Thursday,  April 24, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 280 • 10 of 29

Today in Weather History


1948: A significant tornado (F2) moved Northeast from South of Castlewood to near Goodwin. Barns were destroyed on two farms. Also on this day, two other tornadoes were observed in South Dakota. One moved from Turner County on into Minnehaha County, injuring two people. The other touchdown 3 miles Southeast of Sioux Falls, destroying barns and other buildings on the west edge of Brandon.

2010: An EF-4 tornado killed 10 people in 3 Mississippi counties. It injured 146 along its 149 mile track in the span of almost 3 hours. This was the widest tornado in the state's recorded history (1.75 miles).

1880: An F5 (estimated) tornado struck Christian County, IL, causing farms to vanish. Between 6 and 11 people were killed, with some bodies carried for half a mile.

1908: Tornadoes in the Southeast claimed the lives of 310 people. An F4 tornado at Amite, LA may have been two miles wide and killed 29 people in town. That tornado was part of a tornado family that was on the ground for 155 miles and took 143 lives. At Purvis, MS 55 people were killed and 143 of the town's 150 buildings were destroyed.

1980: Three of eight helicopters were damaged in a sandstorm during a failed attempt to rescue 52 American hostages held in Iran. The hostages were later released on January 20, 1981.

2010: An EF4 tornado stayed on the ground for an amazing 149 miles from northeast Louisiana through north central Mississippi, devastating Yazoo City, MS and killing ten people. The tornado was up to 1.75 miles wide.

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