What the record says
On 3 April 1974, a tornado touched down near Huntsville, Alabama. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 46.5 miles long and up to 700 yards wide, rated F3 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 2 people and injured 7.
- F3Fujita rating
- 2deaths
- 7injuries
- 46.5 mipath length
- 700 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 34.53, -86.90 and the end point at 34.85, -86.18 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Alabama
- Athens, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 72 deaths, 145 injuries, 132 miles long
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF4, 64 deaths, 1,500 injuries, 80.7 miles long
- Learned, Mississippi tornado3 March 1966, F5, 58 deaths, 518 injuries, 202.5 miles long
- Birmingham, Alabama tornado8 April 1998, F5, 32 deaths, 259 injuries, 30.3 miles long
- Decatur, Alabama tornado3 April 1974, F5, 28 deaths, 272 injuries, 79.5 miles long
- Athens, Alabama tornado3 April 1974, F5, 28 deaths, 267 injuries, 52 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1974
- Beavercreek, Ohio tornado3 April 1974, F5, 36 deaths, 1,150 injuries, 31.3 miles long
- Hardinsburg, Kentucky tornado3 April 1974, F5, 31 deaths, 270 injuries, 32 miles long
- Decatur, Alabama tornado3 April 1974, F5, 28 deaths, 272 injuries, 79.5 miles long
- Athens, Alabama tornado3 April 1974, F5, 28 deaths, 267 injuries, 52 miles long
- Otterbein, Indiana tornado3 April 1974, F4, 18 deaths, 285 injuries, 108.7 miles long
All tornadoes of 1974 · Alabama tornado history · All notable tornadoes