1
May 22, 2011 — 158 dead. Direct hit on 6-mile-wide swath through Joplin. St. John's Hospital destroyed.
$4.8B$3.6B in 2011 $
2
April 27, 2011 — 64 dead. 80-mile track through two metros during Super Outbreak.
$3.4B$2.5B in 2011 $
3
May 3, 1999 — 36 dead. Peak wind 301 mph. Destroyed 2,000+ homes.
$2.5B$1.1B in 1999 $
4
Moore, OK EF5
May 20, 2013 — 24 dead. Struck 4 miles from the 1999 F5 path.
$2.3B$2.0B in 2013 $
5
April 27, 2011 — 72 dead. 132-mile track.
$1.9B$1.4B in 2011 $
6
April 3, 1974 — 32 dead. Super Outbreak headline event. Destroyed half of Xenia.
$1.5B$100M in 1974 $
7
May 4, 2007 — 11 dead. 95% of town destroyed. Later rebuilt sustainably.
$1.3B$500M in 2007 $
8
Nashville-Cookeville, TN EF4
March 3, 2020 — 25 dead. Nighttime tornado through metropolitan Nashville.
$1.3B$1.2B in 2020 $
9
December 10, 2021 — 57 dead in Mayfield. Cool-season EF4, 165-mile track.
$1.2B$1.1B in 2021 $
10
Wichita Falls, TX F4
April 10, 1979 — 42 dead. "Terrible Tuesday."
$1.1B$260M in 1979 $
11
Lubbock, TX F5
May 11, 1970 — 26 dead. Downtown Lubbock heavily damaged.
$1.0B$135M in 1970 $
12
May 25, 2008 — 8 dead. First EF5 under the Enhanced Fujita scale.
$0.8B$500M in 2008 $
13
Andover, KS EF3
April 29, 2022 — 0 dead. Struck same area as 1991 F5. Modern shelters credited with lack of fatalities.
$0.8B$0.8B in 2022 $
14
Rolling Fork, MS EF4
March 24, 2023 — 26 dead. Devastated Rolling Fork.
$0.7B$0.7B in 2023 $
15
Little Rock, AR EF3
March 31, 2023 — 5 dead. Struck metropolitan Little Rock.
$0.6B$0.6B in 2023 $
Notes on cost estimation
Cost figures are insured damages only. Total damages including uninsured losses can be 25-50% higher. Historical figures inflation-adjusted using CPI-U to 2024 dollars. Older events (pre-1970s) have wider uncertainty ranges due to less complete insurance market data.
The 2011 Super Outbreak in total caused approximately $10.2B in insured damages ($13.5B in 2024 dollars). It is by far the costliest tornado outbreak in US history.