Indiana's super tornado outbreak was 50 years ago today. How to learn more about it

Karl Schneider, Indianapolis Star
Updated ·1 min read
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Today marks the 50th anniversary when more than 100 tornadoes swept across the Midwest within just about 24 hours.

Dubbed the 1974 Super Outbreak, severe storms and 148 tornadoes claimed hundreds of lives and injured thousands more. The National Weather Service says 15,000 homes businesses and farm buildings were destroyed and another 17,000 were damaged.

It was one of the largest tornado outbreaks recorded in U.S. history, and NWS Indianapolis is planning a virtual history lecture on the event.

Devastation along Bardstown Road south of Eastern Parkway following a tornado.
Devastation along Bardstown Road south of Eastern Parkway following a tornado.

How many tornadoes hit Indiana during the 1974 event?

A brief tornado touched down in Indiana’s Boone County on the morning of April 3, 1974, according to the NWS. This marked the beginning of Indiana’s largest tornado outbreak in history.

Another 20 tornadoes spun up across 45 other counties in the state between 2 and 8 p.m. that day.

The tornadoes killed 47 Hoosiers and injured almost 900 more.

A handful of tornadoes spun up in the state at the same time, and others produced multiple funnels.

Monticello, Rochester and Ligonier suffered the greatest during a half-mile wide tornado that traveled 109 miles from near Lafayette to north of Fort Wayne.

How to attend the Super Outbreak event

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis, working with the Indianapolis Public Library, is hosting the virtual lecture on Zoom.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. on April 2 and runs for an hour.

Those interested can register online at: attend.indypl.org/event/10281070. Once registered, look for an email providing a link to the event 2 hours before the webinar.

NWS Indy Meteorologist Joseph Nield is presenting the lecture and will hold a Q&A session.

Continue reading: How Indiana counties decide when to sound tornado sirens

Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Super outbreak: Indiana saw 20 tornadoes in 2 days back in 1974