Tornadoes of 1977

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.

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.)	Unknown
Fatalities (U.S.)	43
Fatalities (worldwide)	>43

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

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
0	166	332	135	37	9	1	680

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

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
0	0	5	6	1	0	0

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

Main article: Tornado outbreak of April 1977

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
0	1	9	6	4	0	1

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

228 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in May.[12]

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, a long track F4 tornado which struck the small town of Keyes, Oklahoma and tracked into Baca County, Colorado, where it dissipated.[13] An F2 tornado touched down in Moore, Oklahoma and moved through Oklahoma City. An F3 touched down very close to the Altus, Oklahoma AFB. A long track F2 tornado touched down near Elkhart, Kansas before continuing striking the eastern fridges of Ulysses, Kansas damaging several farms before tracking into the east side of Garden City, Kansas where more damage was noted before dissipating in northern Finney Countyafter traveling 117 miles though it may have been a tornado family.[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
  • Tornadoes by year
  • Tornado records
  • Tornado climatology
  • Tornado myths
• List of 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

1. "1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
2. "January, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
3. "January, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
4. Ostby, Frederick P.; Pearson, Allen; Wilson, Larry (1978). "Weather Events of 1977". Weatherwise. 31: 3–12. doi:10.1080/00431672.1978.9931845. "The Tornado Season of 1977".
5. "February, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
6. "February, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
7. "March, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
8. "March 28, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
9. "April, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
10. "April, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
11. "Smithfield Tornado 4/4/1977". Srh.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
12. "May, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
13. "Tornado History Project: 19770518.40.25".
14. "May 16, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
15. "May 17, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
16. "May 18, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
17. "May 19, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
18. "May 20, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
19. "May 21, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
20. "1977 Oklahoma Tornadoes". Srh.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
21. "June, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
22. "June, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
23. "July, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
24. "July, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
25. "August, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
26. "August, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
27. "Tornado History Project: 19770821.17.30".
28. "September, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
29. "September, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
30. "October, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
31. "October, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
32. "November, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
33. "November, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
34. "December, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
35. "December, 1977". Tornado History Project. Retrieved 2015-12-12.