What the Worst Tornado in History Was Really Like

June 29th, 1764, seemed like a regular day in one small picturesque town in

Germany, Wolldeck. Residents were in church. Little did they know that a powerful

storm was about to hit the area. It wasn't just an ordinary storm, it was a strong

swirling tornado getting closer and closer. It was an F2 tornado at the beginning,

strong enough to uproot trees like oaks and beaches. But as time went by, it grew

and became more powerful. It even picked up two children on its way and threw them

into a lake. Something strange happened, too. The water level in the lake rose and

then quickly retreated, leaving the lake behind the tornado struck a house, tearing

off the roof and knocking down the walls. Then the tornado changed direction and

headed east, northeast, increasing its intensity to F3 level. That's when

something fascinating happened. A possible twin or satellite water spout merged

with the tornado along the shore of Lake Luzin. It was like two tornadoes coming

together. It got wider and stronger, so it started snapping and uprooting solitary oak

trees, flinging them 115 feet into the air. It left behind a barren landscape,

removing crops, grass, and even topsoil. Back then, people couldn't even read or write

very well, let alone use devices that could predict a tornado. This one was so strong,

it destroyed houses, barns, and even uprooted trees. Such a terrifying thing to see.

But there was something special about the church people were in. It had strong stone walls,

so they were safe inside, even though everything outside was getting destroyed.

They didn't even realize how lucky they were until later, with winds estimated to be

over 300 mm, it was unstoppable. The tornado traveled a distance of 19 miles,

and stretched to a maximum width of 0.6 miles. A raging storm through tree branches so high,

people believed they ended up in the atmosphere. Another strange thing about this tornado was that

it occurred during a dry storm. There was very little rain reported, but the storm still managed

to make such a mess. It even produced large hailstones, some as big as 5.9 inches in diameter.

Just imagine chunks of ice that large falling from the sky. These hailstones caused significant

damage to crops and properties, and everything else that was outside at that time.

After the storm passed, one scientist, Gottlob Birchard Gensmer, studied the damage,

and talked to people who had witnessed the tornado, only to realize this was one of the strongest

tornadoes ever recorded in history. It reached F5, the highest rating on what's called the Fujita

Scale, which measures tornado strength. It took an hour for the madness to stop. Back in 1925,

people in Northeast Missouri didn't have an organized tornado warning system either.

It took them by surprise when one day, in the early afternoon, they saw a tornado forming in that

area. At first, it was a small one that briefly lifted off the ground. But as time went by,

it started growing into a massive monster. Meanwhile, in West Frankfurt, Illinois,

some miners were working deep underground, about 500 feet below the surface. Suddenly,

the power went out, and they knew something was wrong. They quickly started climbing up the shaft

to get to the surface. When they finally made it, they were in for a terrible shock,

because of the devastating consequences of this giant tornado. The tornado didn't even stop there.

It kept on making a mess as it traveled a long distance. It plowed through the land for a

whopping 219 miles, all the way from near Redford, Missouri to the east of Princeton, Indiana.

It moved at a crazy speed of 73 miles an hour. In one town, Murphy'sboro, Illinois,

the tornado wiped out a staggering 100 blocks of the town, plus another 70 blocks ended up

destroyed by fire. In another town, Griffin, Indiana, not a single building was left standing.

The tornado got weaker only at 430 in the afternoon. This tornado, known as the tri-state tornado,

really made history as the worst and longest-lasting tornado ever recorded in the United States.

In April 1965, people in the region of the Great Lakes started complaining about this weird heat.

The forecast showed no storms for that area. It was because of thunderstorms sweeping across

the upper Midwest of the United States. These storms were insane and so powerful they created

51 tornadoes in just 12 hours. The states of Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan ended up being hit

particularly hard. Something unfortunate happened during this time. All this caught the forecast team,

the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, in Kansas City, Missouri, off guard. They quickly

tried to send out warnings to let people know what was happening, but many people didn't hear

the announcements because there were no outdoor tornado sirens at that time. Additionally,

a lot of TV and radio stations didn't regularly broadcast weather alerts. Power was gone,

and telephone lines didn't work, which meant many towns were completely cut off from communications.

