ABSTRACT
March 18, 1925 was an exceptionally warm day for so early in the spring. Students in De Soto, IL, were enjoying afternoon recess, playing tag and running around the schoolyard. The teacher came outside, looked at the clouds swirling overhead, and called the children back inside. Trooping back in, Moroni sat down next to her 10-year-old sister. The teacher asked the boys Wind as loud and strong as a freight train twisted around the school house and collapsed the walls. to close the window because it looked like it was going to storm. One of the reasons so many people died in the 1925 Tri-State Tornado was because there was no severe weather warning system. Radios had only been broadcasting for a few years, and there was no regular daily forecast of the weather and no way to warn people when severe weather was on its way.
