRae - Helena, Georgia[1]	4:30 p.m.	2
April 26, 1938	Oshkosh, Nebraska[1]	2:15 p.m.	3	Oshkosh, Nebraska, Tornado Outbreak
February 6, 1942	Jasper County, Georgia[1]	1:30 p.m.	4	Southeast Tornado Outbreak of February 1942
March 16, 1942	O'Tuckalofa, Mississippi[1]	3:00 p.m.	1	March 1942 tornado outbreak
April 27, 1942	Ortonville, Minnesota[1]	3:05 p.m.	2	Pryor, Oklahoma, Tornado Outbreak
January 26, 1944	Granite, Oklahoma[1]	8:30 p.m.	1	January 1944 Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak
March 6, 1944	Horton, Alabama[1]	3:00 p.m.	1
April 12, 1945	Muskogee, Oklahoma[1]	4:50 p.m.	3	Southern Plains-Midwest Tornado Outbreak of April 1945
December 31, 1947	Village, Arkansas[1]	7:35 p.m.	1	New Year's Eve Tornado Outbreak of 1947
February 1, 1955	Commerce Landing, Mississippi[1]	2:20 p.m.	23	Commerce Landing, Mississippi, Tornado Outbreak
January 24, 1967	Orrick, Missouri[1]	12:40 p.m.	2	1967 St. Louis tornado outbreak
April 21, 1967	Belvidere, Illinois[1]	3:50 p.m.	13	Belvidere - Oak Lawn tornado outbreak
May 4, 1978	Clearwater, Florida[1]	10:47 a.m.	3	Sarasota, Florida, Tornadoes
April 8, 1993	Grand Isle, Louisiana[3]	1:20 p.m.	1
March 1, 2007	Enterprise, Alabama[5]	1:10 p.m.	8	February–March 2007 Tornado Outbreak
May 20, 2013	Moore, Oklahoma[6]	2:45 p.m.	7	2013 Moore tornado

• November 16, 1989; Newburgh, New York;[1] 12:05 p.m.; 9; Although officially listed as a tornado, it was all but certain a downburst, see November 1989 Tornado Outbreak
• August 28, 1990; Plainfield, Illinois;[1] 2:30 p.m.; 5; Five staff and faculty at two schools killed the day before classes were to begin, see 1990 Plainfield tornado

Discussion

Ruins of the Longfellow School where 17 children were killed during the Great Tri-State Tornado on March 18, 1925. The storm hit the school at about 2:30 p.m.

From 1884 to 2007, there were 46 tornadoes with school fatalities in the United States. These tornadoes killed 286 (not including the 9 from the probable downburst in New York state). Tornado warnings began being issued in 1950 (and tornado watches in late 1952);[7] and there is a very sharp decrease in number of killer tornado events at schools after this time, as well as a large decrease in death tolls from tornadoes overall.[8] There were 40 tornadoes with deaths at schools (234 deaths) before 1953 and 6 events (52 deaths) after that year (not including the probable downburst in New York). Two high fatality events after 1953 occurred in Mississippi (23 in 1955) and Illinois (13 in 1967); accounting for 82% of 1952-2006 deaths, both from violent class tornadoes.

More tornadoes with deaths in schools have occurred in the Southeastern United States—23 events or over half the national total—than any other region. Four of the top ten death toll events occurred in the Southeast. Relatively few school fatality tornado events have occurred in the area with the highest frequency of strong tornadoes, the Great Plains (Tornado Alley); only a single event occurred after warnings began being issued. This is probably chiefly due to three reasons: the low population density, greater tornado awareness (and better visibility affording more warning), and the time of year and of day that most tornadoes strike the Great Plains.[9][10]

An artist's conception of the April 21, 1967, school tornado disaster.

