page_title: 1974 Super Outbreak
section_title: Jasper/Cullman, Alabama
hierarchical_section_title: 1974 Super Outbreak / Confirmed tornadoes / Jasper/Cullman, Alabama
caption_attribution_description: English: Heavy damage to buildings in downtown Jasper, Alabama
context_page_description: The 1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. From April 3 to 4, 1974, there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. In the United States, tornadoes struck Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. The outbreak caused roughly $843 million USD with more than $600 million in damage occurring in the United States. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900 sq mi along a total combined path length of 2,600 mi. At one point, as many as 15 separate tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously.
  The 1974 Super Outbreak was the first tornado outbreak in recorded history to produce more than 100 tornadoes in under a 24-hour period, a feat that was not repeated globally until the 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak and in the United States until the 2011 Super Outbreak.
context_section_description: While tornadoes were causing devastation in the northwestern most corner of the state, another supercell crossing the Mississippi-Alabama state line produced another violent tornado that touched down in Pickens County before heading northeast for nearly 2 hours towards the Jasper area causing major damage to its downtown as the F4 storm struck. Damage was reported in Cullman from the storm before it lifted.
  The Jasper tornado first touched near Aliceville, producing scattered damage as it tracked northeastward. The damage became more intense continuous as the tornado entered Tuscaloosa County. The tornado continued to strengthen south of Berry, and two people were killed near the Walker County line when a church was destroyed. The tornado tore directly through downtown Jasper at 6:57 PM, resulting in severe damage and at least 100 injuries. Numerous buildings and storefronts were heavily damaged in downtown Jasper, and many streets were blocked with trees and power lines. The Walker County courthouse sustained major damage, and a new fire station was completely leveled. The fireman on duty at the time took shelter underneath a nearby bridge, and survived without injury. The Walker County Library and the Jasper First Methodist Church were also damaged. The tornado crossed Lewis Smith Lake and moved across the south side of Cullman at 7:40 pm. Multiple homes and shopping centers were damaged or destroyed in the area, resulting in one death and 36 injuries. The tornado finally dissipated northeast of Cullman a short time later.
  In total, the storm took three lives, but injured one hundred and fifty residents of Jasper or Cullman. Five hundred buildings were destroyed, with nearly four hundred other buildings severely damaged. At the same time, a third supercell was crossing the state line near the track of the previous two.
caption: Heavy damage to buildings in downtown Jasper.
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