| April 1924 tornado outbreak | |
| Type: | Tornado outbreak |
| Active: | April 29–30, 1924 |
| Tornadoes: | ≥ 28 |
| Fujitascale: | F4 |
| Total Fatalities: | 114 fatalities, ≥ 1,166 injuries |
| Damages: | Unknown |
On April 29–30, 1924, an outbreak of at least 28 tornadoes—26 of which were significant, meaning F2 or stronger—affected the Southern United States. 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. 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,[1] having traveled 105sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3; some sources list a total path length of 135sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3, including the segment in Florence County, but this is now believed to have been a separate, F3 tornado.
| Location | County / Parish | State | Time (UTC) | Path length | width | Summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=# | F2 | SE of Ingalls | Payne | OK | 10:00–? | 2miles | 100yd | 1 death – Three homes were destroyed. Other damage from downbursts totaled $200,000 in the area. Three people were injured. | |
| bgcolor=# | F2 | N of Texarkana | Miller | AR | 20:30–? | 0.5miles | 100yd | 1 death – Eight homes were destroyed. 17 people were injured and losses totaled $25,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | Crichton | Red River | LA | 23:30–? | 0.5miles | 50yd | Four homes were damaged or destroyed. Five people were injured. | |
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Many | Sabine | LA | 00:30–? | 1miles | 800yd | 1 death – Numerous trees, concessions, a depot, and homes were badly damaged. Eight people were injured and losses totaled $100,000. |
| Location | County / Parish | State | Time (UTC) | Path length | width | Summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Autaugaville | Autauga | AL | 08:45–? | 1miles | Tornado tore off roofs and leveled a church. Outside town, the tornado destroyed tenant homes and a barn. Nine people were injured and losses totaled $30,000. | ||
| bgcolor=# | F2 | S of Roanoke | Chambers, Randolph | AL | 10:30–? | 10miles | 100yd | 1 death – Tornado destroyed small homes and "one of the finest homes in the county", killing one person. Another individual was carried 400abbr=onNaNabbr=on distant and severely injured. In all, six people were injured and losses totaled $25,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | Greenville | Butler | AL | 10:50–? | 1miles | 100yd | 1 death – Tornado leveled well-built homes and ripped off roofs. Ten people were injured and losses totaled $80,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F2 | SE of Auburn to NE of Opelika | Lee | AL | 11:00–? | 15miles | 400yd | 4 deaths – Tornado affected six farms near Auburn, destroying rural buildings. Tornado then struck the northern side of Opelika, leveling approximately 12 small homes. 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. 25 people were injured and losses totaled $20,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | FU | Albany | Dougherty | GA | 11:00–? | Only trees were damaged.[2] | |||
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Lawrenceville | Gwinnett | GA | 11:00–? | 5miles | 1 death – Tornado touched down near and paralleled the railroad tracks as it moved into town, killing a person whose home was crushed beneath trees. Tornado caused $200,000 in damage, at least $75,000 of which occurred at two mills. 26 homes, many businesses, and several industrial buildings were destroyed or unroofed. 10 people were injured. | ||
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Warm Springs to Greenville | Meriwether | GA | 11:15–? | 6miles | 1 death – 10 tenant homes were destroyed. Eight people were injured and losses totaled $8,000. | ||
| bgcolor=# | F3 | Thompson to N of Hannon | Bullock, Macon | AL | 11:50–? | 23miles | 250yd | 6 deaths – Devastating tornado destroyed community of Thompson. 20 structures were leveled and six deaths occurred in the community. One of the dead was carried 1miles away. 20 people were injured and losses totaled $80,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | NW of Hartwell, GA to Anderson, SC to Walnut Grove, SC | Hart (GA), Anderson (SC), Greenville (SC), Laurens (SC), Spartanburg (SC) | GA, SC | 12:15–? | 65miles | 400yd | 9 deaths – See section on this tornado | |
| bgcolor=# | F2 | E of Tarentum to SE of Louisville | Pike, Barbour | AL | 12:30–? | 27miles | 200yd | 1 death – Tornado destroyed several barns and small homes, including tenant homes, in rural areas. Many mules died in the path. 40 people were injured and losses totaled $65,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | S of Pine Mountain | Harris | GA | 13:30–? | 8miles | 200yd | 10 deaths – Destructive tornado killed seven people in rural areas and three more near Pine Mountain. 35 people were injured and losses totaled $40,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | S of Reynolds | Taylor, Crawford | GA | 13:30–? | 5miles | Possible family of tornadoes destroyed tenant homes and other structures on plantations before dissipating in the swamps near the Flint River. 30 people were injured and losses totaled $30,000. | ||
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Brookton to Cornelia | Hall, Habersham | GA | 14:00–? | 15miles | Tornado struck 50 homes as it skipped along, damaging roofs, porches, and walls. Four people were injured and losses totaled $50,000. | ||
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Fitzgerald | Ben Hill | GA | 14:45–? | Tornado destroyed, unroofed, or otherwise damaged 14 homes, two of which were large. Some of the homes shifted on their foundations. Three people were injured and losses totaled $100,000. | |||
