April 3 in weather history

Super Outbreak

April 3, 1974 · Canada

The 1974 Super Outbreak was one of the most intense tornado outbreaks on record, occurring on April 3–4, 1974, across much of the United States. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 violent tornadoes confirmed. From April…

The record

Date
April 3, 1974
Ended
April 4, 1974
Kind
Tornado outbreak
Where
Canada
Countries
Canada, United States

What happened

The 1974 Super Outbreak was one of the most intense tornado outbreaks on record, occurring on April 3–4, 1974, across much of the United States. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 violent tornadoes confirmed. From April 3–4, there were 149 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 in damage. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900 mi2 (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.

From Wikipedia, “1974 Super Outbreak”, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

Wikidata Q428362 (CC0); text from Wikipedia, “1974 Super Outbreak”, CC BY-SA 4.0.