All About Dixie Alley & Its Infamous Tornadoes
Dixie Alley has many large tornadoes & casualties every year and a lot of people still don’t know a lot about it. Here is all about Dixie Alley…
When it comes to tornado season, many people think of one region, Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley spans across the Great Plains & Mid-West. But there is another large region with strong, large, and deadly tornadoes. It is known as, you guessed it, Dixie Alley. Here is more about Dixie Alley…
This post is all about Dixie Alley.
The Where, Why, & Things About It
Where is Dixie Alley & Why Is It There
Dixie Alley was coined by Allen Pearson, who directed the National Severe Storms Forecast Center. He did this after witnessing deadly tornadoes from Feb. 21-22, 1997 that killed 121 people.
The Dixie Alley states are in the Deep South including Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, & Arkansas. Dixie Alley is located there because of its location, right next to the Gulf of Mexico. Moisture is often traveling northward going into Dixie Alley. The excessive moisture is also why there are many HP (High-Precipitation) supercells & rain-wrapped tornadoes.
The Dixie Alley Tornadoes
Deadly tornadoes in Dixie Alley often happen at night, because of how far east it is. Many of the U.S. tornado casualties, even more than Tornado Alley. This is because of the tornadoes happening at night, the concentration of mobile homes, and the population density. With the tornadoes happening at night, some people in the path can be sleeping and can wake up when it is already too late. Tornadoes can easily pick up & throw mobile homes because of their weak connection to a foundation. The population density also is higher in Dixie Alley than it is in Tornado Alley.
The next part will show some infamous tornado outbreaks in Dixie Alley.
The Infamous Outbreaks
In this section, I will list three different tornado outbreaks that took place in Dixie Alley.
1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak
The 1936 Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak was a small, but very deadly tornado outbreak that occurred on April 5-6, 1936. It is known for two tornadoes. The first tornado the outbreak is known for is the Tupelo, MS F5. Starting around 8:30 PM, the Tupelo tornado started a few miles away from the city. It killed 13 people and swept many homes away. The tornado hit the residential part of Tupelo, killing many people, destroying hundreds of homes, and even throwing bodies into the nearby Gum Pond. The tornado then left the city after toppling a few more fences and structures. One-year-old Elvis Presley and his parents survived the tornado. Over 215 people died & over 700 were injured. This tornado was the fourth-deadliest in U.S. history.
The Gainesville, GA F4 is the second tornado the outbreak is known for. It hit Gainesville at around 8:30 AM, with Ted Fujita thinking it might have been two tornadoes that eventually merged in town! 70 people died in one building, the Cooper Pants Factory, as they were all arriving for their shift. That set the record for the most tornado-related deaths in one building. The tornado destroyed the downtown area before it dissipated. The tornadoes were the fifth-deadliest tornado disaster in U.S. history.
- Date: April 5-6, 1936
- Tornado Count: >13
- Deaths: >453
- Injuries: >2,500
1974 Super Outbreak
The 1974 Super Outbreak was an extensive tornado outbreak that took place on April 3-4, 1974. It was one of two tornado outbreaks that are called “Super Outbreaks”, along with the 2011 Super Outbreak. There were 148 tornadoes in the outbreak, making it the second-largest tornado outbreak, behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. The 1974 Super Outbreak was the first ever recorded tornado outbreak to have >100 tornadoes. All the tornadoes happened in 24 hours, with at one point there being 15 on the ground at the same time. Some say that it is the most violent tornado outbreak in recorded history. This would make sense because there were seven EF-5 tornadoes with 23 EF-4.
The seven EF-5 tornadoes impacted the states of MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, & OH. The strongest & deadliest of these tornadoes was the Xeina, OH EF5. The Xeina tornado formed SW of the town at 4:30 PM. The tornado started tearing through Xeina at 4:40 PM while moving at 50 mph & being a multiple vortex tornado. Schools, homes, commercial buildings, government buildings, universities, & the water tower were all structures that received heavy damage from the tornado. Around 1,400 buildings received major damage. There were 32 deaths, around 1,500 injuries, and $100 million (1974 USD) in damages.
- Date: April 3-4, 1974
- Tornado Count: 148
- Deaths: 319
- Injuries: 5,484
2011 Super Outbreak
The last outbreak for today, which was briefly talked about in the last section, is the 2011 Super Outbreak. The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest recorded outbreak in history, with 360 tornadoes within 3 days & 7 hours. It also broke the record for most tornadoes in 24 hours, previously held by the 1974 Super Outbreak. There were four EF-5 tornadoes & 11 EF-4s. I will talk about the four EF-5s.
The EF-5s
The first EF-5 tornado of the outbreak was in Philadelphia, MS. The tornado went along a 30-mile path. During that time, it killed three people when it destroyed a mobile home, caused ground scouring up to two feet deep, & ripped pavement from the roads. Three people died, eight were injured, & there was $1.1 million (2011 USD) in damages. Then another massive EF-5 tore through many towns across a 132-mile path, most notably Hackleburg & Phil Campbell. It was the tornado went up to 1.25 miles wide with winds up to 210 mph. The tornado killed 72 people, making it the deadliest tornado in Alabama history & the deadliest tornado in the U.S. since the 1955 Udall, KS tornado. There were also >145 injuries & $1.29 billion (2011 USD).
After that, the third tornado of the outbreak happened in Smithville, MS. It tore through MS & AL at up to 3/4 mile wide with winds up to 205 mph. One of the most notable points of damage in the entire outbreak was when a car was tossed into the Smithville water tower. The tornado resulted in 23 deaths, 137 injuries, & $14.4 million in damages. The final EF-5 tornado of the outbreak occured in Rainsville, GA. This one also ripped through two states, AL & GA, along its over 36-mile-long path. In one spot, there was a school bus that was completely torn apart with only the bottom remaining. The final EF-5 of the outbreak resulted in 25 fatalities & >$10 million (2011 USD) in damages.
- Date: April 25-28, 2011
- Tornado Count: 360
- Deaths: 324
- Injuries: 3,100+
