User:Cyclonebiskit/1974extra

Non-tornadic effects
On April 2–3, a blizzard on the backside of the storm impacted much of eastern Colorado. Schools and highways were closed and utilities were damaged. Precipitation started off as rain in the afternoon and transitioned to heavy, wet snow by the evening. Greeley saw 1.45 in of rain and 6.5 in of snow. Kersey observed 2.3 in of rain. Rural areas saw up to 12 in of snow. Eleven accidents occurred because of the rain. Blizzard conditions spread into Nebraska where accumulations up to 12 in were piled into snow drifts 7 ft high by 60 mph winds. Snowfall reached 10 to 12 in in southwestern Scotts Bluff County. Schools across the entire state and many highways were closed. Power outages were widespread and numerous highway accidents led to five fatalities. Near-blizzard impacted portions of northwestern Kansas, rendering travel extremely hazardous. Strong winds caused a wall of an under-construction building in Haysville to collapse.
 * Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas

Severe thunderstorms on April 2 brought winds up to 85 mph. One person was killed in Durant when his mobile home was rolled. A 318,000 volt power line near Weatherford was damaged, cutting power to the town.
 * Oklahoma

In Sangamon County, Illinois, winds up to 54 mph were measured at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport and there were unverified reports of 2.5 in diameter hail. Minor wind damage was reported in Fayette County.
 * Illinois

Severe thunderstorms on April 4 brought 1 to 3 in of rain to tornado-stricken areas of northwest Georgia. Flash floods were considered a major risk in the region's mountainous terrain. Forty people were evacuated from Cedartown when the Big Cedar Creek overflowed and inundated 100 homes.
 * Georgia

One person was killed near Cincinnati from a downburst as the F5 Sayler Park tornado moved nearby.
 * Ohio

One home was destroyed in Monroe. Flash floods from heavy rain washed out many roads in Sanilac and St. Clair counties. About 3 in of rain fell in 2 hours, overwhelming the flood capacity of many culverts; at least 76 culverts and small bridges, some 50 years old, were damaged or destroyed in Sanilac County at a cost of $15,000–20,000. A sinkhole occurred along M-46. A train was derailed when a bridge was washed away. A mobile home was knocked from its foundation in Port Huron where winds reached 46 mph. Freeway underpasses were flooded in Metro Detroit.
 * Michigan

In the Upper Peninsula, 4 to 12 in of snow fell west of Negaunee and Crystal Falls. One person died from a heart attack while shoveling snow. Freezing rain east of these areas to Munising and Spalding caused numerous traffic accidents. An ice jam along the north shore of Crystal Lake in Benzie County damaged several homes.

Hailstones of 2 to 3 in in diameter fell in Columbus, Mississippi. North of Columbus, one home had its roof torn off by strong winds. Near Clayton in Winston County, severe wind damage occurred throughout a 2 mi swath. Several farm buildings and homes were damaged and one trailer was destroyed. Many power lines were snapped.
 * Mississippi

In Alderson, West Virginia, "tornado-like winds" caused extensive damage to homes and businesses primarily along WV 3, some of which had their roof torn off. Winds were measured up to 62 mph in Charleston. Many trees and power lines were downed leaving more than 7,000 people without electricity.
 * West Virginia

Widespread wind damage occurred in many counties across western Virginia as a squall line moved through in the morning hours of April 4. Five people were injured near Blacksburg in Montgomery County when three mobile homes were rolled up to 50 ft and destroyed by high winds. A tractor-trailer was blown off I-10 at Weyers Cave. Lightning struck a radio tower in Radford, temporarily knocking WRAD-FM offline. One person was killed and another was injured near Hayter in Washington County when their mobile home was destroyed. Approximately 5,000 Appalachian Power customers lost electricity. In Bath County, the winds downed hundreds of trees, snapped power poles, and tore the roof off of a church. A woman and her three children were evacuated from their home as the Laurel Creek topped its banks. Minor flooding occurred in Grayson County.
 * Virginia

In Upstate New York, several days of warm weather and rain precipitated snow melt flooding. Many roads were closed across St. Lawrence County and culverts were washed away. Recently installed culverts were unable to handle the volume of water and backed up, resulting in portions of Northwood flooding. A marina along the Salmon River was destroyed.
 * New York

As thunderstorms moved across southern New York in the morning hours of April 4, lightning across Long Island, New York City, and Westchester County caused power outages. One bolt set a barn ablaze and damaged four homes.

