April 1924 tornado outbreak

The April 1924 tornado outbreak was an outbreak of at least 28 tornadoes—26 of which were significant, meaning F2 or stronger—across the Southern United States on April 29–30, 1924. The tornadoes left 114 dead and at least 1,166 injured, mostly in the Carolinas, with 76 deaths in South Carolina alone, along with 16 in Georgia and 13 in Alabama.[1] Killer tornadoes touched down from Oklahoma and Arkansas to Virginia. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a long-lived tornado family that produced F4 damage in rural portions of South Carolina, killing 53 people and injuring at least 534. The tornado is the deadliest ever recorded in South Carolina and is one of the longest-tracked observed in the state,[2] having traveled 105 miles (169 km);[1] some sources list a total path length of 135 mi (217 km),[2] including the segment in Florence County, but this is now believed to have been a separate, F3 tornado.[1]

April 1924 tornado outbreak
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationApril 29–30, 1924
Tornadoes confirmed≥ 28
Max. rating1F4 tornado
DamageUnknown
Casualties114 fatalities, ≥ 1,166 injuries
Areas affectedSouthern United States
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Confirmed tornadoes
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
2 ? ? 13 11 2 0 ≥28

April 29
F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Oklahoma
F2 SE of Ingalls Payne 1000 2 miles (3.2 km) 1 death – A tornado leveled three homes. Other damage from downbursts totaled $200,000 in the area.[3]
Arkansas
F2 N of Texarkana Miller 2030 0.5 miles (0.80 km) 1 death – A brief tornado razed eight homes.[3]
Louisiana
F3 Crichton area Red River 2330 0.5 miles (0.80 km) A tornado leveled only one home and damaged three others nearby.[3]
F2 Many area Sabine 0030 1 mile (1.6 km) 1 death – A tornado produced a wide swath of damage as it passed through Many, injuring many structures and vegetation.[3]
Sources:

