1898 Fort Smith tornadoes
Destroyed homes in Fort Smith | |
| Tornado outbreak | |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes | ≥5 |
| Maximum rating | F4 tornado |
| Duration | January 11, 1898 |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 56 |
| Injuries | 118 |
| Damage | ≥$453,000 (≥$17,530,000 in 2025 USD) |
| Areas affected | Arkansas, Missouri, and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) |
Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1898 | |
On January 11, 1898, a series of tornadoes affected the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri, as well as the Indian Territory, presently Oklahoma. At least five in all, these included the Fort Smith tornado, which struck the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Retroactively rated a violent (F4) tornado on the modern-day Fujita scale, it was part of a tornado family that formed 60 mi (97 km) to the southwest, and struck the city around midnight, killing 55 people and injuring 113. The twister nearly destroyed the newly constructed Fort Smith High School that had opened in fall 1897. Other tornadoes were reported that night in Arkansas and Missouri. The Fort Smith tornado is tied with one that struck Warren in 1949, also rated F4, for the deadliest tornado to strike Arkansas.