People couldn't receive the warnings because they didn't have access to electricity or working

phones. One spring day in 1974 was especially hard because of severe thunderstorms that unleashed a

series of powerful tornadoes across 13 states in the United States. These tornadoes lasted for 16

hours, and they ranged from weaker F-0 to the most powerful and destructive F-5 ones. At one

terrifying moment, there were 15 tornadoes touching the ground at the same time. One lasted for

more than two hours, and two others were swirling around each other like dancers. This was another

big lesson after which some changes in tornado warnings were made. In those days, weather forecasters

could only warn people about a tornado if they had seen one with their own eyes, which was mostly too late.

April 26th, 1989. At around 630 in the afternoon, the sky above one district, Managange,

in Bangladesh, turned dark and ominous. The tornado began its journey from one point,

Dalatpur, and moved swiftly eastward, Saturia, Manigange Sadar. People living in that region had

already been facing a severe drought, and little did they know there were even worse scenarios

coming. The storm was fierce, stretching about 10 miles long and one mile wide. It covered a

relatively small area, but it still caused enormous damage. It tore through the land and blew away

buildings, thousands of trees, strong and rooted for years, and everything else in its path.

The countryside of Marsala in western Sicily is really beautiful, but it wasn't so stunning

on December 8th, 1,851. Two fierce tornadoes suddenly swept across the land, leaving nothing but chaos.

As they moved, they brought along heavy rain and hail storms, causing even more damage to the

already vulnerable farmlands. One town, Castellamare, had an amazing harbor with plenty of ships,

and it suffered great damage. The news of this devastating event reached far and wide,

even making its way to the illustrated London news. The outbreak in Oklahoma from 24 years ago,

May 3rd, 1999, was tough too. Just one stormy day caused enormous damage from Texas

all the way up to South Dakota. At least 45 tornadoes touched down, and Oklahoma was hit the hardest

with an F5 tornado. The story seemed familiar. What first seemed like a small twister quickly

grew into a massive force that, at one point, measured one mile in width. This one ripped asphalt

from roads, peeling it away in layers like fragile paper. It tore the vegetation away and even

wrapped roofing materials around power lines. NASA scientists studied the area using satellites.

They realized it would take between 10 to 20 years for the vegetation to fully regrow,

in the region where the tornado left nothing but muddy, barren land.

Oklahoma is in a pretty unfortunate spot when it comes to tornadoes. Take 1,947 as an example.

The Woodward tornado got named after the city it had struck. This monstrous tornado was massive.

It reached 1.8 miles in width, and it raced forward at an incredible speed of around 50 mumpic.

Before reaching Woodward, the tornado had already caused a lot of mess in other towns along its path.

But it was in Woodward where it unleashed its worst fury. Without any warning,

it struck the city at 842 in the evening, catching the residents by surprise.

Communication with the outside world was cut off, leaving families uncertain about the fate of

their loved ones. As if one tornado isn't enough, some areas get struck by a series of them.

In 1908, an outbreak of tornadoes swept across the eastern part of the United States,

from Texas to Georgia and then northward from Oklahoma to Tennessee. At least 34 tornadoes touched down.

Nature showed no mercy, buildings were torn apart, and once thriving streets were reduced to rubble.

The Fujita scale measures tornado strength based on two things.

The speed of the winds and the amount of destruction caused.

F5 tornadoes are the strongest, most destructive ones.

I mean some people talk about F6 tornado with winds that could blow it over 300 miles per hour.

If this one was passing by, you definitely know how Dorothy felt.

Luckily, F6 exists only in stories, and Oz is the last place you are likely to end up at.