Tornado Prom

Susan Burton reports on Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansas, a town of about 3,000. While the seniors danced, a tornado hit the town, destroying about a third of it.

Best New Artist2001 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition

2001 / Susan Burton / This American Life, USA

Susan Burton reports on Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansas, a town of about 3,000. While the seniors danced, a tornado hit the town, destroying about a third of it.

When the students emerged from the dance, they discovered what had happened, and in the weeks that followed, they tried to explain to themselves why the tornado hit where it did.

Tornado Prom won the Best New Artist Award in the 2001 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition.


produced by

Susan Burton

Susan Burton's writing has appeared in Slate, Mother Jones, New York, the New Yorker, and the New York Times Magazine.


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