Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 was one of the largest tornado outbreaks on record which affected the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. Most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas; isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas. An especially destructive tornado destroyed one-third of Joplin, Missouri, resulting in 158 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The Joplin tornado is the deadliest in the U.S. since April 9, 1947, when an intense tornado killed 181 in the Woodward, Oklahoma area. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Overall, the tornado outbreak resulted in 184 deaths, 6 of those non-tornadic, making it second only to the 2011 Super Outbreak as the deadliest since 1974, and the second costliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history behind that same April 2011 outbreak, with insured damage estimated at $4–7 billion.
April 1956 tornado outbreak
The April 1956 tornado outbreak was a large, deadly tornado outbreak that affected the Great Plains, parts of the South, and the upper Midwest in the contiguous United States. Occurring from April 2–3, 1956, the outbreak produced 47 tornadoes, including an F5 tornado that devastated the Hudsonville and Standale, Michigan areas in the U.S. state of Michigan on April 3. It was one of three tornadoes to move across southwest Lower Michigan on that day. A fourth tornado struck north of the Manistee area. The Hudsonville-Standale tornado killed 18 and injured 340. In addition to confirmed tornadoes, there were several unconfirmed but possible tornadoes. An F2 may have hit east of Ogdensburg, Wisconsin, destroying a general store and a rural school. Nine barns were damaged or destroyed as well. A tornado may have also overturned two buildings and uprooted trees near Pana, Illinois. In addition to a confirmed F2 tornado near Topeka, Indiana, two other unconfirmed tornadoes may have hit northwest of LaGrange and at Emma, destroying or damaging numerous buildings, including a home and a barn that were blown down, and throwing (but not injuring) two people from a horse and buggy.