The state with the most tornado deaths throughout history is Illinois, with 90. The largest school death toll from a tornado was 69 during the Tri-State Tornado, which also struck Illinois and significantly raised that state's death toll. The greatest death toll at a single school also occurred during the Tri-State tornado, when it killed 33 at a school in De Soto, also in Illinois. This tornado also injured hundreds more at schools, and killed many students returning home from schools. Additionally, three of the top ten events by death toll, and four if separate schools of the same tornado are counted (33 in De Soto and 25 in Murphysboro again from the Tri-State Tornado), have occurred in Illinois.

The state with the highest number of tornadoes with deaths at schools is Alabama at 8 events. Illinois is second with 6 tornadoes. Missouri and Oklahoma are tied for third with 5 tornadoes. Fifth is Georgia with 3 tornadoes. Sixth are Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Arkansas, each with 2 events. One school fatality tornado event has occurred in Ohio, Louisiana, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Florida (the probable downburst in New York is not included).

See also

List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths

Tornado preparedness & Tornado myths#Safety Tornado Safety in Schools

References

1. Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. pp. 139–40. ISBN 978-1-879362-03-1.
2. History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana: Their People, Industries, and Institutions. B.F. Bowen. 1914. pp. 100–101.
3. Grazulis, Thomas P. (1997). Significant Tornadoes Update, 1992-1995. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. p. 1409. ISBN 978-1-879362-04-8.
4. http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/64501157.pdf National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form page=E-27
5. Tornado Outbreak of March 1-2, 2007 (NWS)
6. Jorgensen, David P.; Levitan, Marc L.; Phan, Long T.; Kuligowski, Erica D. (Dec 2013). Preliminary Reconnaissance of the May 20, 2013, Newcastle-Moore Tornado in Oklahoma. NIST Special Publication. 1164. doi:10.6028/NIST.sp.1164.
7. Galway, Joseph G. (1975). "Relationship of Tornado Deaths to Severe Weather Watch Areas". Mon. Wea. Rev. 103 (8): 737–41. Bibcode:1975MWRv..103..737G. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1975)103<0737:ROTDTS>2.0.CO;2.
8. Doswell, Charles A, III; A. R. Moller; H. E. Brooks (1999). "Storm Spotting and Public Awareness since the First Tornado Forecasts of 1948". Weather Forecast. 14 (4): 544–57. Bibcode:1999WtFor..14..544D. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.583.5732. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(1999)014<0544:SSAPAS>2.0.CO;2.
9. Ashley, Walker S. (2007). "Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Tornado Fatalities in the United States: 1880–2005". Weather Forecast. 22 (6): 1214–28. Bibcode:2007WtFor..22.1214A. doi:10.1175/2007WAF2007004.1.
10. Kenny, Tim (2000). "Tornado Deaths by Census Region, 1680-1999". Stormtrack. 24 (1): 10.

External links

• Tornado Preparedness Tips for School Administrators (NOAA/SPC)
• The Ten Worst Tornado Related Disasters in Schools (Tornado Project)
• Troutman, Timothy W.; H. M. Allen; J. M. Coyne; D. Nadler (2008-01-20). "Updated Tornado Safety Preparedness for Schools". 17th Symposium on Education. New Orleans, LA: American Meteorological Society.
• Harris, Harold W.; Mehta, Kishor C.; McDonald, James R. (1993). "Design for Occupant Protection in Schools". In Church, Christopher C.; Burgess, D. W.; Doswell III, C. A.; Davies-Jones, R. (eds.). The Tornado: Its Structure, Dynamics, Prediction, and Hazards. Geophysical Monograph. 79. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union. pp. 545–53. Bibcode:1993GMS....79..545H. doi:10.1029/GM079p0545. ISBN 978-0875900384.
• SPC Outlooks and the Traditional School Year (Patrick Marsh, SPC)
• U.S. Tornado Deaths by Physical Location (NOAA/SPC)
• NWS Storm Ready and Weather-Ready Nation programs
• NWS's Owlie Skywarn
• NWS Weather Preparedness Events Calendar (by state)