Indiana Was Hit Hard By One Of The Most Extreme Tornado Outbreaks In US History In The Spring Of 1974

Let’s face it, “tornado outbreak in Indiana” isn’t exactly a headline that Hoosiers haven’t seen before. We’ve had our fair share of severe weather events, not even limited to the spring and summer tornado season, but some years are worse than others, and 1974 happened to be a year that made history in one of the most terrifying ways possible. On April 3, 1974, every ingredient came together flawlessly, and the tornado outbreak of the century occurred. Unfortunately, Indiana was among the states hit the hardest.

Storm Prediction Center/Weather.gov

Eight of these worst-case-scenario nightmare twisters had Indiana right in their crosshairs, and an additional 45 tornadoes occurred as well, bringing the Hoosier state's grand total to 47 tornadoes in a 24-hour period.

Niccolò Ubalducci/Flickr

Over the decades, it has maintained its title as the single most violent tornado outbreak in the United States. Unfortunately for Indiana, this tornado outbreak would be its worst.

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Notable tornadoes of the event to trek across Indiana included the DePauw, Indiana, monstrous F5. It was on the ground for an incredible 65 miles through Perry and Harrison Counties, making it an official, rare "long-track" tornado. Entire homes were erased from the map, and an elementary school in northern Harrison County sustained a direct hit. Miraculously, none of the children or teachers sheltering in place at the school were killed, though the tornado did claim six lives in total. Terrifyingly, this tornado never fully condensed to the ground, meaning that the funnel was invisible (other than the debris ball) during its course as an F5.

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It began its life when it touched down near Rising Sun, Indiana, before trekking its way through Kentucky and into Ohio. Interestingly, this tornado was also the single most-photographed tornado of the entire event.

NOAA/Wikimedia

This beastly tornado was on the ground for 35 and a half miles (thereby also making it a long-track tornado - one of many throughout the course of the outbreak), and very unfortunately, it claimed 11 lives. Parts of the small towns it hit were utterly decimated.

NOAA Photo Library/Flickr

In total, approximately 90 percent of Hamburg was completely obliterated. The other 10 percent sustained heavy damage.

National Weather Service, South Bend/Wikimedia

The long, red line denotes a single F4 tornado, while the other smaller, differently colored lines denote other tornadoes of varied strengths.

This outbreak was and still is a highly unusual event. F4 and F5, called EF4 and EF5 tornadoes via the Enhanced Fujita scale as of February 2007, account for less than 2 percent of all tornadoes. The most recent EF5 tornado in the United States was in 2013, and this spring (spring 2021) will mark eight years since it happened. Interestingly (and perhaps terrifyingly), the 1974 Super-Outbreak was eclipsed only by the 2011 mega-outbreak, during which time 360 confirmed tornadoes ripped across several states in a little over 72 hours. Both the 1974 and 2011 super outbreaks occurred during La Niña years, during which ocean temperatures in the Pacific are lower than usual.

Thankfully, it’s unlikely that we will see an outbreak with the severity of the 1974 and 2011 seasons anytime soon, as they were truly a cut above the rest. But it’s certainly important to keep severe weather safety protocols up to date for the whole family, just in case. We strongly suggest purchasing an NOAA weather radio to keep tabs on current weather at all times.

Interested in more interesting weather tidbits? Check this article out for seven more devastating tornado outbreak events in Indiana.

Do you remember the 1974 Super-Outbreak? Where were you? Tell us your stories in the comments.