The 1974 Double Twister That Hit Alabama

It takes a lot for a music radio station in Limestone County, Alabama to interrupt its broadcast - but this was a matter of life and death. Not one, but two category F5 twisters were about to hit.

[chvfd]

Spencer Black was one GREAT guy. His wife Marcia was my science teacher in high school. He spoke to us several times about weather and these days over the years. This was seriously a trial by fire for him as he hadn't been director of EMA for very long when this happened. He sadly passed away not very long after retiring from EMA in a freak accident working in his yard. Great guy thats Greatly missed by many. R.I.P. Spencer

[phiphi]

My great great grandmother died in this tornado at the great flu age of 87 years.i mis her dearly.

[aslightlysanescientist]

There's actually 3 ef5s that have hit tanner in the past 50 years, the 2 in the video and the Phil Cambell 2011 ef5

[wadesmoke]

That was a night that I will never forget..We lived 3 Mike's from where the big one came through Van Town, Shakerag, Pleasant Ridge, Harmony, Winchester Springs, Estill Springs, Pelham and Hillsboro where it had started below the Tennessee River and come up and hit Tanner Alabama came on an crossed into Lincoln County Tennessee then on into Franklin County..We had some people killed here but more peoe died over in Lincoln County..It hit Hillsboro and went on some of the old folks said and hit the side of the Mountain and finally disapated there.

[drewper]

I was about a year old, so I don't remember it. My brother was 3 and he remembers being in the basement of the local Presbyterian church. I went to church with the man who was on the radio that day, Mike Davis. I've never seen footage of those storms until now.

[vanhouten]

The video seems to show random historical tornadoes, not the Limestone County tornadoes.

[eyesurvivedmyself]

I was 7 yo! I’ll never forget that day! I grew up off University drive in Huntsville Alabama 🙏🏽

[kqfdyfs]

I was 8 yrs old when the tornado, come through jasper Alabama,

[scotabot]

Man, I would give just about anything to go back to 1974, when the country was a completely different place!! Love the old radio announcements, as it brings back so many wonderful memories. (Not the tornados though)

[depressedglub]

I love watching all these tornado videos you have

[mattkowal]

There is no footage of the Tanner, Alabama F5 tornadoes. Both of them occurred obviously at night, however they were highly visible due to eyewitness accounts stating that lightning from the two storms (they were spawned by two supercells within the same line that went over the same exact path) was intense and frequent. About a few hours after this ANOTHER F5 slammed through Guin, Alabama and was making aim for Huntsville. Luckily it lifted, but it cycled quickly and spawned a F3 that went through Redstone Arsenal, parts of Huntsville, and leveled a trailer village. It's very rare that an F5/EF5 tornado occurs at night, because only about 10 of the 59 official ones have been nocturnal. These three are among them, Lubbock 1970, Blackwell 1955, Udall 1955, Flint 1953, Barneveld 1984, Ruskin Heights/Kansas City 1957, and Greensburg 2007. According to the damage surveys of both Tanner F5's, they were both 500 yards wide (about 0.3-miles wide), the first started in Lawrence County and dissipated near the AL/TN border. The second one touched down at the Tennessee River, followed the same path, crossed into Tennessee where it eventually dissipated two counties in.

[novliartist]

The deep parts of the south & Oklahoma always get the worst dang twisters/tornadoes. I absolutely hate them

[rgmorgan]

I was 8...I saw both of them from my backyard

[dannyccc]

I did an escape room about this in the Dells and I had to go to the Grandmas house and collect things to get into the tornado shelter before the second came. We had one lock left (the shelter) but the time unfortunately ended. But the Woman was nice and let us finish it.

[raydavis]

I was there at redstone arsenal on base 10:50 PM it hit . Till this day I think of that day

[GinaGeeILuvu]

I remember I was a little kid living in Huntsville, Alabama, Madison county (not far from Limestone county), when this happened and everyone was hunkered-down and all the power went out in the neighborhood. Afterwards, when the sky was clearing, the man who lived in the house across the street came over with a Polaroid picture someone had taken to show my parents that looked like Jesus in the clouds! I remember seeing the picture and it really did.💖💖🙏🙏

[cathyt]

I was 13 yrs old and lived in Huntsville Al when this happened. It was a very very bad day for many. My mother made us get in the bathtub and covered us with blankets and pillows. The next day my family loaded up and daddy drove us to see the damage .

[gabemelber]

This popping up in my recommended as Alabama is being his by a large line of tornado producing storms

[apogeecreativitee]

Good lord, this is my worst nightmare. As a Lilapsophobic I could never live in Oklahoma or Tornado Ally

[EdwardCooke-pe]

A couple of years Before my time but I heard two tornadoes hit the same city in Alabama that’s just horrible the whole situation is truly horrible the power of these storms even 50 years later people are still trying to figure em out and what causes em