Northern Indiana

Weather Forecast Office

April 3rd 1974 Super Outbreak 50th Anniversary

Overview

A look back on the 50th anniversary of the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak

For more on this historical event, see:
- NWS Wilmington, OH
- NWS Indianapolis, IN
- NWS Lincoln, IL
- IN Dept of Homeland Security

Monticello Court House
Monticello Herald

Tornadoes
Ohio Valley/Great Lakes

April 3, 1974
Time (Local)	Late afternoon and evening
F Rating	Numbered with F scale annotated
Est. Peak Winds	F0 < 73 mph
	F1 73 - 112 mph
	F2 113 - 157 mph
	F3 158 - 206 mph
	F4 207 - 260 mph
	F5 260 - 318 mph
Path Lengths	Plotted Monticello Tornado ~ 109 miles
Max Width	0.1 - 0.6 miles
Deaths/Injuries	IN 49/1377	MI 3/20	OH 41/2138
Summary: A deep cyclone over Kansas on the morning of April 3rd 1974 lifted northeast in western Illinois by evening. Downstream of this intense system, an unusually moist and warm airmass spread north into the Ohio valley leading to a very unstable and highly sheared atmosphere by the time thunderstorms erupted late afternoon. Numerous long-lived supercells developed and spawned violent tornadoes from Indiana to Alabama as the day progressed. In all, 148 tornadoes were spawned in a 24 hour span from Mississippi to Ontario Canada. 335 persons died with over 6000 injured. This event still stands as the second highest tornado outbreak by count, trailing the 2011 Super Outbreak.

Tornado Tracks

The Fujita (F) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

F0 Weak < 73 mph	F1 Moderate 73 - 112 mph	F2 Significant 113 - 157 mph	F3 Severe 158 - 206 mph	F4 Extreme 207 - 260 mph	F5 Catastrophic 261 - 318 mph

Photos

Monticello, IN


Damaged School and Residential Area (Monticello Herald)	Bryan's Department Store (Monticello Herald)	Harrison Street (Monticello Herald)

Penn-Central Railroad Trestle (Monticello Herald)	Presbyterian Church (Monticello Herald)	Hickory Ridge subdivision (Steve Weisser)

Rochester/Talma, IN


What's left of a 6th street home (Rochester Sentinel)	Devastation along County Road 50 (Rochester Sentinel)	Murray Radiator and Garage on US 31 (Rochester Sentinel)

Destroyed homes on 6th street (Tom Zoss)	Talma School (Tom Zoss)	Dean Milk Plant (Tom Zoss)

Lakes Region (North central and northeast Indiana)


Atwood Damage (Mail Journal)	Dewart Lake (Mail Journal)	Wawasee Golf Course (Mail Journal)	Perry School (Lagrange News Sun)

Miscellaneous Photos


Wall cloud descending on the Purdue University Campus (Dr. Agee)	Devastation in Rainwater, IN (Dr. Agee)

Radar


Marseilles Illinois (MMO) WSR-74C Radar Loop	Champaign Illinois (CMI) CHILL Radar Loop

Environment

Surface Evolution


Figure 1: April 3, 1974 8am SFC Map	Figure 2: April 3, 1974 2pm SFC Map	Figure 3: April 3, 1974 5pm SFC Map	Figure 4: April 4, 1974 8pm SFC Map

Upper Air Evolution

Upper Air Soundings


Figure 13: April 3, 1974 8am Dayton, OH Sounding	Figure 14: April 4, 1974 8pm Dayton, OH Sounding	Figure 15: April 3, 1974 2pm Lafayette, Indiana Sounding	Figure 16: April 3, 1974 2pm Lafayette, Indiana Hodograph

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