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Super Tornado Outbreak 1974

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By: Christine Scherb What is a tornado?

Tornadoes are frightening natural occurrences. They happen during thunderstorms and they can range in size from very thin to very large. Just as their size varies, their intensity can be variant. Speeds tend to be under 100 mph, but in extreme cases, the speed can be 250 mph or faster (7). The United States experiences “about 1,200” tornadoes each year, most in tornado alley (4). Tornado alley is what we call the area of North America with the highest rate of tornadoes. The tornadoes that occur in tornado alley are also some of the most violent tornadoes in the world. The exact area covered by tornado alley is different in every map, but will almost always include: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, northern Texa s, Arkansas, Mississippi, northern Louisiana, Northern Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, and Oklahoma. Sometimes South Dakota, Iowa, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and Nebraska will also be included in such maps (4,2).

There are a few types of tornado- like weather patterns that can happen. The first is a real tornado, and there are some occurrences that are a lot like tornadoes, waterspouts, landspouts, and gustnadoes (7). In general, when a cold front moves in the warmer air in front of it is lifted. The lifting air has the ability to form a cumulonimbus, or storm cloud, if the air is unstable. In supercell storms, the air has the ability to start circling due to the continuous updrafts of air (7). When the air circulates fast e nough, a funnel cloud may form and touch the ground. While all tornadoes require the same inputs, the outputs can vary significantly. A tornado can be rope- like, or the traditional shape. They can also be darker or lighter in appearance, and sometimes the tornado will form multiple vortices inside of itself (7).

How to stay safe in a tornado? media type="youtube" key="xXseEDCTHnA" width="560" height="315" align="center"

Tornadoes are incredibly hard to predict. They can form rapidly and dissipate just as quickly. NOAA cites the average lead time at 13 minutes (4). There are also different types of alerts. When living in a tornado prone area, it is good to know the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. A “watch” is less dire, and says that “tornadoes are possible in your area” and cautions to pay attention (4). A “Tornado Warning” is much more immediate and means that shelter should be found immediately (4). Simple steps for staying safe during a tornado in any locale:

Inside:
 * 1) Find a Basement or inside room with no windows.
 * 2) Grab “emergency bag” which will contain things like medications, keys, food, water, and other emergency supplies.
 * 3) Go under a piece of furniture like a mattress or a desk.

Outside: media type="youtube" key="oPDuG30Yz8Y" width="560" height="315" align="center"
 * 1) If in a car, drive as far away as possible.
 * 2) If that is unsuccessful, get out of the vehicle and into a sheltered area.
 * 3) “Lie flat in a ditch” (4)
 * 4) Stay away from overpasses
 * 5) Find a place to hide, whether it be a small cave, crevice, or a ditch.

What happened? The outbreak of 1974 happened from April 3 to April 4, and it was the most intense tornado outbreak that America had seen yet. The statistics speak for themselves, including 30 F4s or  F5s, “Ten states declared federal disaster areas”, and a total distance traveled by tornadoes of more than 2,500 miles1. Of those 2,500 miles, 118 tornadoes contributed more than a mile (5). It took just 18 ho urs for the damage to be done, but sev ere storms are often still noted as the worst tornado outbreak in American history. This event was started by a large low pressure system in the central United States alongside near saturated air1. This low pressure system dropped to under 980 mb (1). The thermal gradient was “not well-defined at the time of storm initiation” (1). It is also important to note that the unique shape of the jet stream that year allowed for the storm to escalate for two main reasons. First, the air moved very quickly across the country, and secondly, the storm also resulted in lower, faster clouds (5). Those clouds are most associated with severe weather (5).

There were warnings that there could be a major thunderstorm system, but it wasn’t thought of to be a major threat  as it didn’t include a large portion of t he land that was ultimately affected (5). The first places to be affected were Tennessee and Georgia with tornadoes at 2:00 Central time (5). The storm developed quickly, affecting Illinois and Ohio within a half hour of the first touchdowns (5). Alabama’s first tornado to touch ground was in Alabama at 4:30 Central time (8). The average paths followed by these tornadoes was about 18.7 miles (5). 13 states were affected by human injuries and casualties. Not all casualties were directly due to the tornadoes, but from secondary causes like heart attacks and other factors (5). Aftermath. As is always the case, after disaster came rebuilding. People were still trying to reclaim their lives, and the meteorologists of the time were trying to better understand what had happened. In total, 335 people died, and over 6,000 people were injured (1). The storms, horrible as they were, helped the National Weather Service to learn more about tornadoes. Some commonly held beliefs about tornadoes were broken. People had believed that tornadoes wouldn’t touch the ground where two rivers meet (6). That was shown as false because one tornado hit a town right at the junction (6). Another myth debunked was that tornadoes won’t travel up inclines such as mountains (6). media type="youtube" key="SS-k1fLZXh4" width="630" height="470" align="center"

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Some tornadoes actually climbed up mountains during the outbreak. Not only were some commonly held beliefs proven false, the Weather service was able to learn more about how tornadoes work and use that information to help the public. Many school buildings were either damaged or destroyed during the sixteen hours, and engineers were able to build safermedia type="youtube" key="XgtNCNGGUSw" width="560" height="315" align="right" schools to keep children safe (6). The engineers were able to prove that hallways were the safest place and that the worst place to be in a school is in a classroom with windows or any rooms with high ceilings (6). As sad as what happened on April 3-4, 1974 was, it is good to know that people still benefited from the aftermath.

Works Cited:

(1)Corfidi, Stephen F., Jason J. Levit, and Steven J. Weiss. //The Super Outbreak: Outbreak of the Century//. Norman, OK: NOAA/NWS/NCEP/Storm Prediction Center, 0. Print.

(2)Edwards, Roger. "Tornado Safety (Online Tornado FAQ)." //NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html__]>.

(3)Edwards, Roger. "Tornado Preparedness Tips for School Administrators." //NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/school.html__]>.

(4)"NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Protecting Lives and Property." //NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.noaa.gov/features/protecting/tornados101.html__]>.

(5)"NOAA and the 1974 Tornado Outbreak." //NOAA Public, Constituent and Intergovernmental Affairs - HOME//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/storms/__]>.

(6)Slattery, Pat. "NOAA and the 1974 Tornado Outbreak - Tornado Myths." //NOAA Public, Constituent and Intergovernmental Affairs - HOME//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/storms/myths.html__]>.

(7)"weather.com - Storm Encyclopedia - How Tornadoes Form, Tornado Information - weather.com." //National and Local Weather Forecast, Hurricane, Radar and Report//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/tornado/form.html__]>.

(8)Webmaster, BMX. "Tornado Super Outbreak 4/3/1974." //National Weather Service Southern Region homepage//. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2013. <[|__http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/?n=event_04031974__]>.