1974Apr, 3
The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
The 1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. From April 3 to 4, 1974, there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. In the United States, tornadoes struck Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. The outbreak caused roughly $843 million USD (~equivalent to $4.58 billion in 2019) in damage, with more than $600 million (~equivalent to $3.3 billion in 2019) occurring in the United States. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900 sq mi (2,331 km2) along a total combined path length of 2,600 mi (4,184 km). At one point, as many as 15 separate tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously.The 1974 Super Outbreak was the first tornado outbreak in recorded history to produce more than 100 tornadoes in under a 24-hour period, a feat that was not repeated globally until the 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak and in the United States until the 2011 Super Outbreak.
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Events on 1974
- 18Jan
Yom Kippur War
A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War. - 27Jun
Richard Nixon
U.S. president Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union. - 27Jul
Richard Nixon
Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon. - 9Aug
Richard Nixon
As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president. - 8Sep
Gerald Ford
Watergate scandal: US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.