1994 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak
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The 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak was the third notable US
tornado outbreak A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same Synoptic scale meteorology, synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least ...
to occur on
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...
and the second to take place in the Southeastern United States. The outbreak produced 29 tornadoes from
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
to
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, killing 40 people and injuring 491, and causing $140 million in damage. The deadliest storm of the outbreak, as well as in the US in 1994, was an F4 tornado that devastated
Piedmont, Alabama Piedmont is a city in Calhoun and Cherokee counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,400 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Anniston- Oxford, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is approximately one an ...
. It struck the Goshen United Methodist Church right in the middle of the Palm Sunday service, collapsing the roof on the congregation and killing 20 people inside, including the Rev. Kelly Clem's 4-year-old daughter Hannah. Two other houses of worship were also destroyed mid-service. The supercell that formed this tornado tracked for to
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
.


Meteorological synopsis

The SPC started forecasting the outbreak on March 26, highlighting the risk of severe thunderstorms over the area that would eventually be impacted. They issued a "severe" forecast for most of the Southern, and some of the
Mid-Atlantic states The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virg ...
, forecasting "the potential for supercell storms, along with the possibility of tornadoes." By the morning of March 27, it was apparent that a very strong and potent airmass had set up over the Gulf states, with the SPC issuing a moderate risk for most of
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, the southern half of
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, and most of
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
in their morning outlook. The 6 AM CST (1200 UTC) 500 mb analysis showed a strong southwest flow of near 80
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over the Southern U.S., while at the 850 MB level, there existed winds of near 50 knots coming out of the state of Louisiana. At the surface, temperatures in Alabama, Mississippi, and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
were in the low 70's
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, with dewpoints were in the upper 60's to low 70's.
CAPE A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
values at Centreville, Alabama were nearing 1,200 J/ kg with no cap to speak of. A surface front left by rain during the previous evening was situated over northern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. By 9 AM CST (1500 UTC), thunderstorms and severe weather were not only occurring along the boundary setup by the rain from the previous evening in the northern portions of Alabama and Mississippi, but further to the south as well. At 9:18 AM CST (1518 UTC), the SPC issued a tornado watch for Eastern Mississippi and Northern Alabama. The storms then rapidly intensified, with tornado warnings being issued by the
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and Huntsville NWS offices before 11 AM local time. Both the deadly F4 tornado that struck the Goshen United Methodist Church in Cherokee County and the Marshall County F2 twister formed at about this time. The SPC also issued a PDS Tornado Watch for all of Northern Georgia by 12 PM EST (1700 UTC), with the wording stating, "This is a particularly dangerous situation with the possibility of very damaging tornadoes. Also, large hail, dangerous lightning and damaging thunderstorm winds can be expected." Severe storms and tornadoes tracked into the northern Georgia region by 12:42 EST, and tornadoes continued to track across northern Georgia during the afternoon. During the early-mid afternoon, analysis showed a very unstable airmass over the southern U.S., with CAPE values near 2,500 J/kg and SRH values of near 250 m2/s2 at
Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...
. The 1800 UTC Centreville, Alabama sounding showed similar conditions, with CAPE over 2,500 J/kg and SRH values of over 500 m2/s2. This resulted in an Energy Helicity Index (EHI) value of 8.49, which is strongly supportive of tornadic thunderstorms. Based on these soundings, the SPC issued a High Risk for their 1930 UTC outlook, noting a rapidly destabilized atmosphere and winds being much stronger than what was originally forecasted. Noting the presence of a shortwave trough that was tracking into Mississippi and Louisiana as well as rapidly falling pressures in advance of a frontal boundary, the SPC issued a tornado watch for eastern Louisiana and central Mississippi, however, there were no reported tornadoes in this region on March 27. The SPC, seeing that storms were tracking into the
Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...
, issued a tornado watch for portions of the western and central Carolinas, as well as the portion of northeast Georgia not already included in the prior tornado watch. Tornadoes continued to track along this area from the mid-late afternoon, with an F3 tornado striking parts of northeast Georgia and the upstate of South Carolina, injuring 12, and another tornado along the border region of
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
injuring 13. In Alabama, tornadoes continued in the central part of the state during the mid-late afternoon. An F1 tornado struck parts of Tuscaloosa County just after 4 PM. Funnel clouds were seen in Hueytown as a storm went over Jefferson County at around 4:30 PM local time. An F2 tornado was produced in Shelby County at 5:30 CST, damaging a high school and a residential neighborhood before destroying two mobile home parks. During the cleanup from the F4 tornado that struck Cherokee County, emergency responders had to take cover as another funnel cloud was spotted just before 6 PM CST. The storms also produced hail up to in diameter and winds around . The storm system also left behind extensive flooding in Winston and Walker Counties, with $150,000 worth of damage done to roads and bridges in Walker County. The final tornado of the outbreak was reported just before midnight in Greenville County in South Carolina. The National Weather Service offices in Birmingham,
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, and
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did not stop issuing warnings until late at night on the 27th or early in the morning on the 28th, issuing 75 tornado warnings and 182 severe weather products overall. Overall, the outbreak of March 27, 1994 was not as synoptically evident as some of the past outbreaks that have occurred, as there was no deep surface low or trough present for forcing in the area where the storms occurred, and many of the ingredients necessary that were the cause of this outbreak were not able to be forecasted until the morning of the event.


