The 5 Biggest Tornadoes in Modern History

Each year over 400 tornadoes touch down in "Tornado Alley", that's far more than anywhere else in the world. It is an area spanning 7 states from Texas to South Dakota. Tornadoes are measured from 0-5 on the Fujita scale. Here are 5 of the deadliest tornadoes in recorded history:

Attica, Kansas | May 12, 2004 | Fujita Scale: 2-4: Several thunder storms formed and at 7:25 an F2 tornado touched down, tearing roofs apart, followed by 16 additional tornadoes touching down nearby, including an F4 with wind speeds up to 248mph.

Pampa, Texas | June 8, 1995 | Fujita Scale: 4: This 250mph tornado made erratic and unpredictable movements, hit a major industrial complex, lifting 3 ton trucks and destroying 200 homes and 50 businesses. 7 people were injured, but all survived.

Jarrell, Texas | May 27, 1997 | Fujita Scale: 5: With top speeds of 260mph, this tornado killed 27 people and over 300 cattle. It traveled laterally at just 9 miles per hour as opposed to the average rate of 30mph, so it caused more damage due to lingering longer in places.

Missouri, Illinois Indiana, USA | March 18, 1925 | Fujita Scale: 5: This is the strongest tornado in US history. It lasted for hours, killed 695 people and had a 200-mile path of destruction. Whole houses were lifted off their foundations and tossed through the air.

Moore, Oklahoma | May 3, 1999 | Fujita Scale 5: With 700 injuries and 40 people killed, this was the costliest tornado in US history with over $1bil in damage, mostly from mass amounts of debris. This tornado leveled 3,000 houses.

The strong winds, flying debris, congested highways and lack of infrastructure all contributed to many of the disastrous results of these mega tornadoes.

There is an average of 12 minutes warning for residents in the path of a tornado. Many in Tornado Alley are so used to tornadoes that they either do not respond at all to warnings, or wait until it's too late to escape. Often retreating into a basement can be life-saving.

Scientists say all signs point to a mega tornado coming at an indetermined time in the future. They predict a F:5+ tornado will eventually form over north central texas.If it were to hit downtown Dallas, cars could be flung in all directions causing mass destruction.

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