Great Natchez Tornado
Overview
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
on May 7, 1840. It is the second deadliest single tornado in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history, killing 317 people (the only tornado in the United States to have killed more people was the Tri-State Tornado
Tri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the 1840 Great Natchez Tornado...
). It is also the only recorded massive tornado in the U.S.A. that killed more people than it injured: only 109 were injured. The Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
rating of this tornado is almost certainly an F5 but since there was no Fujita scale at the time, this tornado remains uncategorized.
The tornado formed southwest of Natchez, shortly before 1 p.m., and moved northeast along the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
The vortex then struck the riverport of Natchez Landing, located below the bluff from Natchez.
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