This is a concise description of the more than 140 tornadoes that ravaged the Midwest and East, from Alabama to Canada, in 1974. On a mild Wednesday and Thursday, April 3 and 4, 1974, the United States experienced the biggest outbreak of tornadoes in our nation's recorded history. Meteorologists refer to this as the Super Outbreak in which 148 tornadoes swept across 13 states in roughly a 24 hour time frame.
From Illinois to North Carolina and from Michigan to Mississippi, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms killed 335 people and injured over 6,000. Over 15,000 homes, businesses and farm buildings were destroyed and another 17,000 buildings were damaged The program deals chiefly with a few of the many towns and cities that suffered damage -- Brandenberg and Louisville, KY, Xenia, OH, and Limestone County in Alabama.
The treatment of necessary atmospheric conditions is light, but the analysis of the technology available in 1974 and its evolution into something more precise and quicker is impressive. From no warning at all, except for spotters on the ground, in 1974, to a 16-minute lead time today, many lives have been saved.
Living through the impact phase of the funnel must have been a terrifying experience. I'd just visited a friend in Bloomington and was driving north when (I remember this verbatim) the radio announcer broke into the music and said casually, "Funny weather we're having today," and went on to broadcast a number of tornado warnings. When the station stopped playing music and devoted itself exclusively to multiple tornado warnings, I began to feel like a fugitive in a video game, dodging from place to place. I took refuge in the basement of a bank in Frankfort, Indiana, about 40 miles south of the small town of Monticello, which was virtually destroyed. Everyone I met in Frankfort took the warnings quite seriously. I'm happy that the technology has been thoroughly upgraded.