The worst tornado outbreak of the 20th century occurred on April 3-4, 1974 and is known as the "Super Outbreak". This map shows the tracks of 148 tornadoes that occurred in the 24-hour period from noon CST April 3 to noon CST April 4. The combined path length of these storms was 2500 miles. Additional tornadoes occurred the night of April 2 and the afternoon of April 4. Numerous wind and hail reports occurred as well with this intense system.
Disaster survey statistics (table 1) prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 1974) demonstrate the storm's impact both in terms of human suffering and material damage. |
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During the afternoon and evening of April 1, a strong upper level trough of low pressure and attendant upstream 140kt jet streak moved into northern California and then dug rapidly southeastward toward the four corners with the upper trough taking on a negative tilt over southeast Utah by 00Z April 3. The associated surface response was tremendous during this process on April 2 as lee side cyclogenesis over southeast Colorado intensified dramatically with a 983mb surface low center observed in the analysis by 00Z April 3.
Downstream across the mid and lower Mississippi valley, warm moist air was flowing rapidly northward as a strong low level jet developed while large scale subsidence developed aloft early on April 3. The result was a rapid destabilization to the airmass within the warm sector of the northeastward ejecting deep cyclone the afternoon of April 3. Thunderstorms initially developed over southern Indiana shortly after 2:00 pm EST and had ended just before 8:00 pm EST over northeast Indiana and between 7:30 and 9:30 pm EST in Michigan. Across Ohio, most of the tornadoes occurred between 3:30 and 5:30 pm EST.
Indiana
The largest tornado outbreak in Indiana history occurred during the afternoon and early evening hours of April 3. At least 20 tornadoes caused 49 fatalities, 768 injuries, and property losses to 5,966 families. There was a brief tornado touchdown at 9:30 a.m. CDT in an open field in Boone County; however, the major outbreak began about 2:20 p.m. CDT in the south-central part of the State and ended shortly before 8:00 p.m. in the northeast. In all, 39 counties had damage (compared with 20 counties that had damage during the Palm Sunday storms of 1965, which killed three times as many people in the State). Nine people were killed in mobile homes. Most of the tornadoes in Indiana moved at speeds of 50 to 60 mph and several were visually observed to have multiple funnels.
Michigan
Michigan was affected by several types of severe weather. Heavy snow and freezing rain hit por tions of the upper peninsula, flash flooding from thunderstorm downpours washed out roads and a bridge in Sanilac County, and damaging wind gusts were reported in St. Clair County. The major activity came between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. CDT, when tornadoes struck parts of six southeastern counties. The most severe of these entered the State from Indiana about 7:30 p.m. CDT, causing intermittent damage in southeast Branch County and southwest Hillsdale County, then continuous damage from just west of Hillsdale to just west of Clark's Lake (Jefferson County) where it lifted. This storm accounted for Michigan's three deaths and 31 of 37 reported injuries. The two deaths and 27 of the injuries were in mobile homes. Weaker tornadoes were reported later in southeast Hillsdale County and from Monroe County into south Detroit (Wayne County). One of these storms killed eight persons in Windsor, Ontario.
The devastating tornadoes that struck Ohio during the afternoon and early evening of April 3 killed 41, injured 2,000, and damaged about 7,000 homes. Most of the tornado activity occurred between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. CDT. Hardest hit was Xenia (Greene County), where one of the most intense tornadoes of the outbreak (37) roared in shortly after 3:30 p.m. CDT (4:30 p.m. EDT), leaving in its wake over 30 dead, more than 1,100 injured, and more than 1,000 homes destroyed. The damage path varied in width from one-quarter to one-half mile. This storm lifted near Plattsburg, but subsequent tornado touchdowns (38 and 39) occurred in its projected path through sections of Clark, Madison, and Franklin Counties.
Less than an hour later, between about 4:30 and 5:10 p.m. CDT, other tornadoes (43, 44, and 45) struck the western and northern portions of the greater Cincinnati area. Twin funnels were reported for two of these storms. These tornadoes caused four deaths, two in mobile homes.
Weaker tornadoes (23, 25, 27, 50 and 55) were reported between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. CDT in Paulding, Putnam, Brown and Adams Counties.
Map of tornado paths in northern Indiana, northwest Ohio, and extreme southern Michigan
Weather maps from April 3, 1974
Satellite image from 10:11 a.m. EST April 3, 1974
Satellite image from 12:54 p.m. EST April 3, 1974
Satellite image from 4:00 p.m. EST April 3, 1974
Website created for the 25th anniversary of the outbreak
National Weather Service's "NOAA Technical Report" regarding the synoptic analysis of that day (a very large PDF file)
Page commemorating this area's most infamous tornado of the day, the Monticello Tornado.
Description of the Hillsdale Tornado
Eye-witness stories and photos:
- Doug Duell, Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana
- Norene Keller, Salem Township, Steuben County, Indiana
- Mark McConnell, Atwood, Kosciusko County, Indiana
- Jim Hayden, Columbus Grove, Putnam
County, Ohio
Descriptions of tornadoes from Thomas P. Grazulis' Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991
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Damage done to schools by the tornadoes of April 3, 1974 (IWX CWFA) |
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| School (County) | Damage (Loss) |
| Atwood Elementary School (Kosciusko) | Roof/windows ($11,000) |
| Leesburg Elementary School (Kosciusko) | Roof on gym and top of school ($14,000) |
| Swayzee Elementary School (Grant) | Gym roof damage ($30,000) |
| Riddle Elementary School (Fulton IN) | 60%-65% of building damaged. Roof, wall, and 3/4 of glass. ($300,000) |
| Talma Middle School (Fulton IN) | Total loss (No damage loss estimate) |
| Bellmont High School (Adams) | Auditorium roof moved -- with water damage. Roof on high school damaged; also window and water damage. ($50,000) |
| Bellmont Junior High School (Adams) | Steeple of church next door fell through roof and floor. ($100,000) |
| Perry Central Elementary School (Noble) | Roof of auditorium blown off. Gym cannot be rebuilt, classroom damage. ($1,000,000+) |
| Twin Lakes High School (White) | Total loss ($3,300,000) |
| Roosevelt Junior High School (White) | Building can be utilized with repairs ($1,900,000) |
| Meadowlawn Elementary School (White) | Total loss, will be rebuilt. ($1,000,000) |
| Total students involved: 11,754 | |
| Total estimated cost (in IWX CWFA): $7,705,000 (not including Talma Middle School total loss) | |
| Source: Engineering Aspects of the Tornadoes of April 3 -4, 1974 by Mehta, K.C. et al. | |
References
E. Agee, C. Church, C. Morris and J. Snow. 1975: Some Synoptic Aspects and Dynamic Features of Vortices Associated with the Tornado Outbreak of 3 April 1974. Monthly Weather Review: Vol. 103, No. 4, pp. 318–333.
Hoxit, L. R., and Chappell, C. F. 1975a: "Tornado Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974; Synoptic Analysis." NOAA Technical Report. NOAA TR ERL 338-APCL 37.
Hoxit, L. R., and Chappell, C. F. 1975b: An analysis of the mesoscale circulations which produced the April 3, 1974 tornadoes in northern Indiana. Proceedings, 9th AMS Coni on Severe Local Storms, Oct. 21-23, 1975, pp. 256-263, Norman, Oklahoma.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1974. National disaster survey report 74-1: Widespread tornado outbreak of April 3-4, 1974. 42 p.
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