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List of tornado-related deaths at schools

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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

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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 1865 Viroqua tornado
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 March 1917 tornado outbreak
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 April 1924 tornado outbreak
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 Tornado outbreak of May 1927
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 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
November 16, 1989[note 1] Newburgh, New York[1] 12:05 p.m. 9 November 1989 Tornado Outbreak
April 8, 1993 Grand Isle, Louisiana[3] 1:20 p.m. 1 Tornadoes of 1993#April 8
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

Discussion

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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 47 tornadoes with school fatalities in the United States. These tornadoes killed 295. 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, New York (although this event was probably a downburst instead of a tornado), Minnesota, and Florida.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Although officially listed as a tornado, it was all but certain a downburst

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at 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. ^ a b c d e f 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. 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. hdl:10843/13372. S2CID 3035228.
  10. ^ Kenny, Tim (2000). "Tornado Deaths by Census Region, 1680-1999". Stormtrack. 24 (1): 10.
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