Tornado outbreak of April 1977

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox weather eventTemplate:Infobox weather event/Tornado outbreakTemplate:Infobox weather event/EffectsTemplate:Infobox weather event/Footer A violent severe weather outbreak struck the Southeast on April 4–5, 1977. A total of 22 tornadoes touched down with the strongest ones occurring in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The strongest was a catastrophic F5 tornado that struck the northern Birmingham, Alabama, suburbs during the afternoon of Monday, April 4. In addition to this tornado, several other tornadoes were reported from the same system in the Midwest, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina. One tornado in Floyd County, Georgia, killed one person, and another fatality was reported east of Birmingham in St. Clair County. In the end, the entire outbreak directly caused 24 deaths and 158 injuries. The storm system also caused the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, which killed 72 and injured 22.Template:Refn

Outbreak statistics

Daily statistics of tornadoes during the tornado outbreak of April 4–5, 1977

DateTemplate:Refn	Total	F-scale ratingTemplate:Refn							Deaths	Injuries	DamageTemplate:Refn
		FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
April 4	19	1	1	5	9	2	0	1	24	157	Template:Nts
April 5	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	Template:Nts
Total	22	1	1	7	10	2	0	1	24	158	Template:Nts

Outbreak death toll

State	Total	County	County total
Alabama	23	Jefferson	22
		St. Clair	1
Georgia	1	Floyd	1
Totals	24
All deaths were tornado-related

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
1	1	7	10	2	0	1	22

Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.

Color/symbol key

Color / symbol	Description
†	Data from Grazulis 1990/1993/2001b
¶	Data from a local National Weather Service office
※	Data from the 1977 Storm Data publication
‡	Data from the NCEI database
♯	Maximum width of tornado
±	Tornado was rated below F2 intensity by Grazulis but a specific rating is unavailable.

List of confirmed tornadoes in the tornado outbreak of April 4–5, 1977

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.Template:Refn	DateTemplate:Refn	Time (UTC)	Path length	WidthTemplate:Refn	Damage
F1	S of Florence※	Rankin	Mississippi		Template:Nts	12:00–?			<Template:Nts※
	This tornado touched down along MS 469. A barn lost its tin roof and another incurred negligible damage.Template:Sfn
F2†	WNW of Center to NW of Preston※	Neshoba, Kemper	Mississippi		Template:Nts	14:00–?	※		Template:Nts※
	This tornado dissipated a short distance north of MS 21. A few businesses, a pair of homes, and two trailers were wrecked, while outbuildings, barns, and an additional home were damaged.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F2†	S of Macon to W of Prairie Point	Calhoun	Mississippi		Template:Nts	15:00–?	※	†	Template:Nts
	This tornado struck the Elon settlement. A silo, a trailer, and a frame-built home were wrecked. Outbuildings on farms were damaged as well, and one person was injured slightly.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F0	Hannibal※	Marion	Missouri		Template:Nts	15:30–?			Template:Nts
	A brief tornado partly unroofed a home and an adjacent carport. Nearby houses suffered minor damage, and several trees were downed.Template:Sfn
F2	Near Hanceville to Center Hill※	Cullman	Alabama		Template:Nts	17:12–?	‡		Template:Nts
	A pair of homes were badly damaged and a few trailers were destroyed. Numerous trees were splintered and prostrated as well. A trio of injuries occurred.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F2	S of Section to N of Dutton	Jackson	Alabama		Template:Nts	18:20–?	†		Template:Nts
	A strong tornado impacted 20 agricultural outbuildings and homes. One person was injured.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F2	Southern Ragland	St. Clair	Alabama		Template:Nts	18:30–?			Template:Nts†
	Five homes were severely damaged or destroyed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F1	Elkton※	Todd	Kentucky		Template:Nts	19:30–?‡	‡		Template:Nts
	A farmhouse, four barns, and four trailers were destroyed. Airborne glass injured a small child.Template:Sfn
F2	Eastern Springville	St. Clair	Alabama		Template:Nts	20:00–?	‡		Template:Nts†
	21 barns and homes were destroyed or damaged.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F2	W of Markton to E of Southside	Etowah	Alabama		Template:Nts	20:30–?	※		Template:Nts
	A dozen homes were destroyed or severely damaged. Half a dozen trailers and 17 outbuildings were wrecked or otherwise damaged as well. Four people were injured.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F2†	N of Ashville† to SE of Steele‡	St. Clair	Alabama		Template:Nts	20:30–?	‡		Template:Nts†
	1 death – Three trailers, seven barns, a house, and a small business were destroyed. A total of 16 other homes were damaged as well, a few of them severely. A woman was killed by a falling tree while refuging in an above-ground storm cellar.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F5	ESE of Forestdale to ESE of Pinson¶	Jefferson	Alabama		Template:Nts	21:00–21:15	※	♯※	Template:Nts¶
	22 deaths – See section on this tornado
F3	E of Cave Spring to ESE of Six Mile‡ to Lindale※	Floyd	Georgia		Template:Nts	21:15–?	※		Template:Nts
	1 death – Major damage occurred in Lindale. A dozen trailers were destroyed and nine others were extensively damaged. 24 frame homes were badly damaged or wrecked. Three dairy farms sustained major damage, and four others sustained lesser damage. There were 15 injuries.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F3†	Adairsville to Folsom	Bartow	Georgia		Template:Nts	21:30–?	※		Template:Nts
	Eight chicken coops, seven service buildings, three trailers, and three houses were destroyed. Multiple other structures were damaged.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F1	Ramhurst	Murray	Georgia		Template:Nts	21:45–?			Template:Nts
	10 service buildings, two chicken coops, two mobile homes, and a grist mill were destroyed. A few other houses were damaged.Template:Sfn
FU※	S of Cincinnati	Boone, Kenton	Kentucky	Template:Unk	Template:Nts	22:00–?			Template:Nts
	This tornado produced scattered damage, occurring at four different spots. A few mobile homes, a pair of garages, nine homes, and 14 barns were destroyed or damaged.Template:Sfn
F1	Edgewood	Madison	Indiana		Template:Nts	23:00–?			Template:Nts
	A house was unroofed and a shed and a garage wrecked.Template:Sfn
F2†	Mill Creek area※	Lumpkin	Georgia		Template:Nts	01:00–?	‡		Template:Nts
	This tornado generated low-end F2 damage. 20 chicken coops were destroyed or damaged. Four homes received damage, and major tree damage occurred as well, with losses to the latter totaling $200,000. An injury was reported.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
F1	S of Traphill to E of Thurmond※	Wilkes	North Carolina		Template:Nts	02:30–?	※		Template:Nts
	The tornado skipped along its path. Trees, mobile homes, and chicken coops were damaged.Template:Sfn
F1	Eastern Sparks to WNW of Chaserville	Cook	Georgia		Template:Nts	07:45–?	‡	※	Template:Nts
	A mobile home was destroyed and a few homes slightly damaged. There was also damage to agricultural implements, pecan trees, and outbuildings.Template:Sfn
F1	Onancock※	Accomack	Virginia		Template:Nts	14:03–?※			Template:Nts
	Two chicken houses, a garage, and several small storage buildings were completely destroyed. A house lost its metal roof and a church lost its bell tower. Most other structural damage was limited to shingles or inflicted by fallen trees. About 15 trees were uprooted and more than 50 sustained minor damage.Template:Sfn
F2	Swatara Township	Dauphin	Pennsylvania		Template:Nts	21:50–22:15※			Template:Nts
	35 homes were destroyed or damaged. Debris from the homes clung to trees. A woman was injured when her trailer was overturned.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Birmingham–Smithfield, Alabama

