Event Type : Tornado History

This car near the Relax Inn in downtown Adairsville was rolled several times, then impaled by two large wooden beams.

44 tornadoes were confirmed on January 30, 2013. The strongest was given a rating of EF3. It tracked over 21 miles through parts of Bartow and Gordon Counties in Georgia. There were 17 injuries and 1 fatality.

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Details extracted from the March 1908 Monthly Weather Review. The article was by W. S. Belden, Section Director. Dated Vicksburg, MS, February 17, 1908. Described as a “tornado of remarkable energy and duration”.

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This summary explores tornadoes from February 1, 1955…..that are not a part of the official SPC Database.

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Reflectivity and velocity of the tornado as it tore through the McMullen area.

An EF-2 tornado was confirmed in Pickens County, AL on February 2, 2016. Max winds were determined by the NWS to be around 135 mph. The tornado developed in the SW part of the county south of AL Hwy 21 and west of County Road 87. It moved NE for a total of 26.2 miles.

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This tornado hit Fort Stewart, GA on during the afternoon of February 3, 2016. The survey performed by the NWS Charleston, SC found max winds to be between 105 and 110 mph. The tornado developed near Gate 7 of the Fort Stewart complex. It moved NE at 35 mph through the center of the base and dissipated near Highway 144.

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This tornado was 1 of 8 that occurred on February 4, 1971. It was given a rating of F2 and tragically 7 members of one family were killed when their mobile home was hit.

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Izard County: This jeep found itself in a tree. Standing in front of the jeep is Dan Koch, Information Technology Officer (ITO) at the National Weather Service in Little Rock.

This summary looks at the long-track EF4 tornado that pushed through 7 counties in the state of Arkansas on February 5, 2008. This is the longest tornado path on record (1950-current) in the state.

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This tornado began near Pisgah and traveled 10.9 miles ending 1 mile SE of Flat Rock. The NWS determined that max winds were near 180mph. 3

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Per the NWS Huntsville Survey, max winds were estimated at 170 mph. This occurred in Lawrence County. The tornado developed near the Pinhook Community, north of Bankhead National Forest) just after 3am CST. The tornado tracked 16.7 miles. It ended 3 miles SSE of Caddo in Morgan County at 3:20am CST.

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“Survivors of a tornado which wrecked the English Cove Apartments shown here and a motel across the street go through the rubble looking for items not destroyed by the twister.”

During the early AM of February 7, 1971, a waterspout south of Santa Rosa Island moved northeast becoming a tornado near Navy Cove. Half of the units in a 112-unit apartment complex were destroyed near Gulf Breeze. 112 people were injured, there were no fatalities.

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A squall line moved through Texas and produced four significant (F2 or higher) tornadoes on February 8, 1935. We take a look at the deadliest twister in this summary. It was an F2 that tracked from near Ninevah through Grapeland. Along the 24.6-mile path, 12 people were killed, and 70 others were injured. The Murray Plantation was laid to waste.

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A quick-hitting F1 tornado was confirmed on February 9, 1990 in Madison County, MS. One person was killed and 4 injured in a mobile home destroyed 7 miles east of Canton.

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Image of the Lone Grove Tornado extracted from the February 2009 Storm Data Publication

10 tornadoes occurred across the Plains on February 10, 2009. The most significant tornado of the day was rated EF4. It tracked almost 37 miles with a max width of 880 yards.

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During the early morning of February 10, 1959, an estimated F4 tornado tracked through the St. Louis Metro area. Per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, “the track of this tornado was not far from the tracks of major tornadoes in 1871, 1896, and 1927.”

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An EF4 tornado tracked 21.65 miles through parts of Lamar, Forrest and Perry Counties in Mississippi on February 10, 2013. Per the NWS Survey, the tornado reached maximum intensity with winds near 170 mph just SW of Oak Grove High School in Lamar County. A brick home in a subdivision, just west of Old Highway 11 was completely leveled with all interior and exterior walls down, and a fair amount of debris was blown downstream.

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On February 11, 1887, at least 6 tornadoes ripped across the state of Pennsylvania during this rare February outbreak. Explore the details with this Funnel Feature by Nick Wilkes.

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This tornado moved to the NNE across the west side of La Porte. Twenty-five homes were hit. Several had significant damage and most were unroofed. A total of 200 buildings had some degree of damage.