April 30
F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Alabama
F2 Autaugaville area Autauga 0845 1 mile (1.6 km) A tornado struck Autaugaville, tearing off roofs and leveling a church. Outside town, the tornado razed barns and tenant homes.[3]
F2 S of Roanoke Chambers, Randolph 1030 10 miles (16 km) 1 death – A tornado flattened little homes and "one of the finest homes in the county", killing one person. Another individual was transported 400 yards (366 m) from one home.[3]
F3 Greenville area Butler 1050 1 mile (1.6 km) 1 death – A narrow funnel temporarily touched down in Greenville, leveling well-built homes and ripping off roofs.[3]
F2 SE of Auburn to NE of Opelika Lee 1100 15 miles (24 km) 4 deaths – A tornado affected six farms near Auburn, destroying rural buildings. The tornado then struck the north side of Opelika, leveling about six little homes in the "Gentry Hill" area.[3] Three people died in the area as onlookers in downtown Opelika observed the tornado. The tornado killed one more person in a rural tenant home before dissipating.[3]
F3 NW of Union Springs to N of Hannon Bullock, Macon 1150 23 miles (37 km) 6 deaths – This devastating tornado destroyed the entire community of Thompson in Bullock County. In the community, the tornado leveled 20 structures, killing six people, and caused roughly $80,000 in losses.[3] One of the dead was reportedly found 1 mi (1.6 km) from its home. The tornado caused further damage near Hannon before dissipating.[3]
F2 E of Tarentum to SE of Louisville Pike, Barbour 1230 27 miles (43 km) 1 death – A tornado flattened many barns and small homes, including tenant homes, in rural areas. The tornado passed near "Milo", just south of Brundidge, and a short distance west of Clio, killing cattle and one person before dissipating.[3]
Georgia
FU Albany area Dougherty 1100 unknown Only tree damage occurred.[4]
F2 Lawrenceville area Gwinnett 1100 5 miles (8.0 km) 1 death – A tornado touched down near and paralleled the railroad tracks as it moved into Lawrenceville, killing a person whose home was buried beneath trees. The tornado caused $200,000 in damage—including $75,000 or more at two mills—tearing off roofs from 26 homes, many businesses, and industrial buildings.[3]
F2 Warm Springs/Greenville area Meriwether 1115 6 miles (9.7 km) 1 death – A tornado razed 10 tenant homes.[3]
F3 NW of Hartwell to Anderson, South Carolina to Walnut Grove Hart, Anderson (SC), Greenville (SC), Laurens (SC), Spartanburg (SC) 1215 65 miles (105 km) 9 deaths – A destructive tornado family known as the "Anderson Tornado" first touched down across the Georgia–South Carolina border near Hartwell, affecting property in rural areas.[3][5] The tornado crossed into South Carolina, but did not produce significant damage at first. Once it reached a point about 2 mi (3.2 km) southwest of Anderson, however, it strengthened substantially. It struck the "Masters" or "Masters Store" community, leveling a shop and several other, littler structures nearby.[5] Severe damage began just east of McDuffie Street as the tornado continued to intensify. It razed several well-built homes along East River Street, where more than half of the nine deaths occurred.[5] In Anderson alone, the tornado ruined about 100 little homes, two cotton mills, and many businesses, with losses of about $1.5 million.[3] All nine deaths occurred in Anderson, where about 100 people were injured and roughly 600 were left homeless.[5] Outside Anderson, the tornado flattened a grove of trees and severely damaged a home before dissipating. It was called the worst to hit Anderson County since an F3 tornado hit the area on February 19, 1884.[5][6] Afterward, the tornado probably reformed into another or more tornadoes before striking northern Laurens County and Walnut Grove in Spartanburg County.[7] At Walnut Grove, 13 mi (21 km) south of Spartanburg, the tornado leveled 14 homes and injured 21 people. After striking Walnut Grove, the tornado widened into a downburst, 1,300 yards (1,189 m) wide, near Glenn Springs. Total losses from the tornado reached $2 million.[5]
F3 S of Pine Mountain Harris 1330 8 miles (13 km) 10 deaths – This devastating tornado killed seven people in rural country and three more near Pine Mountain.[7]
F3 S of Reynolds Taylor, Crawford 1330 5 miles (8.0 km) A possible family of tornadoes razed a plantation home and numerous tenant buildings, including seven on one plantation, before dissipating in the swamps near the Flint River.[7]
F2 Brookton to Cornelia Hall, Habersham 1400 15 miles (24 km) A tornado struck roughly 50 homes as it skipped along, injuring roofs, porches, and walls.[7]
F2 Fitzgerald area Ben Hill 1445 unknown A brief tornado ripped off roofs and destroyed or displaced homes from their foundations. About six small homes and two substantial ones received damage.[7]
F4 Macon area Bibb 1445 6 miles (9.7 km) 3 deaths – A violent tornado touched down 3 mi (4.8 km) southwest of Macon. It leveled and swept away a couple of substantial homes as it passed through the south side of Macon.[7] The majority of the damage occurred at a brickyard, but all deaths were reported in rural areas outside town. The tornado was rated as a "minimal" F4 whose rating is somewhat questionable due to poor construction.[7][8]
F2 Ficklin area Wilkes 1445 2 miles (3.2 km) 1 death – A tornado struck a post office that also served as a small store, killing the postmaster inside. The frail structure was built of corrugated metal and disintegrated; the body of the postmaster was carried 300 yd (274 m).[7] The tornado also leveled three nearby stores. One large home lost its roof and slipped on its foundation.[7]
F2 Sylvania area Screven 1745 unknown A tornado leveled rural barns just outside Sylvania.[7]
F3 Ellenton area Colquitt unknown unknown A tornado razed homes near Ellenton, one of which was completely leveled except for its central hallway. A family had taken shelter there and was uninjured.[7]
South Carolina
F4 NE of Aiken to Horrell Hill to N of Timmonsville Aiken, Lexington, Richland, Sumter, Lee, Darlington 1600 105 miles (169 km) 53 deaths – This catastrophic, extremely violent, long-lived tornado likely consisted of two or more tornadoes.[7] It first touched down roughly 11 mi (18 km) northeast of Aiken and remained on the ground almost unceasingly until it entered southern Lee County.[9] The tornado passed near Edmund and traversed the Congaree River approximately 9 mi (14 km) south of Columbia, which reported its most destructive incident, at the time, of large hail on record.[7][9] Near Adams Pond, south of Columbia, the tornado, described as being "blue-black" and "of great proportions", was 1,400 yd (1,280 m) wide.[9] The tornado killed eight people in its path across Lexington County, three of whom—a pair of students and a teacher—died in a school at Steedman.[7] Near "Lykesland", southeast of Columbia, the tornado contracted to 1,000 yd (914 m) in width as it approached Horrell Hill.[9] About 2 mi (3.2 km) southwest of Horrell Hill, the tornado may have produced its worst damage as it narrowed to just 500 yd (457 m) in width. It then veered abruptly to the southeast before turning north, followed by another turn to the east—one of many irregular changes in direction suggesting the formation of a new tornado.[7][9] 12 people died in and near Horrell Hill,[7] including four people in a school "filled with children."[9] In all, the tornado killed 24 people in Richland County.[7] After passing near Horrell Hill, the tornado bent to the northeast before crossing the Wateree River into Sumter County.[9] It then re-intensified, causing 20 more deaths in Sumter County as it leveled rural homes,[7] especially near Gaillard Crossroads.[9] The tornado killed one more person in Lee County,[7] after which its path became intermittent once more.[9] After killing 53 people, injuring 534, and leveling more than 1,300 structures—most of which were insubstantial in size—the tornado finally dissipated 5 mi (8.0 km) north of Timmonsville.[7]
F3 N of Effingham Sumter, Florence 1945 25 miles (40 km) 14 deaths – As the previous tornado dissipated, this new tornado formed from the same thunderstorm. It passed between Lynchburg and Sardis, greatly intensifying as it passed into Florence County; thence, it "cut a devastating swath" through the county before dissipating near Pamplico, at the eastern periphery of the county.[7][9]
North Carolina
F3 N of Pittsboro Chatham 1730 2 miles (3.2 km) 4 deaths – A tornado swept away a little home, killing a family of four people as they searched for shelter. Nearby homes were reportedly "leveled" as well.[7]
F3 SW of Robersonville Pitt, Martin, Bertie 1930 18 miles (29 km) 1 death – A tornado razed 60 structures, some of which were large homes, and killed one person before ending near the Roanoke River.[7]
Virginia
FU Pleasant Shade area Greensville 2230 unknown A very brief tornado ruined only one structure.[10]
F3 SE of Jetersville to S of Chula Amelia 2230 10 miles (16 km) 1 death – A tornado leveled seven homes and at least one barn.[4][7]
Sources:
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See also

References
  1. Grazulis 1993, pp. 787–8
  2. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. "South Carolina Tornado Climatology". dnr.sc.gov. Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina State Climatology Office. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. Grazulis 1993, p. 787
  4. Henry 1924, p. 233
  5. United States Weather Bureau & Sullivan 1924, p. 21
  6. Grazulis 1993, p. 626
  7. Grazulis 1993, p. 788
  8. Grazulis 1993, p. 540
  9. United States Weather Bureau & Sullivan 1924, p. 22
  10. Hunter 1924, p. 207

Bibliography
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