Weather History

This Day In Weather History

In 1880, an outbreak of around 25 tornadoes struck the Great Plains and Midwest, from Kansas and Arkansas to Wisconsin and Michigan. Three of the twisters were powerful F4s that devastated much of Southwest and Central Missouri, 2 of which occurred simultaneously. All 3 violent twisters ran marathons from 65 to 93 miles long and were massive, averaging one half to 1 mile wide.

The deadliest of the tornadic trio occurred in Southwest Missouri,  where the Marshfield Tornado killed 99 and injured 200. Of the fatalities, 68 were killed in Marshfield in only a few minutes. The widest tornado leveled the town of Barnettsville in Central Missouri. The town was never rebuilt. In all, the outbreak killed around 165 people. The three large tornadoes were responsible for 144 of the fatalities. Damage estimates are unknown.