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Some of these older events are quite the challenge! I have poured over this one a few times.

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Tornado Tracks Via NWS Tallahassee

Late February 13 into early February 14, 2000, 3 devastating tornadoes struck portions of Southwest Georgia. Two were rated F3 and one was rated F2. There was a total of 19 fatalities, many in mobile homes. Approximately 200 injuries were reported.

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This summary looks back at an estimated F3 tornado from February 14, 1908. It moved 5 miles through parts of Smith County, TX, right through Tyler during the early morning.

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Another view of Randy’s house.

An EF1 tornado struck Uniontown, PA, on the evening of February 15, 2018. One person was injured, and 200-300 homes were damaged or destroyed along a 2.35-mile path.

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This summary looks at an EF2 with max winds of 130 mph that crossed through parts of Copiah and Simpson Counties. The path length was just over 30 miles, max width of 250 yards. There were no fatalities or injuries reported.

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This tornado began about 3 miles west of Joppa just before 5am CT. It travelled ENE through the town, across Alabama Highway 69 and into Marshall County just SW of Arab. The tornado moved across the south side of Arab. It moved into the rugged terrain east of this area and dissipated at the Browns Creek Section of Guntersville Lake just north of the Diamond Community.

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Destroyed mobile home. It was unoccupied.

23 tornadoes occurred on February 17, 2008 across the Southeast. A long-track tornado (75.63 miles) moved from Russell County, AL into 5 counties in Georgia. It ended near Roberta in Crawford County.

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A garage destroyed in Coweta County.

13 tornadoes were confirmed on February 18, 2009. All but one were in the state of Georgia. This summary looks at an EF2 tornado that crossed through the southern Atlanta suburbs.

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In this summary, we look at a significant, quick-hitting tornado that hit in Van Wert County, OH.

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This was a quick-hitting tornado at Angola. A dormitory was unroofed and several guard towers were damaged./strong>

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This summary looks back at an estimated F3 tornado from February 20, 1937. It moved through parts of Christian, Greene and Webster Counties in Missouri.

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Destruction across the heart of the Little Yazoo community. NASA Earth Resources Laboratory aerial imagery taken February 23, 1971.

The last of the “big three” in the 1971 Delta Outbreak, this twister stayed in rural land across its 70-mile trek. It devastated the tiny community of Little Yazoo. As many as 14 people may have been killed by this relatively obscure tornado.

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The annihilated Lenore property. NASA Earth Resources Laboratory aerial imagery taken February 23, 1971.

This is the first of a three part series focusing on the Delhi, LA-Inverness, MS F5 tornado of February 21, 1971. This summary explores the beginning of the twister in Louisiana up to the state border with Mississippi.

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Video capture of the Winter Garden tornado, looking north from Windermere, about 5 miles away. As is often the case with tornadoes at night, it only became visible once it was backlit by lightning. Via NWS Melbourne.

It was deemed “The Night of the Tornadoes” – The most deadly tornado outbreak in Florida history occurred during the nighttime hours of February 22-23, 1998. A total of 7 tornadoes swept through the central parts of the state between 1055pm EST and 230am EST. The tornadoes were unusually strong. 3 of the 7 were rated F3. 42 people were killed and over 260 were injured. 3,000 structures were damaged, 700 destroyed. This summary will look at all 7 tornadoes in the outbreak.

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There was heavy damage south of Tuscaloosa, several homes were leveled. In the SE part of the city, significant damage occurred at the intersection of I-59 and McFarland Blvd. A new Scottish Inn Motel was destroyed. 23-year-old housekeeper Thelma Hill was killed when most of the second floor of the motel was sheared away by the tornado causing a wall to fall on her.

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The twister moved to the northeast moving into Pontotoc County near the Matthews area. Most of the damage was between the communities of Algoma and Pontotoc. Approximately 360 homes, 15 businesses and 2 churches were damaged/destroyed. Per the Storm Data Publication, one of the destroyed homes was a restored antebellum plantation home listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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Example of projectile impaling exterior wall

This tornado developed in Plains Township (Luzerne County) near Bald Mountain Road. It tracked a total of 12.52 miles (7.12 miles in Luzerne County and 5.40 miles in Lackawanna County).

