by Tamera Lynn Kraft
Throughout US history, super cell
tornado outbreaks have been deadly. Early warning systems and storm shelters
have helped greatly, but people are still killed by tornadoes every year, and
the property damage is extensive. Since tornadoes have been recorded and
measured by the National Weather Service, one weekend has proven more deadly
than the rest – Palm Sunday weekend.
In my novella, Resurrection of Hope, the 1920 tornado outbreak is a part of the
story, but there have been others. Here are the super cell tornado outbreaks.
March 28, 1920
At least 37 tornados hit the Midwest
and Deep South. 380 were killed, 1,215 injured including over 200 in Georgia,
56 in Indiana, and 55 in Ohio.
April 11-12, 1965
In the Midwest states of Indiana,
Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, 47 tornados killed 271 people,
60 in Ohio, and injured 1,500, over 1,200 in Indiana.
April 3-4, 1974
The second largest outbreak in US
history happened 3 days before Palm Sunday. 148 confirmed tornados hit with 30
F4/F5s. It struck the states of
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi,
Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York and destroyed
the city of Xenia, Ohio. On September 20, 2000, another F4 took the same path
through Xenia, destroying the town again. Because warning sirens were in place,
this time, it only killed one person.
March 27, 1994
This tornado outbreak killed 40
people and injured 141. 29 tornados struck Texas, Alabama, Georgia, South
Carolina, and North Carolina. Goshen United Methodist Church in Piedmont,
Alabama was struck during a Palm Sunday service where 21 people died.
Tamera Lynn Kraft
has always loved adventures and writes Christian historical fiction set in
America because there are so many adventures in American history. She has
received 2nd place in the NOCW contest, 3rd place TARA
writer’s contest, and is a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest.
Her novella, A Christmas Promise, is available on Amazon. Her novella Resurrection
of Hope will be released next month.
