F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
Every tornado in Alabama in 1974
January 20 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| January 20 | 2:25 PM CDT | F2 | Pike | 0.1 | 30 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
January 26 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| January 26 | 6:00 PM CDT | F3 | Randolph | 21.3 | 150 | 1 | 7 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
January 28 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| January 28 | 6:00 AM CDT | F2 | Lamar | 0.3 | 30 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
| January 28 | 6:22 AM CDT | F3 | Fayette | 0.8 | 50 | | | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| January 28 | 11:30 AM CDT | F2 | Houston | 0.3 | 30 | | | $50 to $500 |
February 6 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| February 6 | 4:30 PM CDT | F0 | Baldwin | 0.1 | 20 | | | |
| February 6 | 5:45 PM CDT | F1 | Houston | 1.0 | 800 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
March 19 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| March 19 | 5:30 PM CDT | F0 | Baldwin | 0.1 | 20 | | | $50 to $500 |
March 29 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| March 29 | 1:13 AM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa | 0.1 | 20 | | | |
April 1 3 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 1 | 6:05 PM CDT | F2 | Tuscaloosa | 16.3 | 800 | | 6 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| April 1 | 10:30 PM CDT | F2 | Blount | 16.9 | 800 | | 11 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| April 1 | 10:40 PM CDT | F3 | Madison | 8.4 | 800 | 1 | 6 | $500,000 to $5 million |
April 2 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 2 | 2:00 AM CDT | F2 | Chambers | 0.1 | 10 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
April 3 10 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 3 | 4:30 PM CDT | F2 | Jefferson | 1.0 | 800 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
| April 3 | 5:21 PM CDT | F1 | Calhoun | 1.0 | 800 | | | $500 to $5,000 |
| April 3 | 5:50 PM CDT | F2 | Cleburne to GA | 65.9 | 150 | 1 | 20 | $500,000 to $5 million |
| April 3 | 6:15 PM CDT | F5 | First Tanner tornado | 52.0 | 500 | 28 | 267 | |
| April 3 | 6:30 PM CDT | F2 | Franklin | 12.8 | 350 | | 4 | |
| April 3 | 6:35 PM CDT | F4 | Jasper tornado | 110.6 | 500 | 3 | 178 | $5 million to $50 million |
| April 3 | 7:00 PM CDT | F3 | Cherokee | 20.9 | 100 | | 9 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| April 3 | 7:35 PM CDT | F5 | Second Tanner tornado | 83.3 | 500 | 16 | 190 | |
| April 3 | 8:50 PM CDT | F5 | Guin tornado | 79.5 | 500 | 28 | 272 | |
| April 3 | 10:24 PM CDT | F3 | Morgan | 46.5 | 700 | 2 | 7 | $500,000 to $5 million |
April 4 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 4 | 4:25 PM CDT | F0 | Dale | 0.1 | 10 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
| April 4 | 6:00 PM CDT | F1 | Houston | 0.1 | 10 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
April 8 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 8 | 4:25 PM CDT | F2 | Henry | 0.1 | 10 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
April 22 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| April 22 | 1:35 PM CDT | F2 | Perry | 2.0 | 800 | | | $50,000 to $500,000 |
May 2 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| May 2 | 2:30 PM CDT | F2 | Marshall | 2.0 | 400 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
July 8 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| July 8 | 9:20 PM CDT | F0 | Colbert | 0.1 | 10 | | | $500 to $5,000 |
July 20 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| July 20 | 4:30 PM CDT | F0 | Monroe | 0.5 | 10 | | | $50 to $500 |
August 30 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| August 30 | 1:15 PM CDT | F0 | Geneva | 0.1 | 50 | | | $50 to $500 |
September 2 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| September 2 | 1:10 PM CDT | F0 | Mobile | 0.1 | 10 | | | |
September 7 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| September 7 | 7:05 PM CDT | F0 | Baldwin | 0.1 | 10 | | | |
October 15 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| October 15 | 4:30 PM CDT | F1 | Blount | 28.8 | 10 | | 1 | $500 to $5,000 |
November 4 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| November 4 | 11:00 PM CST | F1 | Jefferson | 1.5 | 20 | | | $5,000 to $50,000 |
November 5 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| November 5 | 3:00 AM CST | F2 | Escambia | 0.1 | 10 | | | $500 to $5,000 |
November 11 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| November 11 | 2:00 PM CST | F1 | Covington | 0.1 | 10 | | | $500 to $5,000 |
December 19 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|
| December 19 | 2:04 PM CST | F3 | Pike | 0.5 | 100 | | 1 | $500 to $5,000 |
| December 19 | 4:30 PM CST | F3 | Pike | 11.3 | 300 | | | $50,000 to $500,000 |
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.