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This summary looks back at the tornadoes of February 26, 1958. The SPC database lists 14 tornadoes, half of these in the state of Mississippi. Three of the twisters listed have extremely long, continuous path lengths.

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This summary looks at a tornado that moved 15 miles through parts of Sumner County, TN on February 27, 1956. It was the strongest of 3 that were confirmed on this day.

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The NWS described this as a “monstrous tornado”. It developed just after 9am CST, 2 miles south of Moselle, MS. It grew rapidly and moved to the northeast at 60 mph. 10 minutes after it formed, the tornado hit the Glade Community, 3 miles SE of Laurel. At this point, the tornado was close to 2 miles wide and was producing F4 damage.

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An aerial view of the destroyed Enterprise High School where an EF-4 tornado touched down in Enterprise, Alabama.

At 12:47pm CST on March 1, 2007, a tornado warning was issued for Coffee County, AL including the City of Enterprise.

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An outbreak of 35 tornadoes occurred across 6 states on February 29, 2012. During the early morning, a squall line with embedded supercells pressed through parts of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. The strongest tornado of the day occurred between 451am and 504am CT.

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39 tornadoes were confirmed on March 1, 2007. We look at a strong twister, given a rating of EF-3 that moved through parts of Webster, Sumter, and Macon Counties in Georgia. The town of Americus was hard hit.

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An EF3 tornado traveled 84.99 miles through parts of KY and WV in 2012. The max width was 1580 yards. There were 118 reported injuries and 10 fatalities.

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A long-track killer tornado moved 68.04 miles through portions of Alabama and Georgia on this day in 2019. 23 were killed in Lee County, AL. A total of 40 tornadoes were confirmed and the Beauregard/Smiths Station/Talbotton tornado was the strongest with a rating of EF4. This was the first violent tornado to hit Lee County, AL since March 20, 1875.

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Candlestick Park Shopping Center sign. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Hugh W. Shankle Collection

It is known as the “Candlestick Park” tornado, named after a shopping center in south Jackson, MS which was completely destroyed. Per the SPC, the path length was 202.5 miles. It moved through portions of MS and then into AL. The max width was 900 yards. There were 518 injuries and 58 fatalities reported. 57 deaths in MS and 1 in AL.

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This tornado moved to the ENE on the south side of Mitchellville, TN. 20-30 homes damaged or destroyed. 50 head of livestock and 4,000 chickens were killed.

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One of 3 tornadoes to moved through parts of Illinois on March 4, 1961. It was given a rating of F1. The tornado began its 51.5 mile track near Arrowsmith. A house was knocked 20 feet off its foundation.

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This tornado hit in the extreme SW part of Bessemer, AL and then moved through the downtown area. It then moved to the northeast through parts of Homewood and Mountain Brook. Per the Storm Data summary of the event, most of the damage was is in the first 2 miles of the path in Bessemer.

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A strong tornado moved through parts of Grant County, IN and the town of Marion on March 6, 1956. The SPC has a path length of 1.9 miles but the Climatological Data National Summary (CDNS) has a path closer to 3.5 miles. It moved through the western and northern parts of Marion and then out into open country.

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This tornado developed 4 miles NE of Buckley and moved to the northeast for about 8-9 miles. About 10 farmsteads were heavily damaged.

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This summary looks at an EF2 that moved through parts of Columbia County, FL and the town of Lake City. The track was short, only 1.49 miles.

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26 tornadoes occurred on March 7, 2009. The strongest was given a rating of EF3. It was a quick-hitting tornado in Lawrence County, IN. It moved to the east-northeast for just over a mile.

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An F4 tornado was confirmed on March 9, 1992. It moved almost 20 miles through parts of Sharkey, Washington and Humphreys Counties. The twister developed 1.5 miles SSE of Panther Burn.

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This late night tornado developed along Highway 11, 1 mile south of Savoy or about 8 miles SSW of Meridian, MS. It moved to the northeast and pushed through the community of Zero and into the southside of Vimville. It ended near Alamucha.

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This summary looks at a tornado that developed along a squall line in parts of New Jersey during the early afternoon of March 10, 1964. Per the Storm Data Narrative, the tornado moved from SW to NE from Woodbury to Farmingdale.

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This summary looks at the strongest tornado that occurred on March 11, 1963. It moved across portions of Cullman County, AL. The tornado was first reported in the Valley Grove Community.