Confirmed tornadoes


March 27 event


Ragland - Piedmont - Rock Run, Alabama

The first violent and the deadliest tornado of the outbreak developed south-southwest of Ragland in St. Clair County, Alabama, at 10:55 a.m. CST. With a forward speed, the tornado first destroyed buildings east of Ragland before killing a woman on a
campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...
west of Neely Henry Lake. Just prior to entering Calhoun County, the tornado destroyed 18 homes and 20 mobile homes. Upon crossing the north side of Ohatchee the tornado threw a van into a ditch, killing a man inside and injuring three other occupants. After causing the death on
U.S. Route 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from U.S. Route 231, US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and U.S. Route 231 Business (Dothan, Alabama), US 231 Business (US 231 Bus. ...
, it passed through sparsely populated, wooded land about west-northwest of
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
. As it passed north of Piedmont, the tornado struck the Goshen United Methodist Church in the former community of Goshen, killing 20 people in the church and injuring 92; some sources say 90 were injured. The tornado also destroyed two nearby churches, but killed no one in their congregations. Parishioners in the Goshen United Methodist Church apparently received no warning while attending services and some were crushed to death as the walls and roof collapsed upon them. An inflow jet caused the south wall—which, being tall and wide, was built solely of masonry block—to collapse inward, so the timber-and-steel
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
roof and other walls followed suit, crushing parishioners inside the sanctuary. After striking the church, the tornado continued on and later dissipated northeast of Rock Run, near the Alabama–Georgia state line. Overall, the tornado killed 22 people.


Rome–Canton–Jasper, Georgia

The second violent tornado of the outbreak developed in a rural area of Floyd County, Georgia, about southeast of Rome, at 1:14 p.m. EST. Upon touching down, the wide tornado uprooted large
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
s and
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
s while causing F0 damage to five or six homes of "mixed brick and wood construction." The tornado then moved northeast as it snapped trees before intensifying to F1 strength about west of Cartersville. During this, the tornado initially shrunk to wide, but then widened again to as it passed through Cassville, with F1 damage primarily to the roofs of 10–15 homes. The tornado blew down 20 large trees and damaged power lines in Cassville. Thereafter, the tornado increased greatly in size and intensity as it passed between
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and Rydal, with the first and only F4 damage occurring in a rural area northwest of Canton. There, the wide tornado leveled "five two-story brick and wood homes" to the ground in the Indian Springs
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. The tornado also severely damaged eight to 10 other homes and slightly damaged 12–15. Overall, the tornado was most destructive at Indian Springs and soon weakened as it continued northeast through wooded lands; however, its path briefly widened. It killed two people in a trailer along Georgia State Route 140 in Bartow County and snapped tall pine trees nearby. Though the wide tornado impacted forested areas, it still caused major damage to 10 mobile homes and six permanent homes, as well as damage to four unspecified
vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
s. Henceforth, the tornado continued to weaken to F2 intensity and contracted to wide as it passed into Pickens County, severely damaging 10–15
chicken coop Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises poultry, domesticated birds such as chickens, Domestic duck, ducks, turkey (domesticated), turkeys and domesticated goose, geese to produce chicken meat, meat or Egg as food, eggs for ...
s along with 20–25 homes of brick and wood construction. It killed one more person in a trailer before lifting from the ground about east-southeast of Jasper. Ultimately, it caused almost $7 million (1994
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) in losses to properties and businesses in Bartow County alone, with another $1.5 million in losses in adjourning Pickens County. The tornado killed three people and over 500,000
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
s along its track and leveled "thousands" of trees, with over $10 million in losses to agricultural interests.


