1977 Birmingham tornado facts for kids

The 1977 Birmingham tornado was a violent tornado that moved through the northern suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama during the afternoon of April 4, 1977.

The Birmingham tornado

Beginning a few miles north of Birmingham, it passed through Jefferson County, causing F5 damage in Smithfield. The tornado caused 22 deaths and 125 injuries as well as $25 million in damage. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed. Two trucks were thrown into the air. Daniel Payne College suffered extensive damage, and it was closed permanently.

Other tornadoes

Other tornadoes broke out in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and North Carolina. One tornado killed one person in Georgia, while another person was killed east of Birmingham. The severe weather on April 4 contributed to the crash of an Southern Airways plane, killing 70 people.

The tornado was the second tornado to affect Birmingham since 1956. The next tornado struck in 1998 and killed 32 people, and in 2011, a tornado killed 64 people.