By: Amy Barnes
Photos: VOICE-TRIBUNE Archives
Today marks the somber 50th anniversary of the Supercell Tornado Outbreak of 1974, a series of tornadoes that greatly impacted the Ohio Valley. Altogether, there were 148 tornadoes — 95 rated F2 or stronger — and 159 deaths.
The National Weather Service (NWS) held a commemorative event today on the April 3 anniversary at Louisville’s Metro Hall, along with Kentucky Emergency Management and Louisville Emergency Services. Mayor Craig Greenberg, former Mayor Harvey Sloane (1974), Dr. Greg Forbes, Surveyor of the Louisville tornado (Weather Channel Weather Expert) and Jennifer Narramore, Historian, Tornado Talk, were in attendance.
NWS Meteorologist-in-Charge John Gordon, however, was not present at the event, as he has been traversing the state today inspecting damage from yesterday’s tornado outbreak. In Gordan’s place was NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Michael Kochasic. Special guest Dave Reeves, a retired Louisville meteorologist who was a lead forecaster during the ‘74 tornado, recounted his memories of the event, which he said during a phone call, “yesterday’s storms are nothing in comparison to what happened that day.”
The ‘74 event was the first supercell tornado outbreak in U.S. history; the second and only other one on record occurred in 2011-a four-day event that began in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with 175 tornadoes in total, according to Kochasic. To put things in perspective, today’s technology is unlike what was available to meteorologists and forecasters in 1974. “We didn’t have that technology [back then]. There were three or four sirens at the time that activated." Thankfully, now, we have systems in place.
To learn more about the 1974 Super Cell Tornado Outbreak, visit the National Weather Service site at www.weather.gov/iln/19740403.