Tornado outbreak of March 27, 1890
|name=. Remove this parameter; the article title is used as the name by default.|duration= parameter from the infobox header or from another 'History' box instead.Weather map of the low pressure system on March 27, that would produce the tornado outbreak | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 27, 1890 |
| Tornado outbreak | |
| Tornadoes | ≥24 confirmed |
| Maximum rating | F4 tornado |
| Overall effects | |
| Casualties | ≥ 187 fatalities, ≥ 846 injuries |
| Damage | > $2.7 million (1890 USD) > $96.8 million (2025 USD) |
| Areas affected | Middle Mississippi Valley |
On Thursday, March 27, 1890, a major tornado outbreak struck the Middle Mississippi Valley. To this day, this outbreak is still one of the deadliest tornado events in United States history. At least 24 significant tornadoes, several of which were generated by cyclic supercells, were recorded to have spawned from this system, and at least 187 people were killed by tornadoes that day, including a devastating F4 tornado that struck Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 115 people and injuring at least 200 others. Five other violent tornadoes occurred elsewhere, including a long-tracked F4 tornado family that crossed two states, killing 21 people and injuring 200, and two other F4s that killed 14 altogether. A pair of F3s near the Tennessee–Kentucky state line may have killed a combined 37 people.