The Tri-State Tornado
By Serina Meinecke
What happened
In Annapolis, MO. it started out a hazy day with thunder off in the distance. Then a smoky fog came down from above the small Ozarks town. It came and went really fast, most people had no clue what happened. When the twister reached Biehle, MO. it split into a double tornado. It then crossed the Mississippi river into the town Murphysboro, IL., and there the tornado had reached a mile across in size. The further it went down, the more power it gained and the more destruction it caused. It finally ended in the town of Princeton 3 and a half hours after it began.
What weather conditions caused this?
the tornado ran along what is called the triple point, the intersection between the warm front, cold front, and occluded front, near the center of low pressure. This is what caused the tornado to form.
How were people affected? Could they've predicted or prepared for this?
There were 695 deaths and 2027 injuries. This wasn’t predicted because the weather before the tornado happened was rainy and cloudy. Usually the weather before a tornado happens is sunny and windy. The only way to prepare for this is to get as far away from it that you can, it was highly destructive and moved quickly.
What were some of the environmental impacts?
It destroyed years of vegetation and development by humans. In some places the wind was so strong, grass was being pulled out of the ground. A fire was also caused by the destruction of buildings in one town the tornado passed through. As it gained power and speed, trees were being torn in half of up completely by the roots.
What were some of the economical impacts?
It had a huge impact on the economy and it wasn’t good. The tornado destroyed everything in its path, which was a lot. It would take thousands and even millions to repair damage in the areas it hit. A lot of vegetation was destroyed, cutting farmers short of food and ways to get payed. This made prices for everything else go up.
Why do tornadoes tend to form in tornado alley?
Because it’s relatively flat area which allows cold air from the north to meet with warm air coming from the south. Along where these two fronts meet is where a majority of the tornadoes take place
An interesting fact
The tornado was named the tri state tornado because it passed through three states.