April 3, 1974 is the seminal day in my weather history. 147 tornadoes in twenty four hours across the United States will probably stand for a long time as the most prolific twenty four hour tornado outbreak in our nation. It was a terrible day. It was warm, way too warm for early April in Alabama. Afternoon temperatures peaked near 90 degrees. Tornado watches were in effect by 10 a.m. Storms started to fire around noon. A strong thunderstorm crossed the Birmingham metro area around 4 p.m., causing a brief tornado near Concord in the western part of the county. More tornadoes occurred during the late afternoon in the northeastern part of the state. But the main action was just beginning over the Northwest part of the state.
At 6:30 p.m. CDT, a tornado touched down in Franklin County near Newburg. This tornado was described in warnings as “big and powerful and taking everything in its path.” I was listening to Wayne Wallace and Ben Cleary on WDJC as they read this warning, and I can still feel the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. This tornado caused severe damage across Lawrence County, Limestone County and Madison County before moving into Tennessee. The twister was on the ground for 85 miles. It killed 28 in Alabama. At 7:25, a second tornado touched down near the first tornado’s path and paralleled its track, separated by less than two miles along the fifty miles it was on the ground in Alabama. Many communities were struck by two tornadoes less than thirty minutes apart. At the same time, trouble was brewing further to the south. At 7:00, a tornado touched down near Aliceville in Pickens County. It remained on the ground for 120 miles, plowing into the downtown area of Jasper at 7:58 p.m. reaching Cullman at 8:40 p.m.
About that same time, at 8:50 p.m. CDT, the most powerful tornado of the night in Alabama touched down in Lamar County. It roared into the Marion County town of Guin at 9:04 p.m. CDT. Twenty three people died in the town. The tornado roared on to the northeast. Dramatic radar reports indicated that the parent storm was moving at 120 mph! The tornado lifted, but a second tornado formed from the same parent storm and roared into south Huntsville. The tragic toll in the state on that stormy night: eight tornadoes, 86 people killed, nearly one thousand injured.
At 6:30 p.m. CDT, a tornado touched down in Franklin County near Newburg. This tornado was described in warnings as “big and powerful and taking everything in its path.” I was listening to Wayne Wallace and Ben Cleary on WDJC as they read this warning, and I can still feel the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. This tornado caused severe damage across Lawrence County, Limestone County and Madison County before moving into Tennessee. The twister was on the ground for 85 miles. It killed 28 in Alabama. At 7:25, a second tornado touched down near the first tornado’s path and paralleled its track, separated by less than two miles along the fifty miles it was on the ground in Alabama. Many communities were struck by two tornadoes less than thirty minutes apart. At the same time, trouble was brewing further to the south. At 7:00, a tornado touched down near Aliceville in Pickens County. It remained on the ground for 120 miles, plowing into the downtown area of Jasper at 7:58 p.m. reaching Cullman at 8:40 p.m.
About that same time, at 8:50 p.m. CDT, the most powerful tornado of the night in Alabama touched down in Lamar County. It roared into the Marion County town of Guin at 9:04 p.m. CDT. Twenty three people died in the town. The tornado roared on to the northeast. Dramatic radar reports indicated that the parent storm was moving at 120 mph! The tornado lifted, but a second tornado formed from the same parent storm and roared into south Huntsville. The tragic toll in the state on that stormy night: eight tornadoes, 86 people killed, nearly one thousand injured.