Was the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area on 3 May 1999 actually an F-6 tornado? Was it the worst tornado ever?
A lot of hype has been perpetuated about this … so much so, in fact, that I’ve written an essay about it, that can be found here. In short, I don’t believe that an F-6 rating has any meaning, so the question is without basis. As for it being a record-breaking event … there’s no way to know, but I doubt that it was the worst ever. My colleague, Harold Brooks, and I have developed evidence that the worst tornado event in U.S. history, in terms of damage, might have been the tornado that hit St. Louis, MO in 1896! The worst tornado ever, in terms of fatalities, is the Tri-State tornado of 1925, of course (see item #24, above). See my essay for an in-depth discussion of tornado “records” however.
Related Questions
- I live in an area where there are a lot of tornado warnings, but not that many tornadoes actually touch down. Why do we get so many warnings?
- Was the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area on 3 May 1999 actually an F-6 tornado? Was it the worst tornado ever?
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