Template:Infobox weather event Template:Infobox weather event/Tornado Template:Infobox weather event/Effects Template:Infobox weather event/Footer Developing northwest of Birmingham, near US 78, this violent tornado proceeded northeastward through northern Jefferson County. Near the point of touchdown, Daniel Payne College suffered extensive damage, forcing it to permanently close due to the extent of the destruction. Rapidly intensifying, it generated F5 damage in the neighborhood of Hayes Highland, particularly along and near a lane and drive each named Smithfield, from which the tornado derived its moniker. In this area, abutting the intersection of I-65 and US 31, hundreds of homes were completely destroyed, many of which were completely swept away, despite being well-built. Some of the homes built into hillsides even had their cinder-block basement walls swept away, and at least one home was reportedly annihilated, with even its foundation said to be missing. Many trees in the area were snapped and debarked and vehicles were thrown and destroyed. A pair of dump-trucks were thrown through the air as well. Ted Fujita followed the tornado and supercell from an airplane and while surveying damage; he rated the Smithfield tornado F5, but initially considered assigning a rating of F6. (He once rated the 1970 Lubbock and 1974 Xenia tornadoes as such, but his preliminary estimates were subsequently revised to the official ratings of F5.) The NCEI incorrectly list the path as extending from west of Birmingham to east-northeast of Tarrant.

Non-tornadic impacts

The storms that brought the tornadoes on April 4 also brought a large squall line across Alabama. This proved disastrous when Southern Airways Flight 242 attempted to fly around the storm and instead flew straight into it. Massive amounts of very large hail and very heavy rain battered the plane and destroyed its engines. With no way to keep flying, it attempted a landing on a stretch of highway in New Hope, Georgia. The road section used for the forced landing, formerly called Georgia State Route 92 Spur, is now called Dallas–Acworth Highway (formerly Georgia State Route 381). The DC-9 actually landed successfully, but then crashed into a gas station, grocery store, and other structures and vehicles during the rollout. The plane was destroyed, killing the flight crew, 60 passengers, and nine people on the ground.

Aftermath, recovery, and records

The F5 tornado touched down near the end of the path of three other violent tornadoes that struck the Birmingham region in 1956, 1998, and 2011. The 1956 tornado was an F4 that struck McDonald Chapel and continued through Edgewater, northern Birmingham, Fultondale, and Tarrant before dissipating, killing 25. In 1998, an F5 tornado touched town in a rural area near Tuscaloosa before impacting Rock Creek, Sylvan Springs, Edgewater and McDonald Chapel, killing 32. The 2011 tornado was an EF4 that devastated Tuscaloosa and then struck Concord, Pleasant Grove, McDonald Chapel, northern Birmingham, and Fultondale before lifting, killing 64.

See also

• List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
• April 1998 Birmingham tornado
• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• Southern Airways Flight 242