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5 tornadoes are listed in the SPC database for March 11, 1955. Three were in Indiana and two were in Ohio. All were given ratings of F2. This summary looks at one of the Indiana tornadoes.

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15 tornadoes occurred on March 11, 2006. Half of them where in the state of Missouri. We look at one of the strongest for the day and the event where fatalities occurred.

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10 tornadoes were recorded on March 12, 1971. 4 were given a rating of F3. This summary looks at the strongest tornado of the day. It was given a rating of F4 and traveled through Bowie County, TX.

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Map of tornadoes that occurred during the March 13th 1990 tornado outbreak via NWS Wichita

March of 1990 was extremely active with a total of 86 tornadoes occurring. 78 of them during the period of March 11 through March 15th. The most active day: March 13.

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Per the March 1990, Storm Data Publication, “The “Hesston” thunderstorm complex produced at least four tornadoes totaling nearly 120 miles on the ground over a 3-1/2 hour period.” We are going to take a look at the 2-F5 tornadoes that occurred from this complex.

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Per the SPC Database, 14 tornadoes occurred on March 13, 1990 in the state of Iowa. The strongest, an F4, traveled 19 miles from Prairieburg in Linn County to Worthington in Dubuque County. It was on the ground for 30 minutes. The max width was 200 yards. There were no injuries or fatalities.

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Image from the Lawrence Locomotive from the NWS Hasting Summary

Per the SPC Database, 15 tornadoes touched down in the state of Nebraska on March 13, 1990. The strongest, an F4, traveled from 3 miles south of Red Cloud in Webster County and lifted 3 miles East of Schuyler in Colfax County. The max width was 440 yards. There were 8 reported injuries.

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Cotton Mill Lofts. Roof was removed by the tornado and portions of the top floors collapsed all the way to the basement.

An isolated supercell developed just northwest of Atlanta, GA during the evening of March 14, 2008. As the storm moved into the city, it produced a tornado that caused damage on a 6.25 mile path from west of the World Congress Center in Fulton County to south of I-20 in Dekalb County.

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This was one of the strongest tornadoes of an outbreak of 23 that occurred during the evening of March 15, 1982. Most of the twisters were in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. This tornado was given a rating of F3. It had a path of 70 miles. There were 2 fatalities and 8 injuries.

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The SPC Database lists 9 tornadoes on March 16, 1965 including a long-track F4. This tornado is listed with a path of 82.7 miles through parts of Grant, Kay Counties in Oklahoma and Sumner, Cowley Counties in Kansas. After digging into the Storm Data entry and Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis, it would appear this was more than likely not a single path.

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Four tornadoes were reported in the state of Florida on March 1, 1985. The strongest occurred early in the AM. It was given a rating of F3 and traveled a short path of 3 miles through parts of Sarasota County.

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The SPC lists a significant, long-track tornado occurred on March 18, 1982. Rating give was F4. There were 12 total injuries.

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This summary looks at a tornado that zipped through parts of Robertson and Sumner Counties in Tennessee. It moved ESE from east of Orlinda to Fountain Head. Approximately 500 buildings were hit with a varying degree of damage.

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Per the SPC Database, 48 tornadoes occurred on March 20, 1976. Three were rated F4. In this summary, we will look at the first F4 of the day. It occurred during the early afternoon in Macon, Piatt, Champaign and Vermillion Counties in Illinois. The path length was 63.7 miles and the max width 800 yards. There were 18 reported injuries.

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A tornado outbreak occurred on March 21, 1952. Officially, the SPC lists 27 tornadoes with 10 given a rating of F4. Through his research, Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes shows 7-F4 tornadoes. This summary looks at one of those F4s. It was the deadliest of the outbreak.

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This narrative will look into the details of the strongest tornado that occurred on this day. It was given a rating of F4 and traveled through parts of Morgan and Madison Counties in Alabama.

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Image provided to NWS by Jim Morrison.

18 tornadoes were confirmed across parts of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico on March 23, 2007. 10 were in New Mexico. This summary looks at a tornado rated EF2 that moved 8.36 miles through parts of Lea County.

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It is called the “Governor’s Tornado.” The twister moved 14.8 miles through parts of Fulton County, GA on March 24, 1975. It began in West Atlanta, moved to the northeast at approximately 50 miles and ended in the Brookhaven Area.

