Creeks in the area had risen so high that children in the town did not go to school the next day on Mabecause they knew their teacher could not make it to the school.Īround noon on that day, weather conditions worsened and residents took cover from an approaching thunderstorm that spawned a violent, deadly tornado. In southwest Missouri between Branson and the Arkansas border are the remains of a former town named Melva.Īccording to a detailed write-up from the White River Valley Historical Society, the story in Melva began with very heavy rain the night before the tornado struck. Image courtesy of the White River Valley Historical Society. An incredible 66 tornadoes touched downed in South Dakota alone in eight hours.įor our next town, we head to the early 20th century in Missouri. The Manchester tornado was the strongest of 95 tornadoes that struck parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wyoming and Iowa in the outbreak. Afterwards, Manchester was never rebuilt and in 2007 a monument was dedicated in the former town. The tornado that moved through the small town was around a half mile wide! Amazingly, no fatalities were reported.Īccording to the 2000 census, the town only had a population of 109 before the tornado wiped out just about everything it its path. On the evening of June 24, 2003, the town of Manchester, S.D. For our first ghost town, we don't have to go far back in the history books. Greg Forbes has compiled a list of so-called 'tornado ghost towns' that no longer exist because of extreme tornado damage. However, for a handful of towns devastated by tornadoes in the central United States, this term is appropriate.

When it comes to ghost towns, images of the Wild West, not tornado destruction, probably come to mind first.

Ghost towns in southwest missouri