# Mile Wide Tornado...or Path? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mile-wide-tornado-or-path/580795 "2011-05-05T03:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mile-wide-tornado-or-path/580795/1 "2011-05-05T03:14:50Z")
Just wondering if I heard correctly…recently there was claimed to be a mile-wide tornado, as in diameter??? Or, mile-long path? The former is hard to fathom! ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mile-wide-tornado-or-path/580795/2 "2011-05-05T03:19:33Z")
Could be either. > [@](#): > > Widest damage width > > The widest tornado (defined as damage path, not condensation/debris cloud or radar measurements) on record is the Wilber - Hallam, Nebraska tornado during the outbreak of May 22, 2004, with a width of 2.5 miles (4 km) at its peak.[14] > > The widest tornado as measured by actual radar wind measurements was the Mulhall (1999) tornado in northern Oklahoma which occurred during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. The diameter of the maximum winds (over 110 metres per second (250 mph)) was over 1600 m as measured by a DOW radar. Although the tornado passed largely over rural terrain, the width of the wind swath capable of producing damage was as wide as 4 miles (7 km), making the actual wind field of the Mulhall tornado likely twice as wide as that of the Hallam tornado (the wind field of which was not measured), even though the Hallam tornado resulted in a wider damage path.[15] > **[Tornado records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_records#Widest_damage_width)** > > This article lists various tornado records. The most "extreme" tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State tornado, which spread through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It was likely an F5 on the Fujita Scale (tornadoes were not rated at the time) and holds records for longest path length at 219 miles (352 km) and longest duration at about .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;... ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mile-wide-tornado-or-path/580795/3 "2011-05-05T03:28:27Z")
My Mom was in a tornado in Fargo ND decades ago. It hit their house and moved it several feet; minute later, the other side hit and moved it back. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mile-wide-tornado-or-path/580795/4 "2011-05-05T03:52:20Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Just wondering if I heard correctly…recently there was claimed to be a mile-wide tornado, as in diameter??? Or, mile-long path? The former is hard to fathom! The former it is. From [NOAA](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/?n=2010_04_24_main_tor_madison_parish_oktibbeha) Estimated Max speed: 170mph Damage Path Length: 149 miles Maximum Path Width: 1.75 miles ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mile-wide-tornado-or-path/580795/5 "2011-05-05T04:11:40Z")
the large one down south was a mile diameter. paths are often 5 to 30 miles for small ones. large ones will go near 100 and better.