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A tornado, given a rating of F4, traveled 12.1 miles through parts of Texas County, MO on this day in 1954. The max width was 100 yards. This is the only F4 on record for March 25 (1950-2016).

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[Photograph 2012.201.B1215.0773] hosted by The Gateway to Oklahoma History Photograph used for a story in the Oklahoma Times newspaper. Caption: “A battered foundation is all that remains of the John Trout home in Spiro after a tornado ripped it apart Friday.”

Per the SPC database, 17 tornadoes occurred on March 26, 1976. Two were rated F4 (1 in OK, 1 in MS). At 328pm CT, a tornado that would be rated officially F5 traveled 11.9 miles through parts of LeFlore County, OK. There were 64 injuries and 2 fatalities reported. Tremendous damage occurred in and around the town of Spiro.

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The tornado that struck the Goshen United Methodist Church

This summary will review the most deadly tornado of the Palm Sunday Outbreak of March 27, 1994 (and the deadliest for 1994). An F4 moved 50 miles through St. Clair, Calhoun and Cherokee Counties in Alabama and lifted just over the Georgia state line in Floyd County.

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This summary will review the second F4 during the Palm Sunday Outbreak of March 27, 1994.

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Per the SPC Database, 7 tornadoes occurred on March 28, 1975. The strongest, given a rating of F4, is the topic of this summary. It developed just SW of Warren, AR and moved to the northeast through the center of town before dissipating.

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An aerial view of the town of Comfrey, in South Central Minnesota after being hit by an F4 tornado (Image extracted from Storm Data)

16 tornadoes occurred on this day in 1998. 2 in Wisconsin (both rated F0) and 14 in the state of Minnesota. This was the largest March occurrence of tornadoes in the state of Minnesota on record. Per the NWS Twin Cities, prior to 1998, there were only 7 tornadoes known to have hit the state in March.

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~7:29pm CT: The tornado was visible from the NWS Tulsa office as it passed just North of the Tulsa International airport. Photo Credit: NWS Tulsa

Per the SPC Database, 7 tornadoes occurred on this day in 2016. One in KS, 2 in Arkansas and 4 in Oklahoma. The strongest tornadoes of the day were rated EF2 and were found in Eastern OK. This summary will take a look at those 2-EF2s, one of which moved through the northern parts of Tulsa.

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From Fujita’s paper

Guest writer Nick Wilkes digs into 2 (or maybe 3) significant tornadoes that occurred in Georgia and South Carolina on March 31, 1973.

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Nine tornadoes occurred on March 31, 1959. 6 were in Oklahoma, 2 in Texas and 1 in Arkansas. One of the strongest, and the deadliest, was given a rating of F4. It moved 10.4 miles through parts of Hill County, TX.

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13 tornadoes occurred on April Fool’s Day of 1983. The strongest was rated F4. It moved 9 miles through Ouachita and Morehouse Parishes in Louisiana.

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Destroyed home of John and Sheila Giles in Coatesville.

Damage path ranged from about 200 yards wide to near one quarter of a mile wide at its widest. The most significant structural damage occurred to two homes east of Coatesville. One home was completely destroyed and another severely damaged.

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The deadliest tornado of the April 2, 1982 outbreak was an F4 that traveled 23 miles through parts of Lamar and Red River County, TX. Ten people died in the town of Paris. There were 170 injuries reported along the tornado’s path.

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Outbreak map via Storm Data

An outbreak of 56 tornadoes across 11 states occurred on this day in 1982. (Note: the SPC database has 55 tornadoes listed. Storm Data in their summary of the event states there were 56 tornadoes).

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The strongest tornado of the April 2, 1982 tornado outbreak was rated F5 The path length was 53 miles. The tornado max width was 1.5 miles (that was near Golden). Per the NWS Norman, “The physical state of this tornado varied as it morphed between multiple vortex and solid funnel phases during its lifetime.”

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“There had been no disaster so great in Greensboro’s history. And there has never been one since.” (Greensboro News & Record, April 2016).

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The Xenia Tornado. Photo taken from the Greene Memorial Hospital by Fred Stewart.

The deadliest tornado of the April 3-4, 1974 outbreak was the F5 that hit Xenia, OH. Per the SPC, it continues to be in the top 10 of costliest tornadoes on record. Per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, “This was the most publicized tornado of the day and perhaps the most well-studied tornado in history, from a wind-engineering perspective.”

