Tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998
Radar shot of the Birmingham supercell with the hook echo tornado signature located near Oak Grove. | |
| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | April 6–9, 1998 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 62 |
| Max. rating1 | F5 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | ~4 days |
| Fatalities | 41 fatalities, 250+ injuries |
| Damage | $344.645 million (1998 USD) |
| Areas affected | Midwestern and Eastern United States |
Part of tornado outbreaks of 1998 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado | |
The tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998 was a large tornado outbreak that started on April 6 across the Great Plains and ended on April 9 across the Carolinas and Georgia, in 1998. A total of 62 tornadoes touched down from the Middle Atlantic States to the Midwestern United States and Texas. The outbreak is infamous for producing a deadly F5 that tore through the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama, killing 32 people. The Birmingham tornado was one of only two F5 tornadoes that year. The other hit in Lawrence County, Tennessee, on April 16, as part of the same outbreak as the Nashville F3 tornado. This tornado outbreak was responsible for 41 deaths: 7 in Georgia and 34 in Alabama.