1932 Deep South tornado outbreak
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1932 Deep South tornado outbreak
| Date of tornado outbreak: | March 21–22, 1932 |
| Duration1: | ~13 hours |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F4 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | ≥36 |
| Damages: | ≥$4.34 million (1932 USD; $72.9 million 2012 USD) |
| Fatalities: | 330 |
| Areas affected: | Southern United States, including Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and South Carolina |
|
1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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The 1932 Deep South tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the Southern United States on March 21–22, 1932. The outbreak killed at least 330 people and produced tornadoes from Mississippi to South Carolina, and as far north as Illinois. Alabama was hardest hit; with 268 fatalities, the outbreak is considered to be the deadliest ever in the state, and among the worst ever in the U.S., trailing only the Tri-State Tornado outbreak in 1925, with 747 fatalities;[1] the Tupelo-Gainesville outbreak in 1936, with 454 fatalities;[2] and the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak, with 321 fatalities. The 1932 outbreak produced ten violent tornadoes, classified F4 or F5 on the Fujita scale of tornado intensity based upon damage, and is surpassed only by the April 25–28, 2011, tornado outbreak, with 15 violent tornadoes; the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, with 17; and the April 3, 1974, Super Outbreak, with 30.
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Contents
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Event summary
At least 36 tornadoes struck the Deep South,[3] but it is probable that others developed as members of tornado families. Forecasters had predicted an end to very warm temperatures but had not anticipated the magnitude of the severe weather that would hit most of the state from north of Montgomery to the Tennessee and Georgia borders. At 8 a.m. EST (7 a.m. CST), a low pressure area of about 991 mb (29.26 inHg) was over eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, with warm air moving north from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi Valley. Conditions in Alabama and Mississippi were mostly cloudy with early thunderstorm activity, yet temperatures were already in the low 70s and upper 60s°F in Mississippi and western Tennessee.[4] By afternoon, temperatures were in the middle to upper 70s°F for most of the area.
By 2:00 p.m. CST (1900 UTC), the first tornado of the day touched down in Mississippi, but the main activity in Alabama did not begin until around 4:00 p.m. CST (2100 UTC), when a destructive F4 tornado hit the Tuscaloosa and Northport area in Tuscaloosa County. It destroyed about 100 homes as well as the Tuscaloosa County Club but narrowly missed downtown Tuscaloosa. About 2,000 people were left homeless from this tornado, and 37 were killed in the area.[5] Within four hours, seven more F4 tornadoes would touch down in Alabama,[6] setting a 24-hour record for violent touchdowns in a single state until the Super Outbreak produced eleven F4 or F5 tornadoes in Kentucky.
Thirty minutes after the Tuscaloosa tornado touched down, the deadliest tornado of the outbreak carved a 60-mile (96.6-km) path southeast of Birmingham across Perry, Bibb, Chilton, Shelby, and Coosa Counties in Central Alabama. The tornado devastated communities in and near Jemison. 49 people were killed by this single tornado[6][7]—the largest death toll by a single tornado in Alabama until both the Tuscaloosa—Birmingham EF4 and the Hackleburg EF5 tornadoes produced 64 and 72 fatalities, respectively, on April 27, 2011.[8]
There were at least eight other severe tornadoes across Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. In Alabama, 18 people were killed near the Cullman area in Cullman County, 14 in the Columbiana area in Shelby County, 31 in and around the Clanton area in Chilton County, and 41 in Coosa and Talladega Counties near Sylacauga. One of the tornadoes followed the deadly Jemison event by one hour and passed just eight miles (12.9 km) to the southeast, killing 31 people.[6] A tornado near the Tennessee-Alabama stateline also killed 38 people near Bolivar (Jackson County) toward Tennessee.
At least 25 cities and communities in Alabama reported one fatality or more during the day including Demopolis, Union Grove, Linden, Plantersville, Sycamore, Northport, Huntsville, Marion, Stanton, Scottsboro, Paint Rock, Columbiana, Faunsdale, Bethel Church, Jemison, Falkville, Sylacauga, Bridgeport, Lineville, Gantt's Quarry, Cullman, and Corinth. 11 counties were particularly hard hit. 7,000 homes and businesses were destroyed statewide.