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Detailed Super Outbreak tornado path and intensity analysis, hand drawn by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita of University of Chicago.

148 Twisters in 24 Hours.

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It was a powerful F5 tornado that moved 14.7 miles through parts of Jefferson County, AL on this day in 1977. This tornado is named after the area which received the greatest damage: Smithfield Drive and Smithfield Lane.

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It is the 4th deadliest tornado in US History. Officially 216 deaths on record The Tupelo, MS F5 of April 5, 1936. Detailed summary on what happened and how that death toll may be much higher.

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Per the SPC, 9 tornadoes occurred on April 5, 1954 all in KS, MO and IA. The strongest for the day was given a rating of F4. Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes has a rating of F3 and notes there was “near-F4 damage”.

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Eight F3 tornadoes have occurred on April 6 (1950-2016). We are looking at one of those in this summary from 1955. This tornado is officially listed in the SPC database having a length close to 30 miles moving through Grayson and Fannin Counties.

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This summary looks back at a devastating event in Gainesville, GA on April 6, 1936. Per Thomas Grazulis: The tornado hit at 827 local time. There were 1600 injuries and 203 fatalities. The path length was 7 miles (and he lists as a family) and the width 400 yards. Rating given: F4.

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We look back to April 7, 1978 in this summary. A tornado traveled 31.2 miles through parts of Hamilton and Polk Counties in Nebraska. The twister moved NE from 5 miles ESE of Grand Island, near Marquette and Hordville and then to just NE of Polk.

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Tornado in Gallatin, TN

47 tornadoes were confirmed on April 7, 2006. The deadliest crossed through parts of Davidson and Sumner Counties in TN. It was given a rating of F3. There were 128 injuries and 7 fatalities.

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In this summary, we explore the F5 that began in rural sections of Eastern Tuscaloosa County, 1.5 miles east of the Warrior River. The tornado moved through mainly unpopulated areas in Eastern Tuscaloosa County and into extreme SW Jefferson County. The first major area hit was the Oak Grove Community. 3 deaths occurred in a mobile home and the Oak Grove School was destroyed.

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9 tornadoes were confirmed on April 9, 1999. Most were in Indiana and Ohio but there was an F1 in Spotsylvania County, VA. The strongest tornado for the day is the subject of this summary. It was an F4 that traveled 10 miles through parts of Hamilton and Warren Counties in OH. There were 65 injuries and 4 fatalities reported.

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A view of ITNOLAP Pallet and Crating after the storm. Aerial imagery provided by Rutherford County GIS.

A substantial tornado outbreak swept across portions of the South throughout April 10, 2009. The strongest was an EF4 that rolled through the northern side of Murfreesboro. This summary provides a detailed analysis of the damage and documents the personal stories of those who lived through it.

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View looking southwest at the approaching tornado from the roof of Bethania Hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas. © Troy Glover

The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, one of the most significant outbreaks on record for this region, occurred on April 10, 1979. Per the SPC Database, 25 tornadoes occurred mainly in TX and OK with one lone tornado in KS. The focus of this summary will be on one of the tornadoes that occurred during this outbreak and one of the most devastating tornadoes in history: The Wichita Falls F4 Tornado.

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Alto

The focus of this summary will be on one of 10 tornadoes to hit the state of Indiana during the April 11 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak.

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Per the SPC, 19 tornadoes occurred on April 12, 1964. There were 2 rated F4: One in Page County, IA that damaged or destroyed 70% of the buildings in Yorktown and the second in KS, the topic of this summary.

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An F3 tornado traveled 15.9 miles through parts of Harrison County, MS on this day in 1980. The max width was 400 yards and there were 25 injuries reported. Most of the damage was in the Gulfport area (estimated damage at $10 million at that time).

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5 miles west of Marquette. Picture by Will Campbell via NWS summary.

Per the SPC, 83 tornadoes occurred on April 14, 2012. Just over half of them (42) were in the state of KS. The strongest tornado for the day was one of the 42: It was an EF4 that traveled through parts of Rice, Ellsworth, McPherson and Saline Counties. Total path length was 50.28 miles.

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A tornado given a rating of F4 moved just over 23 miles eastward through parts of Frio County, TX on April 15, 1973. It began about 8 miles west of the Frio Airport.