The Trout River overtopped its banks along Quebec Route 138 between the Trout River Border Crossing at the US-Canada border to Huntingdon.
 * Canada

Aftermath
Alabama Governor George C. Wallace described the disaster as "one of the most tragic times in our history."
 * Alabama
 * The Birmingham Post-Herald


 * Illinois
 * M4.5 earthquake 4 hours after

The Salvation Army set up 11 feeding centers by April 4 with 1,200 people fed in Kennard alone. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare provided $700,000 for immediate medical aid by April 6. 2000000 gal of gasoline was provided to the Indiana energy office for distribution.
 * Indiana


 * Mitchell Tribune
 * The Times Mail
 * The Daily Journal
 * Muncie Evening Press
 * Muncie Evening Press
 * The Daily Journal
 * The Daily Reporter

The National Guard was deployed to Xenia to patrol streets and prevent looting. The Red Cross dispatched 800 workers and nurses.
 * Ohio
 * The Galion Inquirer

On April 5, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter declared 13 counties as disaster areas and put in a request to President Nixon for federal aid, citing damage in excess of $15.5 million. Service centers were opened at two National Guard Armories, one in Dalton and the other in Calhoun, as well as a church in Dawsonville. The National Guard provided four-wheel drive vehicles for search and rescue efforts.
 * Georgia


 * The Atlanta Constitution
 * The Macon Telegraph
 * The Macon Telegraph

The Tennessee Valley Authority's power grid suffered significant damage, with 58 transmission towers (carrying 500,000 volt cables), 39 smaller steel towers, and numerous utility poles damaged or destroyed. Temporary repairs were conducted quickly, with the majority of affected areas having regained power by April 6. Long-term repairs were expected to take months due to a steel shortage. Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) pledged to provide rural cooperatives with federal aid who normally would not be able to receive it.
 * Tennessee

West Virginia Governor Moore declared 14 counties as disaster areas by April 5 and requested the assistance of the National Guard. President Nixon approved federal aid for Fayette, Greenbriar, Raleigh, and Wyoming Countieson April 11. Total damage from the tornadoes and thunderstorms in the state reached $3,655,000, more than half of which was incurred by Raleigh County. The West Virginia State Department of Highways provided two water trucks. The local Red Cross provided $3,000 to victims in Fayette County and assisted residents with acquiring supplies and dealing with medical bills. Sightseers traveling to look at the damage clogged up roadways. The Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (later FEMA) indicated that trailers refurbished after the 1972 Buffalo Creek flood would be used to house displaced persons.
 * West Virginia

By April 5, President Nixon declared Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee as federal disaster areas. Georgia was added to the declarations the following day. The Federal Disaster Administration planned to establish one-stop shop relief centers across affected states by April 6. Nixon ordered James T. Lynn, the secretary of urban housing and developing, deploy all available resources and personally travel to impacted areas to expedite disaster recovery. Nixon also directed Federal Insurance Administrator George Bernstein to work with insurance companies to ensure maximum efficiency. The Internal Revenue Service issued a 60-day postponement of federal income tax filing for tornado victims.
 * Federal

Federal agencies set up mobile homes and shelters for 3,000 people in Xenia, Ohio, by April 6.

On April 10, voting on the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 was expedited and passed unanimously in the United States Senate in direct response to the scale of damage from the tornado outbreak. The primary purpose of the act was to overhaul how disasters are handled on a federal level and to make acquiring federal aid easier. Notably, it would prompt the creation of a disaster coordinating agency. President Nixon signed it into federal law on May 22.

The Government of Canada offered personnel and medical supplies to the United States on April 8, which was declined as the United States Government assessed it would be capable of handling relief on its own.


 * The Macon Telegraph
 * The Macon News
 * Ledger-Enquirer

NOAA director Robert White praised the local office meteorologists for their warning coordination, stating "quite a few lives were saved as a result of the warnings."
 * NOAA

The outbreak solidified NOAA's implementation of the Fujita Scale as standard practice. Monetary support from the government dramatically increased for detection operations. This support eventually enabled lead time for tornado warnings increasing from near-zero to 12–14 minutes.


 * The Columbus Ledger