Outside Alabama, six people were killed near Pulaski, Tennessee, in Giles County (just north of the Alabama state line). A large tornado near the Tennessee-Georgia state line left a mile-wide damage path, and killed 15 people from Beaverdale (Whitfield County) to Conasauga (Polk County). All of the fatalities listed resulted from F4 tornado strikes. Several hundred people were also injured. At least 100 injuries were caused by seven of the 10 tornadoes across the three states, with a total of 1,750 injuries in Alabama alone. In all, the 36 recorded tornadoes caused at least $4.34 million (1932 USD) in damages for the entire outbreak.[6]
Just six days later, on March 27, several other tornadoes struck Alabama again, with an F3 tornado traveling 30 miles (48.3 km), passing south of Jemison, and killing five people near Thorsby and Collins Chapel. This tornado was photographed and incorrectly labeled as the F4 tornado that hit Lomax, just to the southeast, on March 21.[9]
The March 21 event is also nicknamed the "Super Outbreak" by the National Weather Service Office in Birmingham.[5] While Alabama was the hardest hit state with 86 fatalities during the 1974 event,[10] there were three times as many fatalities on March 21, 1932.
Tornado table
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| ≥36 | ? | ? | 16 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
March 21
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | ||||||
| F2 | Strong area | Monroe | 1900 | Unknown | The tornado unroofed and tore apart homes.[11] | |
| Illinois | ||||||
| F2 | Carrier Mills to W of Harrisburg | Saline | 2000 | 6 miles (9.7 km) |
A barn and eight homes were destroyed.[11] | |
| F2 | Hunt City to Annapolis area | Jasper, Crawford | 2200 | 7 miles (11.3 km) |
One home was unroofed and another partially unroofed as farms were damaged. [11] | |
| Alabama | ||||||
| F2 | Green Hill | Lauderdale | Unknown | Unknown | The funnel hit a home and a cotton mill.[11] | |
| F3 | Demopolis | Marengo, Greene, Hale | 2015 | 7 miles (11.3 km) |
3 fatalities – Fifteen homes were either damaged or destroyed in the southeast section of Demopolis.[11] | |
| F2 | SW of Linden to Faunsdale (first tornado) | Marengo, Perry | 2030 | 20 miles (32.2 km) |
3 fatalities – This was the first of two tornadoes to strike the Faunsdale area during the tornado outbreak.[11] | |
| F4 | Fosters area to Tuscaloosa to Northport | Tuscaloosa | 2100 | 20 miles (32.2 km) |
37 fatalities – This devastating tornado began near Ralph, in the Fosters area, proceeded to western Tuscaloosa, and then struck the business section of Northport, destroying or damaging more than 400 homes. [11] Other tornadoes in rural areas this day caused more injuries[9] and probably higher fatalities due to lack of attention paid Black sharecroppers. [12] | |
| F4 | S of Cullman to W of Arab | Cullman, Morgan, Marshall | 2130 | 25 miles (40.2 km) |
18 fatalities – Homes were leveled in up to four rural communities—Phelan, Bolti, Berlin, and Fairview—but all deaths were in Cullman County, where the tornado destroyed 74 homes. Among the deaths was a teacher whose students were dismissed an hour before the tornado arrived. Many fatalities occurred in a box factory south of the Berlin community.[11] | |
| F4 | N of Marion to E of Lawley to Jemison area | Perry, Bibb, Chilton, Shelby, Coosa | 2130 | 60 miles (96.6 km) |
49 fatalities[11] – The deadliest and longest-tracked single tornado to touch down this day, it was followed an hour later by another F4 tornado, on a path eight miles (13 km) to the southeast.[13] Each killed an estimated 19 people in Chilton County alone. The earlier event killed 21 people, including entire families, near the town of Jemison and in the Union Grove community, both in Chilton County. The Cox community east of Lawley in Bibb County was purportedly leveled. In Perry County alone, 150 families were left homeless. In one family, seven people died.[11] | |
