We are approaching our prime time severe weather season. Yes, I know that for the last several years our secondary season in November and early December has been more active than the spring. I, for one, certainly do not believe that it indicates a switch in climatology. Instead, I think it is a coincidence. Over the long haul, I believe that Spring will always be the worst severe weather season that we have—just not every year.
It has been about 8 years since we have had a really major tornado outbreak in spring. That happened on April 8, 1998 when West Jefferson County was hard hit.
I can never forget the super outbreak of tornadoes back on April 3 and 4, 1974. That still stands as the most outstanding severe episode of record in the USA. During that fateful 36 hours, there were 148 tornadoes, including 95 that were F2 or stronger and 30 that were F4 or F5. 48 of the tornadoes were killers leaving 335 people dead and more than 6,000 injured. One of the tornadoes was on the ground for up to 90 miles. Those tornadoes combined cut a total path length of 2,500 miles. At one point, 15 tornadoes were on the ground at the same time and 10 states were declared federal disaster areas.
At the Birmingham NWS office, I worked 17 straight hours during that tragic event as part of a team. I was responsible in those days for doing storm surveys and preparing the official publication called Storm Data. This is just a small part of that April 1974 edition. “There were 10 confirmed tornadoes in Alabama including 5 powerful ones with long paths. All of the major tornadoes and most of the damage was over the north part of the state. The tornado paths, added together, amounted to 375 miles on the ground. The result was 1,075 dwellings destroyed, 776 with major damage, 1,072 with minor damage, 408 mobile homes destroyed, 135 with major damage, 723 farm buildings destroyed, 299 with major damage, 205 small businesses destroyed or heavily damaged.”
Alabama had more fatalities during that tragic event than any other state. More than 75 persons were killed and 938 injured. We may or may not ever see another outbreak that severe, but we must be ready.
-J.B. Elliott
It has been about 8 years since we have had a really major tornado outbreak in spring. That happened on April 8, 1998 when West Jefferson County was hard hit.
I can never forget the super outbreak of tornadoes back on April 3 and 4, 1974. That still stands as the most outstanding severe episode of record in the USA. During that fateful 36 hours, there were 148 tornadoes, including 95 that were F2 or stronger and 30 that were F4 or F5. 48 of the tornadoes were killers leaving 335 people dead and more than 6,000 injured. One of the tornadoes was on the ground for up to 90 miles. Those tornadoes combined cut a total path length of 2,500 miles. At one point, 15 tornadoes were on the ground at the same time and 10 states were declared federal disaster areas.
At the Birmingham NWS office, I worked 17 straight hours during that tragic event as part of a team. I was responsible in those days for doing storm surveys and preparing the official publication called Storm Data. This is just a small part of that April 1974 edition. “There were 10 confirmed tornadoes in Alabama including 5 powerful ones with long paths. All of the major tornadoes and most of the damage was over the north part of the state. The tornado paths, added together, amounted to 375 miles on the ground. The result was 1,075 dwellings destroyed, 776 with major damage, 1,072 with minor damage, 408 mobile homes destroyed, 135 with major damage, 723 farm buildings destroyed, 299 with major damage, 205 small businesses destroyed or heavily damaged.”
Alabama had more fatalities during that tragic event than any other state. More than 75 persons were killed and 938 injured. We may or may not ever see another outbreak that severe, but we must be ready.
-J.B. Elliott