In the evening hours of April 3, 1974, a series of two large and destructive tornadoes would impact Tanner, located in the state of Alabama. Both of these tornadoes would receive an F5 rating on the Fujita scale, and were two out of seven F5-rated tornadoes to touch down as part of the 1974 Super Outbreak, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in United States history. Each of the tornadoes claimed over fifteen lives, and would kill a combined total of fifty-five people, many in the Tanner area; over four hundred more would be injured. The first tornado would touch down in Lawrence County, moving towards Mt. Moriah. As the tornado passed over the town, it hit a home and killed six people. The tornado would continue to produce extreme damage as it moved to the northeast, ripping water pumps out of the ground and obliterating large objects. The tornado would then cross the Tennessee River as a waterspout, before hitting Tanner. The town was devastated, with many structures in the area completely destroyed and the ground near Tanner being scoured. The tornado would lift seventy-three minutes after forming, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
The second tornado would touch down a short time later, traveling parallel to the previous tornado before hitting the southern portions of Tanner, killing several people. Many of the structures in Tanner that had survived the first tornado would be destroyed by the second one. It would continue to move to the northeast, striking the communities of Capshaw, Harvest and Hazel Green before lifting. It would kill sixteen, injure almost two hundred others, and was on the ground for over an hour.
Tanner was particularly devastated by both tornadoes. While rescue and recovery efforts were underway in Tanner in the immediate aftermath of the first tornado, the second tornado would cause more destruction in the town. Over 1,000 buildings sustained some level of damage from the tornadoes, and an estimated 200 mobile homes were obliterated as the tornadoes moved by. The majority of tornadic injuries in Alabama on April 3 were caused by both tornadoes.
Earlier on April 3, three bands of convection would develop, the third developing at about 16:00 UTC and extended from near St. Louis into west-central Illinois. Based upon real-time satellite imagery and model data, differential positive vorticity advection coincided with the left exit region of an upper-level jet streak which reached wind speeds of up to 130 kn (150 mph) (66.9 m/s (241 km/h)), thereby enhancing thunderstorm growth. Storms grew rapidly in height and extent, producing baseball-sized hail by 17:20 UTC in Illinois and, shortly thereafter, in St. Louis, Missouri, which reported a very severe thunderstorm early in the afternoon that, while not producing a tornado, was the costliest storm to hit the city up to that time. By 19:50 UTC, supercells producing F3 tornadoes hit the Decatur and Normal areas in Illinois. As thunderstorms moved into the warmer, moister air mass over eastern Illinois and Indiana, they produced longer-lived tornadoes—one of which began near Otterbein and ended near Valentine in Indiana, a distance of 121 miles (195 km). [1]
Meanwhile, by 00:00 UTC the southern half of the first convective band became indistinguishable from new convection that had formed farther south over Alabama and Tennessee in connection with convective band two. In this area, increasing west-southwesterly wind shear at all levels of the troposphere, juxtaposed over near-parallel outflow boundaries, allowed successive supercells, all producing strong, long-tracked tornadoes, to develop unconstrained by their outflow in a broad region from eastern Mississippi to southern Tennessee. These storms, forming after 23:00 UTC, produced some of the most powerful tornadoes of the outbreak, including a large and long-tracked F4 that struck the western and central portions of Alabama, tracking for just over 110 miles (180 km), two F5s that both slammed into Tanner, causing extensive fatalities, an extremely potent F5 that devastated Guin in Alabama, and multiple violent, deadly tornadoes that affected and caused fatalities in Tennessee. [1]
![]() A bathtub deeply embedded into the ground in Harvest, Alabama. | |
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | April 3,6:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5:00) |
Dissipated | April 3,7:28 p.m. CDT (UTC-5:00) |
Duration | 73 minutes |
F5 tornado | |
on the Fujita scale | |
Overall effects | |
Casualties | 28 fatalities,267 injuries |
