6th deadliest tornado in US history

A twister packed winds estimated at 170 mph and chewed a path of destruction nearly a mile wide in Lee County, Alabama, March 3.

The tornado’s toll stood at 23 people dead in this rural community in Lee County a day later.

Others missing have been accounted for.

See photos of the devastation.

Debris litters a yard the day after a deadly tornado damaged a home in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Debris from a home litters a yard the day after a tornado blew it off its foundation, lower right, in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Ashley Griggs, right, helps Joey Roush, left sift through what's left of his mother's home after it was destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Debris from a friend's home stands in the background as Ashley Griggs wipes away dirt from a photo found in the rubble of what it used to look like before it was destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Danny Allen helps recover belongings while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Danny Allen recovers a family photo while sifting through the debris of a friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Dax Leandro, right, and Ashley Griggs look at a family photo recovered from the debris of their friend's home destroyed by a tornado in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Carol Dean, left, cries while embraced by Lawanda Anderson as Dean sifts through the debris of the home she shared with her husband, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "He was my wedding gift," said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. "He was one in a million. He'd send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He'd send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I'm not going to be the same." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Carol Dean, right, cries while embraced by Megan Anderson and her 18-month-old daughter Madilyn, as Dean sifts through the debris of the home she shared with her husband, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "He was my wedding gift," said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. "He was one in a million. He'd send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He'd send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I'm not going to be the same." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
ADDED SHARED WITH-Carol Dean, right, is embraced by David Theo Dean as they sift through the debris of the home Carol shared with her husband and David's father, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "He was my wedding gift," said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. "He was one in a million. He'd send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He'd send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I'm not going to be the same." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Shiraka Baker stands in the bathroom where she rode out a tornado with her husband and three children as she retrieves belongings from the damaged home in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night,killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night,killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Destruction is seen from tornadoes that came through last night, killing multiple people, in Lee County, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Carol Dean cries after finding her wedding photo while sifting through the rubble of the home she shared with husband, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "Our son found him. He was done and gone before we got to him. My life is gone. He was the reason I lived, the reason that I got up," said Dean. "He always told me he loved me before we went to sleep." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Carol Dean holds up her wedding photo to show family members after finding it in the rubble of the home she shared with husband, David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed the house in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "Our son found him. He was done and gone before we got to him. My life is gone. He was the reason I lived, the reason that I got up," said Dean. "He always told me he loved me before we went to sleep." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Family and friends of David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed his house, sift through the rubble by flashlight at dusk looking for personal items in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Family and friends of David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed his house, sift through the rubble by flashlight at dusk to help his wife look for personal mementos in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Family and friends of David Wayne Dean, who died when a tornado destroyed his house, sift through the rubble by flashlight at dusk to help his wife look for personal mementos in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Debris is scattered over a neighborhood where homes were destroyed by a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Debris litters a property after a home was damaged by a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Emergency personnel clear storm damage on Lee County Road 11 near the intersection of Lee County Road 39, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Beauregard, Ala., following a powerful storm system including a tornado Sunday. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
An emergency worker inspects damage seen on Lee County Road 11 near the intersection of Lee County Road 39, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Beauregard, Ala., following a powerful storm system including a tornado Sunday. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
K-9 emergency personnel work in storm damaged areas on Lee County Road 166, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Beauregard, Ala., following a powerful storm system including a tornado Sunday. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
An uprooted tree lies by a house on Lee County Road 166, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Beauregard, Ala, following deadly tornados that hit the area Sunday. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
The Buck Wild Saloon sits without the roof and the front wall, Monday, March 4, 2019, in Smiths Station, Ala, following a powerful storm system Sunday. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
This photo shows tangled wreckage of a cell tower left by US-280 in Smiths Station, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019, after it fell on the highway due to a powerful storm system that went through the area Sunday. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
A wedding photo of Carol Dean and David Wayne Dean sits in a pile of personal items Carol Dean recovered while sifting through the debris after a tornado destroyed their home a day earlier killing her husband in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. "He was my wedding gift," said Dean of her husband whom she married three years ago. "He was one in a million. He'd send me flowers to work just to let me know he loved me. He'd send me some of the biggest strawberries in the world. I'm not going to be the same." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Granadas Baker retrieves personal items from his home after a tornado caused extensive damage to a neighborhood a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Granadas Baker retrieves personal items from his home after a tornado caused extensive damage to a neighborhood a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Dorothy Gubich, left, shows David Theo Dean family photos she found while sifting through the rubble after a tornado killed his father, David Wayne Dean, and destroyed his home a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
First responders walk through a neighborhood heavily damaged by a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Granadas Baker, second from left, passes a family photo to his daughter Kiara Slater, left, while holding up an unsteady wall with son Granadas Jr. 18, right, as his other son Cameron, 11, looks on while retrieving personal items from the damaged home where they survived a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Kiara Slater, left, passes a photo album to her mother Shiraka Baker while retrieving personal items from her mother's damaged home where Baker survived a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Shiraka Baker, left, passes a photo of her son to her daughter, Kiara Slater, while retrieving personal items from her damaged home where she survived a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Cameron Baker, 11, looks into his room where a tree lays while retrieving personal items from the damaged home where he survived a tornado a day earlier with his family in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Kiara Slater carries out personal items from her parents' damaged home where they survived a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Kiara Slater carries out personal items from her parents' damaged home where they survived a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Granadas Baker, left, and son Granadas Jr. 18, right, retrieve personal items from the damaged home where they survived a tornado a day earlier in Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Shaun Capps sifts through the rubble of his parents' home and the house where he grew up the day after a tornado hit Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Trey Capps Trey Capps looks over the rubble of his parents' home and the house where he grew up the day after a tornado hit Beauregard, Ala., Monday, March 4, 2019. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
(1/53)
Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up