50 years later: Louisville remembers the destructive 1974 supercell tornado outbreak

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Fifty years later, Louisville is looking back on the 1974 supercell tornado outbreak that left a path of death and destruction as it tore through more than a dozen states in early April 1974.

To this day, the 1974 tornado outbreak is still considered one of the worst tornado events ever in the U.S. Officials said it included 148 tornadoes in 13 states, and claimed more than 300 lives.

"This was the first tornado outbreak that was so bad that we gave it a special name in the United States: a 'super outbreak,'" said Dr. Greg Forbes, who was in multiple states surveying damage from the storm in 1974. "And there has just been one more since then in 2011 — April 27, 2011 — that was comparable."

Although five decades have passed, Forbes said the 1974 weather event "was then, and remains now, a benchmark by which other outbreaks are judged."

David Reeves sat and listened during a press briefing Wednesday as officials talked about how the storm in 1974 created changes and impacted lives and cities. Reeves worked for the National Weather Service in Louisville in 1974 and said he was on duty when the tornado came through.

"(My) title was lead forecaster," Reeves recalled. "I was responsible for putting out forecasts and warnings."

He said he had no idea just how destructive the storm would prove to be, as reports began coming in from other areas of damage. He said only once did he call his family.

"I picked up the telephone and I called home and I told them to go to the basement," Reeves said. "That's the only time in my career I ever did that. But I knew what it had done in Brandenburg, and it was headed right toward our community."

Home video taken by Louisville resident Francis J. Callan Jr. after the storm shows roofs ripped away, giant trees on their side, and homes damaged beyond repair.

During Wednesday's press briefing, Harvey Sloane, who served as Louisville's mayor during the 1974 outbreak, said the tornado was especially destructive in Cherokee Park where 10,000 trees were downed in 90 seconds.

"And I thought, 'How in the devil are we going to rehabilitate that park?'"

For many now, looking back on that day is evidence of resilience as home have been rebuilt, trees replanted, and stories shared. But for some, life was never the same.

According to Jennifer Narramore, Tornado Talk historian, in Kentucky alone more than 70 people were killed. She said that includes six tornado-related deaths in Louisville.

"It can be so hard to look back. Memories flood our hearts, remembering what was lost. But remembering can also be healing," said Narramore.

Forbes said the 1974 outbreak led to numerous advancements in weather technology and safety, including more funding for research and technology, as well as better communication through the development of an expansive NOAA weather radio network to alert people about severe weather.

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