The tornado formed at 6:15 pm CDT in Lawrence County,Alabama and ended 73 minutes later in Madison County,Alabama,killing 28 people. [2] The tornado first touched down near the small community of Mt. Hope, [3] and then tracked into Mt. Moriah,where the tornado rapidly intensified and swept away homes and hurled fleeing vehicles,and where a family of six were killed. Further along the track,many homes were swept away near Moulton. A water pump was completely lifted out of a wellhouse along SR 157 in this area. [4] In one case,the destruction was so complete that a witness reported that the largest recognizable objects among scattered debris from an obliterated house were some bed-springs. [5] The tornado crossed into Morgan County,causing additional destruction in rural areas near Hillsboro and Trinity. [6] [7]
Crossing the Tennessee River into Limestone County as a large waterspout,the tornado flattened a ¾-mile–wide swath of trees on the opposite bank. Ground scouring occurred in this area,as reddish soil was dug up and plastered against trees. [3] The storm then slammed into Tanner,where many homes were swept away,vehicles were tossed,shrubbery was debarked,and Lawson's Trailer Park sustained major damage. [8] The tornado then continued into Madison County and struck the Capshaw and Harvest areas. Numerous homes in Harvest and surrounding rural areas of the county were swept completely away and scattered,and extensive wind-rowing of debris was noted. A bathtub from one residence was found deeply embedded into the ground. Past Harvest,the tornado abruptly dissipated northeast of town,having a peak width of 500 yards. [9] [10] [11]
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | April 3,7:35 p.m. CDT (UTC-5:00) |
Dissipated | April 3,9:05 p.m. CDT) (UTC-5:00) |
Duration | 90 minutes |
F5 tornado | |
on the Fujita scale | |
Overall effects | |
Casualties | 16 fatalities,190 injuries |
While rescue efforts were underway to look for people under the destroyed structures,few were aware that another violent tornado would strike the area. The path of the second tornado,which formed at 7:35 pm CDT was 83 miles in length,also had a peak width of 500 yards,and the storm formed along the north bank Tennessee River less than a mile from the path of the earlier storm;with much of its path very closely paralleling its predecessor as it tore through Limestone and Madison Counties. 16 people were killed by this second tornado. Tanner was the first community to be hit,and many structures that were left standing after the first tornado were destroyed in the second one. A man injured at Lawson's Trailer Park in the first tornado was taken to a church in the area,which collapsed in the second tornado,killing him.
After devastating what was left of Tanner,the tornado continued across rural Limestone County and into Madison County,where the communities of Capshaw and Harvest were devastated once again. [12] Numerous homes throughout Madison County were swept completely away,with extensive wind-rowing of debris noted once again. Past Harvest,the tornado swept away multiple additional homes in the Hazel Green area. The tornado continued northeastward through rural portions of Madison County before crossing into Tennessee,where major damage and 6 deaths occurred in Franklin and Lincoln Counties before the tornado dissipated in Coffee County. Two of the fatalities in Tennessee occurred when a church was destroyed during service. [13] [14] [15]
Several communities in northern Alabama,particularly Tanner and Harvest,were left in ruins after being hit both tornadoes. [16] [17] [18] The second tornado would hinder rescue and recovery efforts in the immediate aftermath of the first tornado. Over half of all fatalities in Alabama on April 3 were the direct result of both tornadoes,and the vast majority of injuries in Alabama were also caused by these tornadoes. [19]
Both tornadoes would receive a rating of 5 on the Fujita scale, [20] [21] [22] and were two of seven tornadoes during the 1974 Super Outbreak to receive that rating and of eight to touch down statewide in Alabama. [23]
Harvest is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the northwestern part of Madison County,Alabama,United States,and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. According to the 2020 U.S. Census,the population of the community is 5,893.
The 1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period,just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded,with 30 violent tornadoes confirmed. From April 3–4,1974,there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. In the United States,tornadoes struck Illinois,Indiana,Michigan,Ohio,Kentucky,Tennessee,Alabama,Mississippi,Georgia,North Carolina,Virginia,West Virginia,and New York. The outbreak caused roughly $600 million USD in damage. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900 sq mi (2,331 km2) along a total combined path length of 2,600 mi (4,184 km). At one point,as many as 15 separate tornadoes were occurring simultaneously.