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A two-day tornado outbreak occurred April 15-16, 1998. A total of 61 tornadoes were recorded by the Storm Prediction Center. 42 of those were on the 16th. Our summary for today is on an F4 that traveled a short distance through parts of Mississippi County, AR.

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An F4 tornado traveled 70 miles from NW of Essex, IL to just west of Medaryville, IN on this day in 1963. Per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, “In Illinois, damage was near-F5 as several houses literally vanished.”

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This massive twister tracked 65 miles through parts of Swisher, Briscoe, Armstrong, Donley and Gray Counties. This tornado had a max width of 880 yards. 42 injuries and 16 fatalities were reported.

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It lasted 4 minutes. An F4 tornado tore through the heart of Greenwood, AR on April 19, 1968. Total path length was 2 miles and the maximum width was 300 yards. In a blink of an eye, 14 people lost their lives and there were 270 injuries reported.

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A bit after midnight on April 20, 1973, an F3 tornado moved through parts of Pontotoc County, OK including the town of Ada. Officially from the Storm Prediction Center, the path length was 7.9 miles, the width 100 yards and there were 21 injuries.

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Belvidere Tornado Memorial via Boone County Journal

An outbreak of tornadoes occurred on April 21, 1967 across parts of the Midwest states. Per The Storm Prediction Center, there were 46 tornadoes. 5 were given a rating of F4: 1 in MO, 1 in MI and 3 in IL. This summary will focus on the 3 Illinois F4s. It is considered Northern Illinois’ Worst Tornado Disaster.

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A tornado given a rating of F4 crossed 5 miles through parts of Barton County, KS. The tornado developed 1 mile SW of Hoisington. It rapidly intensified as it entered the west side of town climbing to F4 intensity within minutes. Per the NWS summary, “while crossing northwest Hoisington, the tornado inflicted a path about 2 miles long and about 2 blocks wide of almost complete destruction.”

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EF3/EF4 damage at Harmann Estates via Fred H. Glass of NWS St. Louis

Per the SPC Database, 20 tornadoes occurred on April 22, 2011. The strongest, an EF4 hit parts of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. It reached maximum intensity as it tracked through the community of Bridgeton, just west of Lambert St. Louis International Airport, in St. Louis County.

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Ohio National Guardsmen stand guard over a house that had been leveled by a tornado late 4/23 which killed 5 people in the rural Southern Ohio community.

14 tornadoes occurred on April 23, 1968. Per the SPC, 2 hold a rating of F4 and one was rated F5. That twister is the topic of our summary.

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Damage in Yazoo City, MS from EF4. Front cover of Storm Data April 2010.

During the midday hours of April 24, 2010, a destructive long track tornado made a 149 mile journey across 1 parish in Louisiana and 8 Counties in MS. It formed just south of I-20 west of Tallulah in Madish Parish, LA and dissipated 5 miles north of Sturgis, MS in Okitebbah County. Actual time on the ground: 2 hours and 44 minutes.

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Summary map from the April 25-28, 2011 Super Outbreak via U.S. Tornadoes.

362 Confirmed Tornadoes. 4 Rated EF5. 12 Rated EF4. 21 Rated EF3. 207 Tornadoes on April 27. Most ever in a 24-hour period. 324 Fatalities. Over 3100 Injuries.Estimated $12 Billion In Damage. This overview contains links to the 22 FREE summaries and 8 PREMIUM Summaries we have written about different events from the outbreak. We also have covered extensively in a series of PREMIUM articles details for the following tornado events: Hackleburg, Ringgold, Smithville and Tuscaloosa. Links are also included for 7 Funnel Features, write-ups from meteorologists, chasers and survivors describing in their own words how they remember the outbreak.

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Damage in the vicinity of Blacks Lake Number Two, in the Black Oak Ranch Estates. Image via Arkansas Forestry Commission.

The April 25-28, 2011 Super Outbreak started on an active note for the state of Arkansas. Eighteen tornadoes occurred across the state on April 25. We take an in-depth look at four of these, two of which caused fatalities.

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A quick-hitting F4 tornado moved 6 miles across parts of Dallas County, TX on this day in 1994. 80% of the Lancaster downtown square was destroyed. 223 homes were destroyed and 227 damaged. 58 businesses were destroyed.

