Southeastern tornado outbreak of April 1957

Infobox tornado outbreak
name=Southeastern tornado outbreak of April 1957
date=April 8, 1957
image location=April 8, 1958 outbreak.jpg


duration=~16 hours
fujitascale=F4
tornadoes= 18
total damages (USD)=Unknown
total fatalities= 7
areas affected=Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, VirginiaThe Southeastern tornado outbreak of April 8, 1957 was one of a handful of notable severe weather and tornado outbreaks to strike the southern and southeastern United States during April, 1957. This outbreak was responsible for producing 7 deaths and 207 injuries in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The outbreak began with weak tornadoes confirmed during the early morning near Tupelo, MS and Cookeville, TN. Stronger tornadoes formed during the late morning and mid-day hours along a path crossing northern Alabama, with F3 tornadoes crossing 8 counties, and causing 90 injuries north of Cullman. These storms dissipated shortly after crossing into northwestern Georgia.

Two hours later, additional tornadoes families developed simultaneously along two paths - the first was a series of weak, but long-duration tornadoes that crossed parts of 5 counties southern Georgia.

The second series began in Union County, SC, moving along an eastern extension of the path carved by the earlier Alabama tornadoes. This series of storms swiftly became the most destructive produced by this outbreak, with a trio of F3 and F4 tornadoes moving along a nearly continuous path more than 120 miles long from Lancaster County, SC to Sampson County, NC, with some of the most severe damage seen in Jefferson, SC and Salemburg, NC. An additional, short-lived F4 tornado was reported just south of this main path in Robeson County, NC, and the predominant supercell produced an additional F3 tornado in Duplin County. This storm produced additional non-tornadic severe weather to the east coast, moving offshore in Carteret County, NC.

The outbreak ended shortly before midnight with an F1 tornado that briefly touched down - producing 2 additional injuries - in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.

Tornado table

Confirmed tornadoes

ee also

*List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

References