The tornado outbreak of April 6–9,1998 was a large tornado outbreak that started on April 6 across the Great Plains and ended on April 9 across the Carolinas and Georgia. A total of 62 tornadoes touched down from the Middle Atlantic States to the Midwestern United States and Texas. The outbreak is infamous for producing a deadly F5 that tore through the suburbs of Birmingham,Alabama,killing 32 people. The Birmingham tornado was one of only two F5 tornadoes that year. The other hit in Lawrence County,Tennessee,on April 16,as part of the same outbreak as the Nashville F3 tornado. This tornado outbreak was responsible for 41 deaths:7 in Georgia and 34 in Alabama.
The tornado outbreak of April 15–16,1998,also known as the 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak,was a two-day tornado outbreak that affected portions of the Midwestern United States,Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys on April 15 and April 16,1998,with the worst of the outbreak taking place on the second day. On that day,13 tornadoes swept through Middle Tennessee—two of them touching down in Nashville,causing significant damage to the downtown and East Nashville areas. Nashville became the first major city in nearly 20 years to have an F2 or stronger tornado make a direct hit in the downtown area.
A destructive tornado outbreak struck a wide swath of the Southern and Eastern United States as well as Canada on November 15 and 16,1989. It produced at least 40 tornadoes and caused 30 deaths as a result of two deadly tornadoes. The most devastating event was the Huntsville,Alabama F4 tornado,which killed 21 on the afternoon of November 15. Nine more fatalities occurred at a single elementary school by an F1 tornado on November 16 in Newburgh,New York,although further survey revealed that this might have been a downburst instead. This outbreak also produced the most tornadoes in a single day in New Jersey,later tied on April 1,2023. Several other significant tornadoes were reported across 15 states.
Tanner is an unincorporated community in central southern Limestone County,Alabama,United States,and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. It lies nine miles north of the city of Decatur and the Tennessee River,and four miles south of the city of Athens.
A tornado emergency is an enhanced version of a tornado warning,which is used by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States during imminent,significant tornado occurrences in highly populated areas. Although it is not a new warning type from the NWS,issued instead within a severe weather statement or in the initial tornado warning,a tornado emergency generally means that significant,widespread damage is expected to occur and a high likelihood of numerous fatalities is expected with a large,strong to violent tornado.
On on June 7–8,1984,a significant severe weather and tornado event took place across the central United States from North Dakota to Kansas. The tornado outbreak produced several significant tornadoes including an F5 tornado which traveled through Barneveld,Wisconsin,in the early hours of June 8. The entire outbreak killed at least 13 people across three states including 9 in Barneveld alone.
The 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak which affected the Southern United States and the lower Ohio Valley on February 5 and 6,2008. The event began on Super Tuesday,while 24 states in the United States were holding primary elections and caucuses to select the presidential candidates for the upcoming presidential election. Missouri,Illinois,Arkansas,Alabama,and Tennessee were among the affected regions in which primaries were being held. Some voting locations were forced to close early due to the approaching severe weather.
From Sunday to Monday,February 21–22,1971,a devastating tornado outbreak,colloquially known as the Mississippi Delta outbreak,struck portions of the Lower Mississippi and Ohio River valleys in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The outbreak generated strong tornadoes from Texas to Ohio and North Carolina. The two-day severe weather episode produced at least 19 tornadoes,and probably several more,mostly brief events in rural areas;killed 123 people across three states;and wrecked entire communities in Mississippi. The strongest tornado of the outbreak was an F5 that developed in Louisiana and crossed into Mississippi,killing 48 people,while the deadliest was an F4 that tracked across Mississippi and entered Tennessee,causing 58 fatalities in the former state. The former tornado remains the only F5 on record in Louisiana,while the latter is the deadliest on record in Mississippi since 1950. A deadly F4 also affected other parts of Mississippi,causing 13 more deaths. Other deadly tornadoes included a pair of F3s—one each in Mississippi and North Carolina,respectively—that collectively killed five people.
