Two Monster Tornadoes of May 27, 1973

Multiple Tornadoes of May 27, 1973

The final couple of weeks of the month of May 1973 proved to be extremely active for severe weather across a large portion of the United States. Starting on May 22nd and 23rd, tornadoes dropped out of the sky across portions of Texas. On the 24th, an F4 developed in Oklahoma, killing 2. By the 26th, two more F4s were accounted for in Oklahoma and Arkansas. But, It was the 27th which proved to be the deadliest for Alabama. Though six tornadoes developed around Alabama on the 27th, including 4 F2s, it was the F3 northeast of Birmingham and the long-track supercell which dropped an F4 through the towns of Greensboro and Brent, which did the most damage. These are accounts of those two killer storms on the evening of May 27, 1973.

F3 of Tarrant and Centerpoint

F4 of Greensboro and Brent

If you have accounts of these events you would like to share, or even a few photos, please email us at
sr-bmx.webmaster@noaa.gov.