Tornadoes of 1977
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1977, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
Synopsis
Numbers for 1977 were below average, both in terms of number of tornadoes and number of fatalities; however, there were over 700 injuries related to tornadoes.January
5 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in January.February
17 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in February.March
64 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in March.March 28
A small, widespread tornado outbreak caused an F2 tornado to strike the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Another F2 struck the downtown area of Lafayette, Louisiana. An F3 struck 5 to 10 houses northwest of Camden, Mississippi. Overall, there were only 10 injures, but no fatalities.April
88 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. in April.April 4–5
A violent F5 tornado struck the Smithfield, Alabama area in Northern Birmingham, sweeping away many homes and killing 22 people. The damage in Birmingham was so severe that when Ted Fujita flew over the damage, he toyed with rating the tornado an F6. It was the most severe tornado of a large outbreak of 21 tornadoes that extended from Mississippi to North Carolina, with several strong tornadoes documented. An F3 tornado also struck the Lindale, Georgia area, where 12 trailers were completely swept away off their foundations, killing one person. The storm system also caused the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 in Georgia, which killed 72 and injured 22.April 16 (China)
Three separate tornadoes touched down in Xiaogan, Huangpi, and Huanggang in Hubei province, causing catastrophic damage and many fatalities. Along the tornados’ path, villages were allegedly “obliterated” and concrete structures were destroyed. Severe damage were observed in Huangpi, where fuel tanks weighing 2,500 kilograms were picked up and thrown over 200 meters. At least 103 deaths were attributed to the Huanggang tornado alone, which leveled a high school auditorium leading to the death of dozens of students inside, making it the second deadliest tornado recorded in China since 1950.In total across Hubei, at least 118 deaths and over 1100 injuries were attributed to the tornadoes.