| F4 | Columbiana | Shelby, Talladega | 2210 | 20 miles (32.2 km) |
14 fatalities – This narrow tornado destroyed 40 homes and damaged 200 in the southern half of the city, leveling about 20 of them.[13] | |
| F4 | W of Plantersville to N of Clanton to SW of Sylacauga | Perry, Chilton, Coosa | 2230 | 50 miles (80.1 km) |
31 fatalities – Paralleling the earlier F4 tornado that killed 49 people, this event killed 12 west of Plantersville in Perry County (now part of Dallas County) and 19 in and near Stanton, north of Plantersville, and Lomax, north of Clanton. Entire families were killed and homes swept away in Stanton and Lomax. Hundreds of volunteers cleared downed trees after the tornado struck a marble works in Marble Valley, near Unity, southwest of Sylacauga. Chilton County had $500,000 in losses from both this and the previous F4 tornado at 2130 UTC (4:30 p.m. CST).[13] | |
| F2 | Greensboro | Hale, Perry | 0000 | 10 miles (16.1 km) |
1 fatality – The tornado unroofed part of the Greensboro high school and several homes, doing $25,000 (1932 USD) in damage. One person died in a tenant home in Perry County.[13] | |
| F3 | W of Faunsdale (second tornado) to W of Marion | Marengo, Hale, Perry | 0000 | 20 miles (32.2 km) |
10 fatalities – The second tornado to hit near Faunsdale, this one was seen by residents cleaning debris from the first event. The second event destroyed barns and may have reached F4 intensity as it destroyed a large estate. At least 10, and possibly 20, fatalities occurred in tenant homes near Laneville. The funnel dissipated at Scotts Station, now west of Marion.[13] | |
| F4 | Gantts Quarry to Sylacauga to Chandler Springs area | Talladega | 0010 | 25 miles (40.2 km) |
41 fatalities – The second deadliest tornado of the day, it destroyed 35 homes at Gantts Quarry before killing 29 people in northern Sylacauga. 600 homes were damaged or destroyed and 1,300 people were left homeless in the city. Other damage and 11 fatalities occurred northeast of the city, near Bethel Church (now Bethlehem Church Road) and Chandler Springs in what is now the Talladega National Forest.[13] | |
| F2 | Outside Moulton | Lawrence, Morgan | 0030 | 5 miles (8.1 km) |
4 fatalities – The tornado destroyed small homes between Moulton and Hartsville (now Hartselle).[13] | |
| F3 | NE of Addison to SE of Falkville | Winston, Cullman, Morgan | 0030 | 10 miles (16.1 km) |
8 fatalities – The tornado destroyed 30 homes and may have carried a body up to 0.5 mile (0.8 km) from its home.[13] | |
| F4 | ENE of Sylacauga to N of Ashland to Newell | Talladega, Clay, Randolph | 0100 | 45 miles (72.4 km) |
13 fatalities – The tornado hit many rural communities in Clay County and in all destroyed 75 homes and many buildings on more than 110 farms. 385 people were left homeless. There were 160 injuries despite the rural nature of the areas affected.[13] | |
| F4 | S of Huntsville to NW of Bridgeport to E of Jasper (TN) | Morgan, Madison, Jackson, Marion (TN) | 0100 | 75 miles (120.7 km) |
38 fatalities – An event likely consisting of two or three tornadoes, it killed two people upon touching down and went on to hit many rural communities, particularly in Jackson County, Alabama, where it destroyed 125 homes. In Tennessee, a couple died as 15 homes were struck east of Jasper. The tornado produced 500 injuries, the most done by any tornado this date. However, this total may have not been produced by a single tornado, for of the 38 total fatalities, many were 10 miles (16.1 km) north of south of a straight path, suggesting the event was in fact a tornado family. One check from a community in Northeast Alabama, where four people died, was carried 105 miles (169 km) to Athens, Tennessee.[9] Additionally, a live chicken was found in a dresser drawer one week after the tornado hit Jackson County.[14] | |
| Indiana | ||||||
| F3 | Spurgeon area | Pike | 2130 | Unknown | A strong tornado, near-F4 in intensity, swept away a home and its contents while removing the roofs from four farmhouses, leaving them exposed to rain.[11] | |
