How does southeast Kentucky’s fatal ‘mile-wide’ tornado compare to 1974 Super Outbreak?

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Southeast Kentucky experienced one of the strongest and deadliest tornadoes in over 50 years on Friday, May 16.

Friday’s storms took the lives of 19 across Pulaski, Laurel, and Russell Counties. The last time Pulaski County suffered a tornado fatality was on April 3, 1974. This storm was part of what would become known as the 1974 Super Outbreak.

The “Super Outbreak” targeted a 13-state stretch of the U.S., reaching from Alabama to Michigan. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storm holds numerous tornado-related records to date, including the most EF5 tornadoes in a single outbreak and the second most tornadoes produced in a single day.

It’s remembered as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. The NWS reported that 335 were killed across the nation and over 6,000 were injured.

The storm reportedly produced 148 tornadoes, 30 of which were EF4 and EF5.

“I remember this day well. The worst tornado in Madison County went through the area of Cottonburg and headed on towards Richmond. Near Cottonburg, we heard reports of people hurt and help was needed to open the roads, so we headed there from our home near Kirksville,” David Hagan wrote. “When we finally got there, one family had spotted the tornado and left their house to get in their car to escape the storm. They never made it. They had managed to reach the car and get the doors open, but the tornado got them before they could get inside. The dome light was still on. That memory has stuck with me all these years.”

The most destructive was an EF5 that hit Brandenburg, killing 31 and injuring 257.

“The racket was terrifying, and everything in the house, as well as the house itself, was shaking violently. At one point, I swear, the roof lifted up, and you could see outside between the top of the wall and the ceiling,” Juia Ross, who was a young girl at the time in Brandenburg, recalled. “I turned around, sat down, and put Fifi [the family dog] on my lap. I rocked her back and forth and said, ‘We’re gonna die, Fifi, we’re gonna die.’ I wonder sometimes if I missed my moment. In that moment, I was ready to go wherever we go from here. I’m not sure I’ll ever be that ready again. The house settled back down, the noise left, and it began to rain. I remember looking up at the ceiling and wondering how what I saw could be true, and if it was true, how it could have gone back together the way it had.”

The fatal Pulaski County tornado was determined to be an EF3, according to the NWS.

“Neighbors and family members came to our basement to seek shelter, and we lay on a mattress most of the night listening to the radio and wondering what would be next. The rain and hail pelted our house, and thunder and lightning so intense it sounded as if it was right on top of us,” Daniel Wilson, who reportedly lived near the Pulaski County line, said.

What hit Pulaski County in 2025 is comparable to the 1974 Super Outbreak, peaking at EF3 with wind speeds of 140 miles per hour near Eli. But this was just the beginning of what would become an over 55-mile track as the storm grew stronger.

Once the tornado reached Laurel County, it had grown to an EF4 with maximum wind speeds of 170 miles per hour. According to the NWS, it’s also believed the tornado was nearly a mile wide at its widest.

Laurel County experienced the most fatalities from Friday’s storms, taking the lives of 17.

For the southeastern Kentucky area, the 2025 tornado is now considered the strongest and deadliest storm in the area’s history, surpassing what the region experienced in 1974.