Spring is tornado season, putting millions of people across the country on high alert for the sometimes devastating storms. The Onion looks back at the worst tornadoes in U.S. history.
1896: The St. Louis Tornado kills 255 and injures 1,000, most of whom were storm chasers attempting to get up close and capture its beauty on canvas.
1899: The New Richmond Tornado, originally known as the Big Swirly Uh-Oh, is given a more formal name after it becomes clear that 117 lives were lost.
1925: The Tri-State Tornado travels 300 miles through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing hundreds before being brought down by a sharpshooter.
1936: The Gainesville Tornado earns MVP of the ’36 Jefferson High School football season after destroying the rival town.
1951: An absolutely terrible tornado touches down just outside Sioux City, IA—uneven funnel, droopy anvil, just a flat-out pathetic showing as far as tornados go.
1994: Despite the extreme predictions for the Las Vegas Automotive Trade Show Cash Tornado, not a single one of those total fucking losers managed to grab more than 11 bucks.
2011: The Joplin Tornado kills 115 people, prompting the Missouri legislature to ban all future tornados.
2023: Oh, just you wait.
