Similar 1955 Great Plains tornado o, 1899 New Richmond tornado, 1908 Dixie tornado outbreak, Great Natchez Tornado, 1953 Flint–Beecher tornado | ||
The 1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that hit the Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States on June 22–23, 1944. The outbreak produced several strong tornadoes in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland—areas that were falsely believed to be immune to tornadoes. Particularly hard hit was the town of Shinnston in Harrison County, West Virginia, which was destroyed by a violent F4 tornado before 9:00 PM EDT on June 23. Thirty people died at Shinnston and at least 104 were killed in the state of West Virginia by this and two other intense tornadoes. The outbreak itself was and still remains the deadliest tornado outbreak ever to hit the state of West Virginia. The Shinnston tornado was and is the only tornado to produce violent damage in West Virginia. No violent (F4–F5) tornado has hit West Virginia before or since the 1944 outbreak.