The Longest Tornado Tracks

Tornadoes that stay on the ground for hours, crossing county and state lines, are among the most dangerous atmospheric events possible. The National Weather Service recognizes the 1925 Tri-State Tornado as holding the absolute record for the longest continuous path, tearing across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana for a staggering 219 miles.

Modern science has revealed that some historical "long-track" storms were actually "tornado families"—multiple individual tornadoes produced by the same supercell that lifted and dropped consecutively. However, true long-track tornadoes still occur, maintaining a single continuous ground scar for over 100 miles. Below are the longest tracks documented in our archive.