Killer Tornadoes

Here is a list of killer tornadoes by date and number of fatalities since 1950:


4/9/1953: 2
10/11/1954:  2
3/6/1956:  1
3/6/1961:  1
3/19/1963:  2
4/11/1965:  137
5/15/1968:  1
5/6/1971:  1
4/3/1974:  47
3/12/1976:  2
9/26/1976:  2
10/1/1977:  1
4/11/1979:  1
5/30/1980:  1
6/2/1980:  1
6/7/1980:  1
7/9/1980:  2
3/10/1986:  1
6/2/1990:  8
3/27/1991:  1
4/26/1994:  3
5/13/1995:  3
10/24/2001:  2
5/30/2004:  1
11/6/2005:  24
1/29/2008:  3
6/3/2008:  1

Total:  252

If we split this period in half, we find that 200 of the 252 deaths occurred in the 1950's-1970's with 2 outbreaks being responsible for 184 of them.  While there have been fewer fatalities in the past 30 years, the number of "death days" has not changed significantly.  There were 13 death days from the 50's-70's and 14 death days from the 80's-00's.

Here are some other killer tornadoes prior to 1950 (note this is not a complete list):

3/23/1913:  21
3/11/1917:  24
3/23/1917:  46
3/28/1920:  39 (possibly higher)
4/17/1922:  14
3/18/1925:  74
3/26/1948:  20 
5/21/1949:  14