Based on preliminary NOAA estimates, the April 26-28, 2011 tornado outbreak will go down in the record books as the largest in U.S. recorded history. 312 tornadoes touched down between 8:00am EDT April 26 and 8:00am EDT April 28. The old record for one event was 148 tornadoes during the “Super Outbreak” of April 3-4, 1974.
This outbreak pushed the month of April over the top for most tornadoes recorded in any month with nearly four times the normal amount. The National Weather Service’s preliminary estimate stands at 600 tornadoes for April, 2011. The old record was 542 tornadoes in May, 2003. The map below shows all the preliminary reports of tornadoes last month.
In addition to being the largest outbreak, here are some other notable facts about the April 26-28 tornadoes:
- At least 334 fatalities were reported. That’s the most people killed in a two-day period since April 5-6, 1936 when 454 died, mostly in Tupelo, Mississippi and Gainesville, Georgia
- Second deadliest day in U.S. history after the March 18, 1925 Tri-State Tornado outbreak that claimed 747 lives
- 2011 Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado caused at least 65 fatalities making it the most killed in a single tornado since May 25, 1955 when 80 people died in Udall, Kansas
National Weather Service Forecast Offices with more local information on damage surveys, etc:
Written by Don Moldenhauer, My-Cast Meteorologist
Leave a comment