Digging Into the Historic Significance of Super Outbreaks
Super outbreaks are the most extreme type of tornado outbreak. Learn more about them here…
We all know about tornado outbreaks, and i have even covered them several times on this blog. There is one type of tornado outbreaks that stands out from the rest, super outbreaks. They are so extreme, that there were only two, yes TWO, ever recorded. In this post, learn about their significance, how they happen, and more.
This post is all about the super outbreak.
Super Outbreak
What is a Super Tornado Outbreak?
The first section of this post will be about the meaning of a “super outbreak”. There is no official definition for this outbreak. However, it can be roughly defined as a very destructive outbreak. This outbreak produces a record-breaking amount of (violent) tornadoes. It is hard to get an exact meaning since there has only been two. Other outbreaks technically fall into that definition, but their meteorological significance isn’t high enough.
Super Outbreak Formation
A super outbreak doesn’t form that much differently than other outbreaks, just the ingredients are in massive proportions. For example, these outbreaks can have atmospheric energy levels (CAPE) way above the thresholds for “extreme”. If you look above, a large section of the continental U.S. is at risk for an outbreak because of a cold front moving into a warm sector. That is actually the first out of the two known super outbreaks.
1974 Super Outbreak
The 1974 super outbreak was the first of the two occurrences of this rare outbreak. This outbreak produced 148 confirmed tornadoes, including 23 F4s and 7 F5s, the most F5s out of ANY outbreak. The tornadoes stretched from Southern Mississippi to Canada. The Xenia F5 tornado was one of two tornadoes ever rated as an F6! The other tornado was the 1970 Lubbock F5. Both of these F6 ratings were preliminary. An F6 is “inconceivable”. 335 people died and about $4 billion in damages were recorded (adjusted for inflation). This is often considered the worse of the two outbreaks in tornado intensity.
2011 Super Outbreak
The last section of this post will be about the 2011 Super Outbreak. The 2011 Super Outbreak is the largest in tornado count out of the two events, having 367 tornadoes. But unlike the outbreak in 1974, this tornado outbreak happened over the span of 4 days from April 25-28. The largest twister count out of those days is 219, setting a daily record. There were less violent tornadoes though, with 11 EF4s and 4 EF5s. This outbreak resulted in 348 deaths (24 non-tornadic), and $10.2 billion in damages, making it the costliest tornado event ever recorded.
