April 3-4 1974 Super Outbreak
The 50th Anniversary - Tornadoes that occurred in WV and VA
Overview
The 1974 Super Outbreak occurred on April 3-4, 1974 and is the second largest outbreak on record. This outbreak still holds the record for the most F5 tornadoes to occur on a single day (7 total). A total of 148 tornadoes occurred within 24 hours on April 3-4, touching down in 13 states and killing more than 300 people and injuring over 6,000 people.
The hardest hit areas were in the Midwest, particularly in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. These states alone had approximately 200 fatalities. Most of which occurred on April 3rd from 2 pm to 10 pm.
The Appalachian region was not immune to the tornadic outbreak either. Several tornadoes occurred during the early morning hours of April 4th, resulting in significant damage in portions of southern West Virginia and southwest Virginia. This more or less debunked the long-standing myth that tornadoes do not occur in the mountains.
Environmental Conditions
A deep dip of the jet stream into the southern Plains of Texas brought strong synoptic scale forcing into the Midwest and Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on the evening of April 3, 1974.
By the morning of April 4, a significant upper level system had taken shape over the eastern half of the United States, carved out by a 130 knot jet streak.
On the evening of April 3, strengthening low pressure over the Midwest was accompanied by a pool of deep moisture, which moved from the Gulf of Mexico towards the central and southern Appalachians. This provided ample amounts of "storm fuel" which allowed for tornadic storms to rapidly develop.
The tornado outbreak is currently underway.
By the next morning, the system had moved to the northern Great Lakes. By this time, the majority of the damage had already occurred.
A surface analysis chart analyzed 1 am on the morning of April 4.
A number of surface boundaries are noted, including warm and cold fronts, surface troughs, and outflow boundaries from earlier storms.
The dark numbers beside solid lines indicate distinct and separate convective lines which spawned the majority of the storms and tornadoes in their respective areas.
For the central and southern Appalachians, convective line number 2 was the most impactful.
Here is a map of how the main convective band to impact the central and southern Appalachians moved. On the morning of April 3rd, this band first developed in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. By the afternoon, the storms that would spawn tornadoes in West Virginia and Virginia were located over Indiana and western Kentucky.
By the time night fell, the line of storms had pushed into eastern Kentucky and Ohio. The storms then reached West Virginia and western Virginia in the early morning hours on April 4th.
Numerous tornadoes occurred on the morning of April 4th between 2 am and 5 am, many within the most mountainous regions of Appalachia. Meadow Bridge, West Virginia (F3) and Shady Spring, West Virginia (F3) tornadoes occurred during this time.
Several other tornadoes occurred between 5 am and 8 am on April 4th. The Saltville, Virginia F3 and Roanoke, Virginia F2 tornadoes occurred during this time.
This is the radar coverage map for the United States circa 1974. Notice the white area over parts of WV, VA, and NC indicating no radar coverage.
This map shows both the spatial coverage, as well as the height above the ground the present day Weather Service Radar - 88D (WSR-88D) can "see" in WV, VA, and NC.
Event Timeline
This is a timeline of tornadoes that formed in parts of the NWS Charleston and NWS Blacksburg forecast areas.
01 / 11
1
Mullensville Tornado
At least 15 homes in Mullensville were destroyed and several dozen homes suffered major damage. The mountainside near Mullensville had the appearance of being clearcut because of the numerous tree destroyed. One home was reported to have been thrown into the Guyandotte River.
Many trees were toppled in Twin Falls State Park. Several were reported to have fallen on cars and ranger's homes within the State Park.
2
Coal City/Shady Spring Tornado
A trailer was overturned at Epperly Hill, which resulted in one hospitalization.
3
Coal City/Shady Spring Tornado (cont'd)
One man was injured in Coal City when his mobile home overturned. One couple was "severely banged up" when the tornado picked the trailer they were living in up off its blocks, twisted it around in the air and set it down. "On the impact it just fell apart and we fell in the debris."
Many buildings were damaged in Coal City, including Coal City Hardware. Many other structures were destroyed. First calls about damage began to come in around 5:00 am.
