Event Summary
At least 20 tornadoes struck the Deep South with 10 of those violent F4 storms. Forecasters had predicted an end to very warm temperatures and a sharp cool down but had not anticipated the magnitude of the severe weather that would hit most of the state from the north of Montgomery to the Tennessee and Georgia borders. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 70s for most of the area.
The most severe tornado of the outbreak, (one of the deadliest tornadoes to ever to hit the state), carved a 60-mile path southeast of Birmingham across Perry, Bibb, Chilton, Shelby and Coosa Counties in Central Alabama. 49 people were killed by this single tornado.
Another destructive tornado hit the Tuscaloosa and Northport area in Tuscaloosa County at around 4:00 PM. It destroyed about 100 homes as well as the Tuscaloosa County Club but narrowly missed downtown Tuscaloosa. About 2000 people were left homeless from this tornado, 37 were killed in the area.
There were at least 8 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, 41 in Coosa and Talladega Counties near Sylacauga and 13 in Bellview in Wilcox County. A tornado near the Tennessee-Alabama stateline also killed 38 people near Bolivar (Jackson County) towards Tennessee.
At least 25 cities in Alabama reported one fatality or more during the day including Demopolis, Union Grove, Linden, Plantersville, Sycamore, Thorsby, Northport, Huntsville, Decatur, Marion, Stanton, Scottsboro, Paint Rock, Collins Chapel, 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, 6 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 caused by 7 of the 10 tornadoes across the 3 states - a total of 1,750 injuries in Alabama alone.
The event is also nicknamed the "Super Outbreak" by the National Weather Service Office in Birmingham. While Alabama was the hardest hit state with 86 fatalities during the 1974 event, there were three times as many fatalities on March 21, 1932.
Read more about this topic: 1932 Deep South Tornado Outbreak
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