| bgcolor=# | F4 | Macon | Bibb | GA | 14:45–? | 6miles | 300yd | 3 deaths – Tornado leveled and swept away a couple of homes as it passed through southern Macon. Most of the damage occurred at a brickyard, but all deaths were reported in rural areas. Tornado was rated as a "minimal" F4 due to poor construction. 40 people were injured and losses totaled $200,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Ficklin | Wilkes | GA | 14:45–? | 2miles | 100yd | 1 death – Tornado struck a combined post office and small store, killing the postmaster inside. The frail structure was built of corrugated metal and disintegrated; the body of the postmaster was carried 300yd. The tornado also leveled three nearby stores. One large home lost its roof and slipped on its foundation. 10 people were injured and losses totaled $25,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F4 | NE of Aiken to Horrell Hill to N of Timmonsville | Aiken, Lexington, Richland, Sumter, Lee, Darlington | SC | 16:00–? | 105miles | 600yd | 53 deaths – See section on this tornado | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | N of Pittsboro | Chatham | NC | 17:30–? | 2miles | 150yd | 4 deaths – Tornado swept away a small home and destroyed a sawmill, killing a family of four people who sheltered in the latter. Nearby homes were reportedly "leveled" as well. Five people were injured and losses totaled $20,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F2 | Sylvania | Screven | GA | 17:45–? | Tornado leveled several barns. | |||
| bgcolor=# | F3 | SW of Robersonville | Pitt, Martin, Bertie | NC | 19:30–? | 18miles | 300yd | 1 death – Tornado destroyed 60 structures, some of which were large homes, and killed one person before ending near the Roanoke River. 40 people were injured and losses totaled $200,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | N of Effingham | Sumter, Florence | SC | 19:45–? | 25miles | 200yd | 14 deaths – Tornado formed from the same thunderstorm as the Horrell Hill F4. 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. 144 people were injured. | |
| bgcolor= | FU | Pleasant Shade | Greensville | VA | 22:30–? | 40yd | Very brief tornado destroyed only one structure.[3] | ||
| bgcolor=# | F3 | SE of Jetersville to S of Chula | Amelia | VA | 22:30–? | 10miles | 100yd | 1 death – Tornado leveled a barn and seven homes. Seven people were injured and losses totaled $30,000. | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | Ellenton | Colquitt | GA | A tornado destroyed several homes near Ellenton, one of which was completely leveled except for its central hallway. A family had taken shelter there and was uninjured. |
| Hartwell, Georgia/Anderson–Walnut Grove, South Carolina | |
| Fujitascale: | F3 |
| Damages: | $2 million (1924 USD) $ (USD) |
| Casualties: | 9 fatalities, 150 injuries |
| Enhanced: | no |
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. The tornado crossed into South Carolina, but did not produce significant damage at first. Once it reached a point about 2miles southwest of Anderson, however, it strengthened substantially. It struck the "Masters" or "Masters Store" community, leveling a shop and several other, littler structures nearby. 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. In Anderson alone, the tornado ruined about 100 little homes, two cotton mills, and many businesses, with losses of about $1.5 million. All nine deaths occurred in Anderson, where about 100 people were injured and roughly 600 were left homeless. 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. Afterward, the tornado probably reformed into another or more tornadoes before striking northern Laurens County and Walnut Grove in Spartanburg County. At Walnut Grove, 13miles south of Spartanburg, the tornado leveled 14 homes and injured 21 people. After striking Walnut Grove, the tornado widened into a downburst, 1300lk=onNaNlk=on wide, near Glenn Springs. Total losses from the tornado reached $2 million.[4]
| Steedman–Horrell Hill–Gaillard Crossroads, South Carolina | |
| Fujitascale: | F4 |
| Damages: | $1 million (1924 USD) $ (USD) |
| Casualties: | 53 fatalities, 534 injuries |
| Enhanced: | no |
This catastrophic, extremely violent, long-lived tornado likely consisted of two or more tornadoes. It first touched down roughly 11miles northeast of Aiken and remained on the ground almost unceasingly until it entered southern Lee County. The tornado passed near Edmund and traversed the Congaree River approximately 9miles south of Columbia, which reported its most destructive incident, at the time, of large hail on record. Near Adams Pond, south of Columbia, the tornado, described as being "blue-black" and "of great proportions", was 1400yd wide. 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. Near "Lykesland", southeast of Columbia, the tornado contracted to 1000yd in width as it approached Horrell Hill. About 2miles southwest of Horrell Hill, the tornado may have produced its worst damage as it narrowed to just 500yd 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. 12 people died in and near Horrell Hill, including four people in a school "filled with children." In all, the tornado killed 24 people in Richland County. After passing near Horrell Hill, the tornado bent to the northeast before crossing the Wateree River into Sumter County. It then re-intensified, causing 20 more deaths in Sumter County as it leveled rural homes, especially near Gaillard Crossroads. The tornado killed one more person in Lee County, after which its path became intermittent once more. After killing 53 people, injuring 534, and leveling more than 1,300 structures—most of which were insubstantial in size—the tornado finally dissipated 5miles north of Timmonsville.