From May 4–10, 1933, a tornado outbreak sequence produced at least 33 tornadoes. Among them was the Beaty Swamp tornado, a violent F4 that struck shortly after midnight CST on May 11, 1933, in Overton County, Tennessee, killing 35 people, injuring 150 others, and devastating the unincorporated communities of and . The storm was the second-deadliest tornado in the history of Middle Tennessee, even though it struck a sparsely populated, rural area. The community of Beaty Swamp ceased to exist and does not appear on any current maps. The only landmark that alludes to the former community is Beaty Swamp Road, which intersects Highway 111 in the northeast corner of Overton County. The severe weather event that generated the tornado also produced others, including long-tracked, intense tornadoes or tornado families that devastated portions of Alabama, South Carolina, and Kentucky, killing a combined total of 76 people.[nb 1][nb 2][nb 3]
Tornado struck a plantation, unroofing the main residence. Six tenant homes were destroyed as well. Four people were injured and losses totaled $25,000.[11][12]
4 deaths — Tornado destroyed 50 homes as it passed through Demopolis, rendering 200 people homeless. 27 people were injured and losses totaled $60,000.[11]
21 deaths — Tornado obliterated small homes near Centerville and . 14 of the fatalities occurred in Helena, along with 150 injuries, as the town was devastated. In all, 200 people were injured and losses totaled $250,000.[11]
FU
Unknown
Jefferson
AL
09:00–?
Unknown
100 yards (91 m)
One person was injured and losses totaled $4,000.[12]
19 deaths — Tornado struck mills in Belton, destroying poorly-built homes nearby. Other homes were destroyed in Greenville County. 100 people were injured and losses totaled $350,000. Most of the damages were to mills.[11]
May 6 event[]
Confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, May 6, 1933[nb 4][nb 5]
Tornado destroyed three homes, one of which it nearly leveled, a seven-room structure that sustained borderline-F4 damage. Three people were injured.[13]
2 deaths — Large tornado destroyed three homes, one of which was left with only a single wall. Three people were injured and losses totaled $5,000.[13][12]
2 deaths — Three homes were obliterated and scattered. Bodies were found 300 yd (900 ft) away. Other residents survived in underground storm shelters that had been built after tornadoes on March 14. Six people were injured and losses totaled $25,000.[13]
May 10 event[]
Confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, May 10, 1933[nb 4][nb 5]
A tornado family killed 16 people and destroyed 60 homes in Tompkinsville, striking the southern portion of the city and devastating African-American communities. Bodies were found 100 yd (91 m) away, and the swath of damage was 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km) wide. Farther northeast, the tornado killed two more people, at . Across Monroe County 50 injuries were reported. The tornado may have weakened as it headed northeastward, causing two injuries in Cumberland County and two more deaths near Cundiff in Adair County. Afterward, the tornado restrengthened and widened to 1 mi (1.6 km) as it neared Russell Springs. The tornado passed within 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) of downtown Russell Springs, leveling 100 or more homes on the southeastern edge of town. At least 14 and possibly as many as 20 fatalities occurred in or near Russell Springs. Outside Russell Springs, chickens were reportedly left featherless. At least 87 people were injured and losses totaled $245,000. As many as 100 injuries may have occurred in Russell County alone. The tornado was the third-deadliest Kentucky tornado on record, behind one in 1917, with 65 deaths, and another in 1890, with 76 deaths. The 1974 tornado in Brandenburg was the fourth deadliest, with 28 deaths.[15][14][13]
Around midnight local time, a violent tornado touched down approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) north of Livingston and headed northeast, paralleling Big Eagle Creek and passing northwest of . The tornado subsequently struck the small settlement of , obliterating every home and causing 33 fatalities there, including an entire family of nine. Little debris was left in the vicinity, a reaper-binder was thrown 500 yd (1,500 ft), and cars were moved hundreds of feet. Almost everyone in Beaty Swamp was either injured or killed. After devastating Beaty Swamp, the tornado continued through Bethsaida and past before dissipating near Byrdstown. In Pickett County the tornado caused only minor damage to properties and trees. Estimates of the path length vary from 11 to 20 mi (18 to 32 km). Heavy rainfall, suggestive of a high-precipitation supercell, immediately preceded the tornado. Another violent tornado did not hit the area until April 3, 1974.[13][16][17][18][19][20]
^An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[1]
^The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[2][3] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[4]Canada utilized the old scale until April 1, 2013;[5] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[6]
^Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[7] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[8] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[9]
^Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
^Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
^"1933 Tornado". Josephine's Journal. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
^Ramsey, Tami P. (ed.). "1933 Tornado". OVERTON COUNTY TNGenWeb Project. RootsWeb. Archived from the original on 6 October 2003. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN1-879362-03-1.
