The tornado outbreak of April 1–2, 1974 was a

tornado outbreak A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same Synoptic scale meteorology, synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least ...

that affected much of the eastern and central United States on April 1-2, 1974. Four fatalities and more than seventy injuries were confirmed in this outbreak. Damaging, deadly tornadoes struck

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

—including the

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

metropolitan areas. In the latter areas, tornadoes produced F3 damage on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

and impacted areas that would later sustain damage on April 3. Large

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

and severe

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

winds also impacted a broad area.

Background

The outbreak began when a powerful area of low pressure formed across the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

on April 1 and moved into

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Valleys. As it did, a surge of very moist warm air intensified the storm. As a result, a series of tornado outbreaks occurred. The outbreak produced 23 confirmed tornadoes, three of which caused at least one fatality. The outbreak ended approximately 30 hours before the Super Outbreak of 1974 began. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

(NWS) issued a total of 11 severe weather watches on April 1 alone. These watches, along with the damage and deaths that followed, prompted alertness among the general public that may have reduced casualties and losses during the larger outbreak of April 3 to April 4. According to the NWS, the severe weather on April 1 spurred appropriate protective measures a few days later, and consequently "many lives were saved."

Confirmed tornadoes

Non-tornadic effects

Peak wind gusts reached in the strongest thunderstorms, over Daviess County, Kentucky. The largest hailstones peaked at in circumference, as measured in Washington County, Mississippi.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1974-04-02 Tornado Outbreak F3, EF3 and IF3 tornadoes Tornadoes in Mississippi Tornadoes in Arkansas Tornadoes in Illinois Tornadoes in Indiana Tornadoes in Alabama Tornadoes in Michigan Tornadoes in Louisiana Tornadoes in Kentucky Tornadoes in Tennessee Tornadoes in Ohio Tornadoes in North Carolina Tornado Outbreak, 04-02 04-02 Tornado Outbreak 04-02 Tornado Outbreak 04-02 Tornado Outbreak, 02 Tornado outbreaks in the United States

Background

Confirmed tornadoes

Non-tornadic effects

See also

Notes

References