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Radar snapshot at 635pm CT via GR2Analyst.

During the April 25-28, 2011 Super Outbreak, 34 tornadoes occurred in Texas. Most of the tornadoes produced damage in the EF0 range. Two were rated EF2. The remaining twisters caused EF1 damage. This summary explores one of the EF1 tornadoes that struck Groesbeck, TX.

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Andover Tornado via NWS Summary

The topic of our summary: a long track, well documented event: The Wichita-Andover, KS F5 Tornado. It was the 3rd in a family of 4 tornadoes that pushed through South Central KS during the Plains Tornado Outbreak of April 26, 1991.

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A view of damage to the south shore of Lake Chilhowee through Google Earth. Imagery from April 12, 2013.

The 2011 Super Outbreak reached far beyond populated areas into the wilderness. Deep in the Great Smoky Mountains, five tornadoes occurred on April 27 within five hours. These twisters repeatedly pounded areas of the Cherokee National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, tearing large chunks of forest from mountains and shutting down trails for months. This is a premium summary!  Check out our membership plans here to read about this event!

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Devastation in the Mississippi portion of the track. Image from the NWS Jackson.

This violent tornado was one of the longest tracked of the Super Outbreak, traveling over 130 miles through parts of Mississippi and Alabama. Many rural homes were leveled with EF4 damage occurring near Louin and Enterprise, MS. Seven people were killed. Read this premium summary by becoming a member here!

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Ground level picture of what remained of a mobile home’s foundation, on Liberty Road (Virginia Department of Emergency Management).

A tornado skipped through north-central Halifax County, VA, crossing into extreme western Charlotte County. It remained in rural areas but caused major damage along Liberty Road near Nathalie. One person was killed, and seven others were injured as the tornado decimated three trailers.

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Damage to the EF3 rated home from the DAT.

During the afternoon of April 27, 2011, an intense tornado moved close to 8 miles in 8 minutes across parts of Fayette County, AL. EF3 damage was found at a home along County Road 49 north of Hubbertville.

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An aerial image of Vaughn (NWS Peachtree City).

Just before midnight on April 27, 2011, an intense EF3 tornado moved through central Georgia. The small community of Vaughn, GA was destroyed. Sadly two people were killed and at least 12 others were injured.

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Cars strewn about by the tornado. Image from the NWS Birmingham.

An intense tornado tracked for nearly 77 miles across Central Alabama, causing significant damage in the small towns of Sawyerville and Eoline. This event was overshadowed by others in the area. Dozens of rural homes were decimated, and remarkable vegetation damage occurred. Tragically seven people were killed, and 52 were injured.

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April 27, 2011, featured many uniquely violent and powerful tornadoes. However, one stands out above all others: Hackleburg. It produced one of the largest swaths of violent damage ever documented and, at the time, killed more people than any other single tornado since 1955. This free overview page provides basic statistical information on the event. This page also connects the five Premium summaries documenting the track and tells the personal stories of those affected by this major tornado event.

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A Red Bud Supply building that was destroyed.

One of the more obscure early morning tornadoes of April 27, 2011, tore through the community of Belmont, MS. Striking in the dead of night, it caught many residents completely off guard.

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An SUV that was bent into a C-shape. Image from MEMA.

One of the most violent tornadoes in recorded human history tore through several communities in Mississippi and Alabama. Twenty-three were killed, and roughly 61 injured. The human impacts were horrific, and the damage inconceivable. There are two summaries detailing the event. One focuses on the Smithville, MS side. The second examines the portion in Alabama, which principally affected the communities of Shottsville and Hodges. Beyond connecting the two summaries, this overview page also features track maps and discrepancies.

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Damage to the guardrails of a precast concrete highway bridge. The chipping probably occurred when the decking slabs were slightly lifted, causing the concrete guardrail joints to fracture.

In most aspects, this was a fairly typical Dixie Alley twister. However, it produced extremely unusual damage to a precast concrete highway bridge. So, we decided to delve into this event to highlight that feat.

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A car that was crushed in Pine Flat. Note the flattened and debarked forest in the background. Image from the North Central MS Medical Reserve Corps.

The farthest northwest EF3 tornado in the Super Outbreak, this obscure event caused major destruction in areas south and east of Oxford. The hardest-hit area was the community of Pine Flat.

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