Early-May 1933 tornado outbreak sequence

The Early-May 1933 tornado outbreak sequence[nb 1][nb 2] was a severe weather event that occurred from May 4–10, 1933, and produced at least 27 tornadoes. Among them was the Beaty Swamps tornado, a violent F4 that struck shortly after midnight CST on May 11, 1933, in Overton County, Tennessee, killing 35 people and devastating the unincorporated community of Beatty Swamps (also known as Bethsaida). The storm was the second-deadliest tornado in the history of Middle Tennessee, even though it struck a sparsely populated, rural area.[2] There were $100,000 in damages from the tornado ($1.96 million in 2018 when adjusted for inflation). The community of Beaty Swamps ceased to exist and does not appear on any current maps. The only landmark that alludes to the former community is Beaty Swamp Road, whichs intersects Highway 111 in the northeast corner of Overton County.

Early-May 1933 tornado outbreak sequence
FormedMay 4, 1933
DissipatedMay 10, 1933
Tornadoes confirmed≥ 27
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Casualties128 fatalities
Areas affectedMidwestern United States, Southeastern United States
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

Tornado table
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
? ? ? 16 8 3 0 ≥ 27
Confirmed tornadoes during the tornado outbreak of May 4–10, 1933[nb 3]
F# Location County / Parish State Date Start Time (UTC) Path length Summary
F2 N of Calico Rock Izard AR May 4 2100 6 miles (9.7 km) Two barns were destroyed.[3]
F2 S of Monroe Ouachita LA May 4 2300 Unknown A tornado destroyed a plantation home and six tenant homes near Bosco.[3]
F3 E of Tallulah Madison LA May 4 0030 10 miles (16 km) 1 death — A tornado destroyed both large and small homes as it passed 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Tallulah.[3]
F2 SE of Valley Park Issaquena, Sharkey MS May 4 0200 5 miles (8.0 km) Four homes and a church were destroyed.[3]
F3 NW of Pennington to Demopolis Choctaw, Sumter, Marengo AL May 5 0620 35 miles (56 km) 4 deaths — 50 homes were destroyed, three people killed, and 200 people left homeless as a tornado hit Demopolis. One other death occurred near Edna in Choctaw County.[3]
F4 S of Brent to N of Pelham Bibb, Shelby AL May 5 0830 35 miles (56 km) 21 deaths — Homes were leveled near Brent, southeast of Centreville, and near Coalmont. 14 people died and 150 were injured as the tornado destroyed most of Helena.[3]
F3 N of Anderson to SE of Fountain Inn Anderson, Greenville, Laurens SC May 5 1930 45 miles (72 km) 19 deaths — 11 deaths occurred in frail homes in Belton. Four more deaths were in Greenville County and one more near Barksdale. Losses were at least $300,000, mainly to mills near Belton.[3]
F2 W of Starkville Oktibbeha MS May 6 0730 Unknown One home was destroyed.[3]
F2 Southern Lee County Lee MS May 6 0730 Unknown Three small homes were destroyed.[3]
F2 S of Remsen to SE of Alton Plymouth, Sioux IA May 7 1945 12 miles (19 km) A tornado hit farms, destroying barns on three of them and doing lesser damage to other farms.[3]
F2 NE of Searcy White AR May 7 2130 Unknown A short-lived tornado destroyed barns.[3]
F2 N of Harrisburg to Trumann area Poinsett AR May 7 2200 16 miles (26 km) A tornado destroyed nine homes and a school in the Shady Grove community.[3]
F2 W of Barnum Webster IA May 7 2200 Unknown A barn built upon cement blocks was destroyed.[3]
F2 N of Bondurant to Maxwell area Polk, Story IA May 7 2200 12 miles (19 km) A tornado destroyed two barns. One farm reportedly was hit for the third time in its history.[3]
F2 Eagle Grove area Wright IA May 7 2230 2 miles (3.2 km) A tornado destroyed "a barn, a machine shed, and a brooder house."[3]
F2 N of Somers to N of Barnum Calhoun, Webster IA May 7 Unknown 12 miles (19 km) A tornado destroyed two barns along its path.[3]
F2 E of Fort Dodge Webster IA May 7 Unknown Unknown One barn was destroyed.[3]
F3 S of Atoka to SE of Covington Tipton TN May 7 2345 15 miles (24 km) 6 deaths — Roughly 30 homes and 75 farm structures were reported damaged or destroyed. Four deaths occurred in a single home near Charleston. Two more deaths were in another home south of Covington.[3]
F2 SW of Tipton Tipton IN May 9 0900 1 mile (1.6 km) A large barn was destroyed.[3]
F2 Lapel to Anderson area Madison IN May 9 0930 4 miles (6.4 km) A tornado caused $40,000 roof and rain-related damage.[3]
F3 S of Versailles Ripley IN May 9 2215 7 miles (11 km) Four homes and many barns were destroyed.[3]
F3 SE of Dillsboro Ohio IN May 9 2240 5 miles (8.0 km) Three homes were destroyed, one of which had seven rooms and was nearly leveled. The tornado hit near Woods Ridge and South Fork.[3]
F3 N of Dale to SW of Norris City Hamilton, White IL May 9 0000 8 miles (13 km) 2 deaths — A "huge" tornado left only one wall standing on a homesite and killed two children east of Dale. It also destroyed other homes.[3]
F4 SW of Tompkinsville to NE of Russell Springs Monroe, Cumberland, Adair, Russell KY May 9 0230 60 miles (97 km) 36 deaths — A major tornado family killed 18 people and destroyed 60 homes in Tompkinsville. It may have lifted in Cumberland County before reforming in Adair County. 14 more people died near Russell Springs as the tornado was said to be 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. It was the third-deadliest Kentucky tornado on record following one in 1917 (65 deaths) and another in 1890 (76 deaths). The 1974 Brandenburg tornado (28 deaths in-state) was the fourth deadliest.[3] At least 87 people were injured, probably many more.[4]
F2 Columbia area Metcalfe, Adair KY May 9 0230 15 miles (24 km) 2 deaths — Five homes were destroyed and 12 others damaged in Columbia.[3] Twelve people were injured.[4]
F3 N of Lebanon Wilson TN May 9 0430 5 miles (8.0 km) 2 deaths — Three homes were leveled and "swept away"[3] with two people killed. Their bodies were moved 300 yd (900 ft). Other residents survived in underground storm shelters that had been built after tornadoes on March 14.[3]
F4 N of Livingston to S of Byrdstown Overton, Pickett TN May 9 0615 20 miles (32 km) 35 deaths — Every home in Beaty Swamps was destroyed with little debris left. 33 of the deaths occurred there, including an entire family of nine.[5] "Much of the area was swept clean of debris,"[3] a reaper-binder was thrown 500 yards (1,500 ft), and cars were moved hundreds of feet.[5] Another violent tornado did not hit the area until April 3, 1974.

See also

References
  1. Schneider, Russell S.; Harold E. Brooks; Joseph T. Schaefer. "Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875-2003)" (PDF). Norman, Oklahoma: Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  2. Rose, Mark A. (December 2010). "Assorted Historical Weather Events in Middle Tennessee". National Weather Service. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  3. Grazulis, Significant, pp. 850-851
  4. "Tornadoes of May 9, 1933". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  5. Neal, Samuel K. "20 Dead, Many Hurt in Overton Tornado". Archived from the original on May 23, 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

Bibliography
  • Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
  • — (2003). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Notes
  1. An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) modern records that began in 1950, is defined as, at most, two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[1]
  2. All damage totals are in 1933 United States dollars unless otherwise noted.
  3. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.

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