| F3 | Mitchell to E of Bedford | Lawrence | 2215 | 11 miles (17.7 km) |
A tornado destroyed seven homes and a dozen barns, including three homes at near-F4 strength.[13] | |
| F2 | Evansville | Vanderburgh | 2315 | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
A tornado destroyed a garage, moved four homes, unroofed one home, and unroofed a furniture store in northeast Evansville. The funnel dipped to the ground three times and allowed water to damage furniture in the store.[13] | |
| Tennessee | ||||||
| F2 | SE Lewis County | Lewis | 2200 | Unknown | A tenant home was destroyed, injuring eight people. The thunderstorm that produced this tornado spawned others later in Williamson, Davidson, and Wilson counties.[13] | |
| F4 | Pulaski area | Giles | 2230 | 13 miles (20.9 km) |
6 fatalities – Ten homes were completely destroyed in steep valleys and on hills west of Pulaski. Five fatalities were in one home.[13] | |
| F2 | SW of Leipers Fork to W of Brentwood to S of Nashville | Williamson, Davidson, Wilson | 2300 | 50 miles (80.5 km) |
3 fatalities – This event was likely a tornado family and destroyed farm buildings. A barn where a boy was killed abutted another farm where an F2 tornado on April 29, 1909, killed a woman.[13][1] | |
| F3 | S of Lewisburg to NE of Belfast | Marshall | 2300 | 10 miles (16.1 km) |
1 fatality – The tornado destroyed 13 homes near Belfast, carrying a rug two miles (3.2 km) from one home. [13] | |
| F2 | Woodbury area | Cannon | 0000 | Unknown | 2 fatalities – The funnel struck six miles (9.7 km) east and northeast of Woodbury, destroying ten homes and killing a woman and her son.[13] | |
| F2 | W of Huntsville | Scott | 0150 | Unknown | A tornado destroyed small homes and flung clothes in trees a mile (1.6 km) away.[9] | |
| F3 | S of Charleston to Calhoun | Bradley, McMinn | 0150 | 10 miles (16.1 km) |
1 fatality – 20 homes were destroyed at Charleston. Debris was carried from four to 20 miles (6.4 to 32.2 km) from the homes.[9] | |
| Kentucky | ||||||
| F2 | Uniontown | Union | 2315 | 0.5 mile (0.8 km) |
2 fatalities – The tornado tore the roofs off a hotel, four businesses, and 15 small homes. Two elderly people died in the hotel.[13] | |
| Georgia | ||||||
| F4 | NE of Dalton to Conasauga area | Whitfield, Murray, Polk (TN) | 0015 | 20 miles (32.2 km) |
15 fatalities – A large tornado, up to one mile (1,760 yd or 1,610 m) wide, leveled homes on each side of the Conasauga River in Georgia and Tennessee. Seven fatalities were in three different homes near Conasauga, Tennessee.[13] | |
| F3 | N of Seney to N of Rydal | Polk, Floyd, Bartow | 0030 | 30 miles (48.3 km) |
12 fatalities – 20 homes were ripped apart near Seney, and 40 more were damaged or destroyed six miles (9.7 km) south-southwest of Kingston, Georgia. Parts of a church were carried two miles (3.2 km).[13] | |
| F3 | Taylorsville to Sallacoa | Bartow, Cherokee | 0030 | 25 miles (40.3 km) |
4 fatalities – The funnel moved parallel to the previous event but occurred six miles (9.7 km) farther southeast. 20 homes were damaged or destroyed in Sallacoa.[13] | |
See also
Bibliography
- Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
References
- ^ a b Grazulis, p. 796
- ^ Grazulis, pp. 865–66
- ^ Grazulis, p. 36
- ^ Daily Historical Weather Maps
- ^ a b NOAA's National Weather Service - Birmingham, Alabama
- ^ a b c d Grazulis, pp. 842–44
- ^ NOAA's National Weather Service - Birmingham, Alabama
- ^ SPC Historical Severe Weather Database Browser (SeverePlot 3.0)
- ^ a b c d e Grazulis, p. 844
- ^ The April 3rd and 4th 1974 Tornado Outbreak in Alabama
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Grazulis, p. 842
- ^ Grazulis, p. 184
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Grazulis, p. 843
- ^ Grazulis, p. 133
External links
- Inflation calculator
- NWS Birmingham page on the 1932 tornado outbreak
- Articles/Stories of the 1932 outbreak
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