1850 Tornado vs Nauvoo Temple, Illinois

So, I'm running into the below image with the following description:

• Drawing of the Nauvoo Temple ruins by Federick Piercy, made during a visit to Nauvoo in 1853. This drawing is important, because it is the only known depiction of the Nauvoo Temple's interior structure.
• The drawing was published in Piercy's Route from Liverpoole to Great Salt Lake Valley, London, 1855.

So, I turn to Wiki to see what happened to the poor Nauvoo Temple:

• The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois, in the winter of 1846, the church attempted to sell the building, finally succeeding in 1848. The building was damaged by fire and a tornado before being demolished.
• On May 27, 1850, Nauvoo was struck by a major tornado which toppled one of the walls of the temple. One source claimed the storm seemed to "single out the Temple", felling "the walls with a roar that was heard miles away".

Copy of a tintype taken by T. W. Cox in 1850, shortly after the tornado damaged the temple's north wall and the razing of the east and south walls.


Interesting "totrnadoes" they had back in the day. Especially considering this:

• The "Mormon War in Illinois" and the Mormon Exodus

What do you think this "tornado" really was?