Paths of the 148 tornadoes generated in United States during the 1974 Super Outbreak. One tornado was deconfirmed and determined to be a microburst.
The1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 violent (F4 or F5 rated) tornadoes confirmed. From April 3–4, 1974, there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. In the United States, the tornadoes struck Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. The outbreak caused roughly $600 million USD (equivalent to $3.71 billion in 2023) in damage. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900 sq mi (2,331 km2) along a total combined path length of 2,600 mi (4,184 km). At one point, as many as 15 separate tornadoes were occurring simultaneously.
The 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak was one of the worst weather days in U.S. history. [...] Before April 27, 2011, it wasthe tornado event everyone talked about.
Technology has come a long way since then. In 1974, weather radar was crude by today’s standards. We could only see a depiction of the precipitation over a large area. There was no Doppler radar, which allows us to peer inside of storms and see areas of rotation. We lacked the computer power to zoom in and pinpoint the most dangerous part of the storm, let alone track it in real time to give people in the path a heads up to when the storm would be in their backyard.
When we hit the bottom of those basement steps, it sounded like a freight train was outside. I remember looking up at our basement window and all I could see was a brown swirling. I never prayed harder in my life. Then suddenly, it got deathly silent. You couldn't hear anything. No birds chirping. It was just still.
Given the bottleneck of transmitting numerous warnings via teletype during the super outbreak, the NWS knew it needed a better way to get a warning directly to the public. The NOAA Weather Radio network expanded from only 50 to 60 stations mostly in large cities near the coasts to 330 more.
