INDIANA — The deadliest single tornado in Indiana history struck the state on March 18, 1925, as the historic Tri-State Tornado tore through southwestern Indiana after carving a path across Missouri and Illinois.
The tornado entered Indiana near Griffin, destroying much of the town before continuing through Owensville and Princeton. Official records show 76 people were killed in Indiana, the highest death toll from a single tornado in state history. Across all three states, the storm claimed 695 lives, making it the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
Blacksmith and Southern Railway back shop following the Tri-State Tornado, 1925, Princeton, Indiana
The tornado traveled approximately 219 miles, a path that remains the longest ever documented for a tornado. It stayed on the ground for about 3½ hours and is commonly assigned an F5 rating under the original Fujita Scale based on the extreme damage it caused.
According to the Indiana Historical Bureau, the tornado devastated Griffin, where 25 people died, before moving northeast. Princeton suffered extensive destruction, with 45 fatalities reported there. The state historical marker notes that 76 people were killed in Indiana and that the Tri-State Tornado “is still rated the deadliest in U.S. weather history.”
More than a century later, the Tri-State Tornado remains one of the most studied weather disasters in American history and is remembered as both the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the United States and the deadliest single tornado to strike Indiana.
