Seven F5 tornadoes were confirmed in the 1974 Super Outbreak. They occurred during the outbreak’s most violent period on April 3, 1974, when a succession of powerful supercells crossed the Midwest and Deep South.
The seven included tornadoes in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, along with three in Alabama; one long-track tornado crossed parts of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Notable F5 events struck Xenia, Ohio; Brandenburg, Kentucky; Guin, Alabama; and the Tanner area of Alabama. The outbreak also produced 23 F4 tornadoes, for 30 violent F4-or-F5 tornadoes in total.
F5 was the highest category on the original Fujita scale, which rated tornado intensity from observed damage. It did not mean that every tornado’s wind speed had been directly measured. The United States adopted the Enhanced Fujita scale in 2007, but historical tornadoes such as those from 1974 retain their original F ratings. Thus, these storms are described as F5s, not EF5s.