Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, April 3, 1974

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, April 3, 1974
Start: 1974-04-03T15:14
End: 1974-04-03T22:15
Location: Alabama

April 3, 1974 · 34 events in 21 counties and zones

25 tornado, 7 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 77
Injuries: 927
Property damage: $135 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 34

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

25 tornado, 7 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Jefferson

When: April 3, 3:14 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.600, -86.950

Tornado, Jefferson

When: April 3, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 33.450, -87.050

Hail, Blount

When: April 3, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Blount County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.950, -86.470

Hail, Jefferson

When: April 3, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.750, -86.820

Hail, Jefferson

When: April 3, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.680, -86.680

Hail, Etowah

When: April 3, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Etowah County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.020, -86.020

Hail, Shelby

When: April 3, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Shelby County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.120, -86.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Shelby

When: April 3, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Shelby County
Coordinates: 33.230, -86.820

Tornado, Calhoun

When: April 3, 4:21 PM CST
Where: Calhoun County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 33.870, -85.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Etowah

When: April 3, 4:25 PM CST
Where: Etowah County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 34.130, -86.170

Tornado, Cleburne

When: April 3, 4:50 PM CST
Where: Cleburne County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10.4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Coordinates: 33.550, -85.470

Tornado, Lawrence

When: April 3, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County
Rating: F5
Path length: 24.4 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 14 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 60 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.470, -87.480

Tornado, Franklin

When: April 3, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Rating: F2
Path length: 12.8 mi
Path width: 350 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.330, -87.730

Tornado, Pickens

When: April 3, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Pickens County
Rating: F4
Path length: 24.6 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.270, -88.200

Tornado, Morgan

When: April 3, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Morgan County
Rating: F5
Path length: 4.1 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 56 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.650, -87.120

Tornado, Tuscaloosa

When: April 3, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Tuscaloosa County
Rating: F4
Path length: 17.7 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.450, -87.830

Tornado, Limestone

When: April 3, 5:52 PM CST
Where: Limestone County
Rating: F5
Path length: 18.8 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 41 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.680, -87.070

Tornado, Cherokee

When: April 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cherokee County
Rating: F3
Path length: 20.9 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.050, -85.820

Tornado, Fayette

When: April 3, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Rating: F4
Path length: 8.8 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 29 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.620, -87.600

Tornado, Madison

When: April 3, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F5
Path length: 4.7 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 110 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.800, -86.770

Tornado, Walker

When: April 3, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Walker County
Rating: F4
Path length: 26.5 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 102 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.700, -87.480

Tornado, Limestone

When: April 3, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Limestone County
Rating: F5
Path length: 17.7 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 11 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 80 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.700, -87.050

Hail, Walker

When: April 3, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Walker County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.780, -87.000

Tornado, Madison

When: April 3, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F5
Path length: 22.9 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Deaths: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 110 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.830, -86.780

Tornado, Cullman

When: April 3, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Cullman County
Rating: F4
Path length: 33 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 36 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.950, -87.130

Tornado, Lamar

When: April 3, 7:50 PM CST
Where: Lamar County
Rating: F5
Path length: 13.3 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Coordinates: 33.830, -88.130

Tornado, Marion

When: April 3, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Marion County
Rating: F5
Path length: 22.8 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 23 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 250 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 33.950, -87.950

Tornado, Winston

When: April 3, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Winston County
Rating: F5
Path length: 19.2 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 22 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.150, -87.630

Tornado, Lawrence

When: April 3, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County
Rating: F5
Path length: 16.2 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Coordinates: 34.300, -87.350

Tornado, Morgan

When: April 3, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Morgan County
Rating: F5
Path length: 8 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Coordinates: 34.430, -87.120

Tornado, Morgan

When: April 3, 9:24 PM CST
Where: Morgan County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 700 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.530, -86.900

Tornado, Limestone

When: April 3, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Limestone County
Rating: F3
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 700 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.570, -86.830

Tornado, Madison

When: April 3, 9:35 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F3
Path length: 29.9 mi
Path width: 700 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.600, -86.780

Tornado, Jackson

When: April 3, 10:15 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F3
Path length: 8.3 mi
Path width: 700 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.800, -86.320

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Cullman	1974-04-03				Direct

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 1974 Every state in 1974 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Alabama, 1974

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9979403, 9979404, 9979405, 9979406, 9979407, 9979408, 9979409, 9979410, 9979411, 9979412, 9979413, 9979414, 9979415, 9979416, 9979417, 9979418, 9979419, 9979420, 9976064, 9976065, 9976066, 9976067, 9976068, 9976069, 9976070, 9976071, 9976072, 9976073, 9976074, 9976075, 9976076, 9976077, 9976078, 9976079.