Tornadoes of 1977

Tornadoes of 1977

Birmingham, AL F5 tornado damage.
Timespan	January 3 - December 25, 1977
Maximum rated tornado	F5 tornado Birmingham, Alabama on April 4
Tornadoes in U.S.	680[1]
Damage (U.S.)	>$1 billion
Fatalities (U.S.)	43
Fatalities (worldwide)	>43

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1977, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.

Synopsis

Numbers for 1977 were below average, both in terms of number of tornadoes and number of fatalities; however, there were over 700 injuries related to tornadoes.

Events

January

5 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in January.^{[2][3] [4]}

February

17 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in February.^[5][6]

March

64 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in March.^[2][7]

March 28

A small, widespread tornado outbreak caused an F2 tornado to strike the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Another F2 struck the downtown area of Lafayette, Louisiana. An F3 struck 5 to 10 houses northwest of Camden, Mississippi. Overall, there were only 10 injures, but no fatalities.^[8]

April

88 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in April.^[9][10]

April 4

Violent F5 tornado struck the Smithfield area in northern Birmingham, Alabama, sweeping away many homes and killing 22 people. Outbreak extended from Mississippi to North Carolina, with several strong tornadoes documented. The storm system also caused the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, which happened on the same day, in the same area. Not only an F5 tornado occurred, but an F3 tornado struck the Lindale, Georgia area, where 12 trailers were completely swept away off their foundations killing 1 person. Many people don't know that Ted Fujita flew over the damage and toyed with rating the tornado an F6.^[11]

May

22 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in May. A rare, strong F4 tornado struck the Oklahoma Panhandle.^[12] Another large tornado struck a small town in Missouri.^[4][13]

May 4–5

A low-pressure system swept across the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions, producing 3 F4 tornadoes: two in Missouri and one in Atlanta, Illinois. An F3 hit Harrisonville, Missouri. Overall, there were no fatalities, but several injuries.

May 16–21

A tornado near Shamrock, Texas on May 16, 1977.

A very large tornado outbreak moved across Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This outbreak included one of the strongest tornadoes ever in the Oklahoma Panhandle, which struck the small town of Keyes, Oklahoma. An F2 tornado touched down in Moore, Oklahoma and moved through Oklahoma City. An F3 touched down very close to the Altus, Oklahoma AFB.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

June

132 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in June.^[21][22]

July

99 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in July.^[23][24]

August

82 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in August.^[25][26]

August 21

An F3 tornado killed 6 and injured 56 in Neoga, Illinois.^[27]

September

65 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in September.^[28][29]

October

25 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in October.^[30][31]

November

24 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in November.^[32][33]

December

23 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in December.^[34][35]

See also

• Tornado
  • Tornado climatology
  • Tornado records
  • Tornado myths
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
  • List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of 21st-century Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of European tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks in Asia
  • List of Southern Hemisphere tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of tornadoes striking downtown areas
• Tornado intensity
  • Fujita scale
  • Enhanced Fujita scale

References