On March 21–22,1932,a deadly tornado outbreak struck the Midwestern and Southern United States. At least 38 tornadoes—including 27 deadly tornadoes and several long-lived tornado families—struck the Deep South,killing more than 330 people and injuring 2,141. Tornadoes affected areas from Mississippi north to Illinois and east to South Carolina,but Alabama was hardest hit,with 268 fatalities;the outbreak is considered to be the deadliest ever in Alabama,and among the worst ever in the United States,trailing only the Tri-State tornado outbreak in 1925,with 751 fatalities,and the Tupelo–Gainesville outbreak in 1936,with 454 fatalities. The 1932 outbreak is believed to have produced 10 violent tornadoes,eight of which occurred in Alabama alone.
The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest,costliest,and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded,taking place in the Southern,Midwestern,and Northeastern United States from April 25 to 28,2011,leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. Over 175 tornadoes struck Alabama,Mississippi,and Tennessee,which were the most severely damaged states. Other destructive tornadoes occurred in Arkansas,Georgia,Kentucky,Louisiana,New York,and Virginia,with storms also affecting other states in the Southern and Eastern United States. In total,367 tornadoes were confirmed by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) and Government of Canada's Environment Canada in 21 states from Texas to New York to southern Canada. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak. April 27 was the most active day,with a record 223 tornadoes touching down that day from midnight to midnight CDT. Four of the tornadoes were rated EF5,which is the highest ranking on the Enhanced Fujita scale;typically these tornadoes are recorded no more than once a year.
On March 2 and 3,2012,a deadly tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States into the Ohio Valley region. The storms resulted in 41 tornado-related fatalities,22 of which occurred in Kentucky. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Alabama,Indiana,and Ohio. The outbreak was the second deadliest in early March for the U.S. since official records began in 1950;only the 1966 Candlestick Park tornado had a higher death toll for a tornadic system in early March.
The 2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado was a large,long-lived,and devastating EF5 tornado that impacted several towns in rural northern Alabama before tearing through the northern suburbs of Huntsville on the afternoon and early evening of April 27,2011. It was the deadliest tornado of the 2011 Super Outbreak,the largest tornado outbreak in United States history. The second of four EF5 tornadoes to touch down on April 27,the tornado reached a maximum width of 1.25 miles (2.01 km) and was estimated to have had peak winds of 210 mph (340 km/h).
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1974,primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S.,although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
The 2011 Smithville,Mississippi tornado was a fast-moving and extremely violent EF5 wedge tornado that devastated areas of rural Mississippi and Alabama,including the town of Smithville,Mississippi during the afternoon of April 27,2011,resulting in catastrophic damage and 23 fatalities. This tornado was a part of the 2011 Super Outbreak,the largest tornado outbreak in United States history,and the third of four EF5 tornadoes to touch down on April 27,2011,during the outbreak's most prolific day for tornadoes. The tornado reached an estimated maximum width of 3⁄4 of a mile with estimated wind speeds over 205 mph (330 km/h).
In the afternoon hours of April 3,1974,a powerful tornado would move through three states,including Kentucky,Ohio and Indiana. The tornado hit the Cincinnati metropolitan area and areas to the northeast of the metroplex,killing five people and injuring over two hundred more. The tornado touched down as part of the 1974 Super Outbreak,one of the largest tornado outbreaks in recorded history.
In the evening hours of April 3,1974,a powerful and fast tornado would move across northeast portions of Alabama,hitting several towns along a 79.5 miles (127.9 km) path and devastating the town of Guin. The tornado would receive a rating of F5 on the Fujita scale,and was one of seven tornadoes to obtain that rating as part of the 1974 Super Outbreak. The tornado is widely believed to be one of the most violent in recorded history,and had the fastest forward speed ever recorded in a tornado,at 75 miles per hour (121 km/h).
In the afternoon hours of April 3,1974,a large and destructive tornado would move through Central Kentucky and southern Indiana,striking several communities along a 32 miles (51 km) path and devastating the town of Brandenburg,Kentucky. The tornado would kill thirty-one people,twenty-eight in the Brandenburg area,and would produce damage that would later receive a rating of F5 on the Fujita scale. It was one of seven F5-rated tornadoes to touch down in the United States on April 3,and was one of the deadliest.