Cave Spring/Lindale, Georgia

The sixth and final F3+ tornado to hit Georgia on March 27 touched down northwest of Cedartown at about 7:00 p.m. EST. Though mainly impacting rural areas at first, it badly damaged four wood homes and blew down many trees with resultant F1 damage. The tornado appeared reddish to eyewitnesses as it passed through rugged terrain. As it crossed near SR 100, the tornado produced major roof damage to a few homes and destroyed a pair of chicken coops. Widening to wide, the tornado acquired a multiple vortex structure as residents observed two or three funnels rotating around the main vortex. In southern Floyd County, about east of Cave Spring, the multiple-vortex tornado snapped trees in half and badly damaged five
double-wide A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). ...
mobile homes along with three or four frail wood homes. Afterward, the tornado strengthened to F2 intensity, causing more severe damage to wood homes, but soon contracted in size to wide and weakened into an F1 tornado. However, as it neared to within southwest of Lindale, it widened yet again and rapidly strengthened into an F3 tornado as it passed through Leawood Estates. There, it reportedly leveled "fifteen mixed single and two story mixed brick and wood homes of poor construction," along with some homes that were being built. The tornado caused 30 injuries, including one of a man who was thrown into the street across from his home. Residents reported continuous lightning preceding and during the passage of the tornado and were alerted by their dogs barking. Some residents also reported a smaller tornado south of the primary one. After hitting Leawood Estates at maximum intensity, the tornado weakened back into an F2 tornado and shrunk to wide as it passed south of Rome. There, it badly damaged three poorly built wood homes, destroyed four mobile homes, and uprooted large trees. Farther along, it decreased in size to just wide but caused significant damage to 15–20 homes of brick and wood construction. As it passed southeast of Rome, the tornado degenerated into an F0 tornado over wooded
farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
while causing major roof damage to a few homes before dissipating. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado destroyed 55–60 homes and did at least some damage to 140–150 others, with total losses reaching $6,750,000.


Effects on National Safety

The deaths at Goshen United Methodist Church brought to light the deficiencies in the
NOAA Weather Radio NOAA Weather Radio (NWR), also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, is an automated 24-hour network of Very high frequency, VHF Frequency modulation, FM weather radio stations in the United States which broadcast weather information direct ...
network across the United States and the lack of NOAA Weather Radio use in many public spaces. Budget cuts in the 1970s had forced the National Weather Service to cut back on the expansion of new broadcast stations. Most urban and suburban areas in the country had sufficient coverage, but many rural areas had no coverage at all. After a visit to the Goshen site, then Vice President
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
pushed for further funding and expansion of the NOAA Weather Radio system, especially in rural areas. This was accomplished through an expansion of private-public partnerships, primarily by the National Weather Service leasing or using donated tower space from entities such as TV stations, public utilities, and state government agencies. Gore, also, pushed for facilities such as schools, hospitals, churches, and nursing homes to have weather radios on hand.


See also

* 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak *
1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak The 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak was a historic severe weather event that affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States on April 10–12, 1965. The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16& ...
* 2020 Easter tornado outbreak * Tornado outbreak sequence of March 24–28, 2021


References


Bibliography

* * * Hamilton, David W., Yuh-Lang Lin, Ronald P. Weglarz, Michael L. Kaplan (1998).
Jetlet Formation from Diabatic Forcing with Applications to the 1994 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak
. '' Monthly Weather Review'', 126 (8). * Kaplan, Michael L., Yuh-Lang Lin, David W. Hamilton, Robert A. Rozumalski (1998).
The Numerical Simulation of an Unbalanced Jetlet and Its Role in the Palm Sunday 1994 Tornado Outbreak in Alabama and Georgia
. '' Monthly Weather Review'', 126 (8). * Koch, Steven E., David Hamilton, Devin Kramer, Adam Langmaid (1998).
Mesoscale Dynamics in the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak
. '' Monthly Weather Review'', 126 (8). * Langmaid, Adam H., Allen J. Riordan (1998).
Surface Mesoscale Processes during the 1994 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak
. '' Monthly Weather Review'', 126 (8).


Further information

*


External links


Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak March 27, 1994
(NWS Birmingham, Alabama)
NWS Service Assessment
* The Tornado History Project
Palm Sunday Killer Tornadoes
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