While tornado alley comes to most peoples' minds when they think of tornados, Jackson County has the notorious distinction of being subjected to the most devastating tornado in US history.  The Tri-state tornado of 1925 passed through our borders causing extreme damage in the towns Gorham, Muphysboro and De Soto.  This record- holding storm caused staggering statics in these towns which include 100% destruction in Gorham, 234 deaths in Murphysboro and 34 childrens' deaths in De Soto grade school.  Despite this being the most cataclysmic and well-known storm in our county's history, other powerful tornados have made their marks as well.  The f5 tornado that hit both Gorham and Murphysboro in December 1957 was one such storm whose impact will not soon be forgotten.  In fact, both Murphysboro and Gorham are the only towns in the county, and possibly the Midwest, to be affected by two f5 tornados.  So it is no surprise that when the sky dims and the clouds begin to churn folks around here head for shelter and tune in to their weather stations.

Few natural disasters carve a landscape of destruction as ominous as tornados do.  The defined path of rubble and often haphazard nature of the damage make such scenes a photographer's paradise.   A photographer's lens becomes a potent way to reel the damage into one powerful scene memorable enough to last a lifetime.