Photo Credit: Harold Griffith
4
Coal City/Shady Spring Tornado (cont'd)
Around 20 homes received extensive damage and a half dozen homes were completely destroyed. Multiple injuries were reported, but fortunately no deaths occurred.
One local described summed up the damage in Shady Spring: "I was in WWII and saw ruins from bombing, but I never thought I'd see ruins almost like that here."
Photo Credit: Mark Loudin, Harold Griffith, and Raleigh Register
5
Beckley Tornado
Significant roof damaged occurred to a new addition at Honey in the Rock Motel in Beckley. This new addition had 40 new units and all 40 were occupied at the time. One injury was reported at the motel.
Witness accounts of a "100 foot wide line of destruction extending over the hill". Two mobile homes were destroyed and several others severely damaged at the In-Town Motor Court behind the motel. The damage occurred around 4:30 AM.
Photo Credit: Raleigh Register and Charleston Daily Mail
6
Meadow Bridge Tornado
Meadow Bridge received considerable damage from a tornado that moved through the community between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. More than 50 homes were completely destroyed. The driver's education garage at the high school and the roof of the school's gymnasium both were blown off.
Damage estimates were between $300,000 and $500,000 (in 1974 figures).
Numerous injuries were reported, along with one death when a 3-year-old girl and her family's mobile home was blown 75 yards from its original location onto railroad tracks.
Photo Credit: Charleston Daily Mail
7
Meadow Bridge Tornado (cont'd)
The tornado continued into Greenbrier County and several houses were damaged and a large barn was completely destroyed near the town of Williamsburg.
Photo Credit: Cheryl Renick
8
Washington County/Saltville Tornado
Multiple homes were destroyed and as many as 40 homes damaged. Three barns were also destroyed. One man was killed when his mobile home was tossed 150 yards, which landed on its roof. Several injuries were reported as well. Damage occurred around 5:00 AM.
Photo Credit: The Lebanon News
9
Roanoke Tornado
The approximate starting location for the Roanoke tornado. The initial touchdown was near the Lynchburg Turnpike between Westside Blvd and Electric Road. A camping trailer and truck trailer were damaged and turned over near Lynchburg Turnpike, along with extensive tree damage.
Photo Credit: The World News Roanoke
10
Roanoke Tornado (cont'd)
Ferncliff Apartments were badly damaged and several of the apartments were completely unroofed. Another apartment complex was badly damaged just south of the Roanoke Airport. Multiple homes had portions of the roofs peeled off and several had their roofs completely removed.
A 60 knot gust (69 mph) was measured at the Roanoke Airport at 6:05 AM EDT.
Photo Credit: NWS Blacksburg (WSO Roanoke) and The World News Roanoke
11
Roanoke Tornado (cont'd)
Preston Park School was completely unroofed and numerous houses were damaged. Large trees were "wrung off".
Damage estimates were $500,000 to $700,000 (in 1974 terms).
Photo Credit: NWS Blacksburg (WSO Roanoke)
West Virginia & Virginia Tornado Map
Statistics and Climatology
- Number of tornadoes: 148
- Number of F4 and F5 tornadoes: 30
- States where tornadoes struck: 13
- Deaths: 319
- Injuries: 5, 484
- $843 million in 1974, equivalent to $5.6 billion in 2024
- Both NWS Blacksburg and Charleston forecast areas' average 2 tornadoes per year.
- The peak month for tornadoes in the Blacksburg forecast area is July, followed by April and June. In the Charleston forecast area, June is the peak month, followed by July, and then April and May.
- EF2 and EF3 tornado occurrences overwhelmingly favor the month of April in the Blacksburg forecast area, and in April and July for the Charleston forecast area.
- NWS Blacksburg tornado data was taken from Stonefield and Hudgins, cited at end.
- NWS Charleston tornado data was taken from Webb, Zwier, Gregg, cited at end.
Tornado Safety
Here are links to more information on tornadoes and tornado safety:
