However, the storm that produced the tornado lasted for around 30 minutes3. No matter the numbers, however, it’s unlikely the Natchez could overtake the Tri-State Tornado for deadliest ever. 2017. Facts and lessons Tornadoes are stronger in water and mostly form in thunderstorms. This tornado was the second deadliest tornado in United States history; at least 317 people were killed and at least 109 were injured.
The Natchez Tornado struck down on May 7, 1840. It started around Natchez Island from the top of the bluff next to the river 3. Facts and lessons Tornadoes are stronger in water and mostly form in thunderstorms. People living on shanty boats may have perished in the Mississippi River, but were not counted because their bodies were washed downstream. As best as historical documentation indicates, the tornado came right up the river, with the left edge passing over the camera and the center of the tornado off to the east (left), where it destroyed the city. 05 May. Contact me. When the dust settled, it was estimated that some 47 people on land in Natchez were killed, and another 269 were killed on the river. Tornado Alley is no stranger to powerful storms, as evidenced by the might and fury of the Great Natchez Tornado in 1840. It is the second deadliest single tornado in United States history, killing 317 people (the only tornado in the United States to have killed more people was the Tri-State Tornado). It was a little before 1 p.m. on a Thursday, and there was a lot of commerce taking place at the time. The tornado formed southwest of Natchez and moved northeast along the Mississippi River. The day started out as “excessively sultry. It followed the river directly, stripping forests from both shores. The Tri-State Tornado reportedly killed 695 people, more than double the roughly 320 the Natchez is reported to have killed. Natchez was almost totally destroyed by a mile-wide tornado and 317 lives were lost. The river shore below the bluff (right) is where most of the boats, as described in the next section, would have been anchored. It is also one of the few tornadoes to have killed more people than it injured: only 109 were injured. Either way, the Natchez tornado of 1840 firmly ranks as the #2 most deadly tornado in U.S. history, behind the Tri-State Tornado of 1925. Pg.
The river was rather busy on the day the tornado touched down.
Why Does Tornado Alley Exist? Most of the bodies that were found (which did not float down river and lost) were unable to be identified because no-one knew who they were or where they came from. The Great Natchez Tornado hit Natchez, Mississippi, on Thursday, May 7, 1840. This tornado was the second deadliest tornado in United States history; at least 317 people were killed and at least 109 were injured. This was mostly because a town to the north, Vicksburg, had levied a tax on boat anchoring. A piece of a steamboat window was reportedly found 30 miles (50 km) from the river.
When it struck Natchez, it destroyed dozens of buildings, killing at least 48. The tornado hit suddenly. We’ll never conquer Mother Nature, but we can learn from her! Newspapers.com. List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks, Tornado outbreak sequence of Early-December 1953, http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=7647, http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac The Great 1840 Natchez Tornado, http://www.natchezcitycemetery.com The Great Natchez Tornado of 1840, "Tri-State" (Missouri, Illinois and Indiana), St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Natchez_Tornado&oldid=977583669, Tornado outbreaks with no Fujita scale ratings given, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 September 2020, at 18:30. Or do they? of Cong. These are large rafts that carried goods on one-way trips down to New Orleans to be sold. Perhaps rain-wrapped, at around 2:10 p.m1 it moved into town. 199 (27th Congress, 2nd Session) was the report of the Commission to fix the demarcation between the United States and the Republic of Texas. 1840; DREADFUL VISITATION OF PROVIDENCE. In east St. Louis, the swath of the tornado narrowed and, as so often happens in such circumstances, the funnel’s speed and power increased. Shortly before 1 p.m., a mile-wide tornado -- raging with timber, water and debris of every nature -- slammed into Natchez and Vidalia. The steamer Hinds was badly damaged but did not sink. The tornado followed the river north, scraping the far southern and eastern edge of the town of Vidalia. Winds at New Orleans in the afternoon were from the southeast at 45 mph (72 km/h). A conceptual drawing of the steamboat Hinds being capsized by the Natchez Tornado. The US isn’t the only place that gets tornadoes, but the weather phenomenon does seem to be at its strongest in this part of the world. Jeremy Liu has always been fascinated by extreme weather—but he prefers to write about the world’s deadliest storms from the safety and comfort of his home office. 140-142.TS. Hanna Newspapers , 26 Apr. 2017. This was supposed to be the same tornado which occasioned such dreadful destruction of human lives and houses in Natchez on the 7th of May." Tornadoes can form in every state in the US and in every season. At Natchez Landing, the destruction of dwellings, stores, steamboats and flatboats was almost complete.
3 “Dreadful Visitation of Providence.” Natchez Free Trader 8 May 1840: The Tennessean. 2 Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant tornadoes 1680-1991: A chronology and analysis of events. It then moved into the town of Natchez and destroyed many buildings. It then moved into the town of Natchez and destroyed many buildings. GenDisasters is a genealogy site, compiling information on the historic disasters, events, and tragic accidents our ancestors endured, as well as, information about their life and death. It started around Natchez Island from the top of the bluff next to the river3. Though, as noted before, the river death count is uncertain as well. This tornado wasn’t rated, and the highest achieved wind speed is unknown. The vortex then struck the riverport of Natchez Landing, located below the bluff from Natchez. There were a large number of boats anchored at Natchez that fateful day. The Great Natchez Tornado hit Natchez, Mississippi on May 7, 1840. The Great Natchez Tornado hit Natchez, Mississippi on May 7, 1840. The death toll is slightly disputed because of the land death toll of 48. He’s much less likely to get hit with a flying cow that way. Safety When a tornado is coming get into shelter: Room with no windows or under ground level Stay away from debris after the tornado Description Great Natchez Tornado 1840 Causes: Date: May 7, 1840 -thunderstorms -wind
The actual number of casualties, however, may have been much higher, because in pre-Civil War Mississippi, slave deaths would not necessarily have been recorded. From weather accounts in areas surrounding Natchez, a strong frontal system was passing over the lower Mississippi valley. As the river churned with massive waves and whitecaps, flatboats and men were tossed into the air like sardines. The central and northern portions of Natchez were slammed by the funnel as, according to one account, "the air was black with whirling eddies of walls, roofs, chimneys and huge timbers from distant ruins...all shot through the air as if thrown from a mighty catapult.". Understanding advanced tornadic radar signatures, Breaking down the Pilger tornadoes of June 16, 2014, Tornado Threat Forecast: April 22-23, 2020, Busting severe storm myths before they bust your forecast, Tornado Threat Forecast: April 19-20, 2020. Natchez, MS Terrible Tornado Destruction, May 1840. By the next day, about 50 people were dead in Natchez3, though later reports have the number at 482. The final death toll was 48 on land and 269 on the river, mostly from the sinking of flatboats. “Stanley Nelson: ‘Our beautiful city is shattered’.” Concordia Sentinel. Natchez wasn’t prepared for such a massive, deadly tornado, especially not out in the open on the riverbank.