Tornado outbreak sequence of May 4–10, 1933

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 Beaty Swamp and Bethsaida. 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.

+ Confirmed tornadoes – Thursday, May 4, 1933F#LocationCounty / ParishStateTime (UTC)Path lengthMax. (Maximum) widthSummary F2Calico RockIzardAR21:00–?6 mile (10 km)Tornado destroyed a few barns. Losses totaled $500. FUEudoraChicotAR22:00–?3 mile (5 km)Large tornado destroyed several structures. Losses totaled $50,000. F2BoscoOuachitaLA23:00–?Tornado struck a plantation, unroofing the main residence. Six tenant homes were destroyed as well. Four people were injured and losses totaled $25,000. F3E of TallulahMadisonLA00:30–?10 mile (16 km)1 death – Tornado destroyed both large and small homes. 15 people were injured and losses totaled $35,000. F2Valley ParkIssaquena, SharkeyMS02:00–?5 mile (8 km)Tornado destroyed a church and four homes.

+ Confirmed tornadoes – Friday, May 5, 1933F#LocationCounty / ParishStateTime (UTC)Path lengthMax. (Maximum) widthSummary F3E of Edna to DemopolisChoctaw, Sumter, MarengoAL06:20–?35 mile (56 km)4 deaths – Tornado destroyed 50 homes as it passed through Demopolis, rendering 200 people homeless. 27 people were injured and losses totaled $60,000. F4S of Brent to HelenaBibb, ShelbyAL08:30–?35 mile (56 km)21 deaths – Tornado obliterated small homes near Centerville and Coalmont. 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. FUJeffersonAL09:00–?One person was injured and losses totaled $4,000. F3Northern Anderson to Belton to BarksdaleAnderson, Greenville, LaurensSC19:30–?45 mile (72 km)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.

+ Confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, May 6, 1933F#LocationCounty / ParishStateTime (UTC)Path lengthMax. (Maximum) widthSummary F2W of StarkvilleOktibbehaMS07:30–?One home was destroyed. Three people were injured and losses totaled $3,000. F2LeeMS07:30–?Three small homes were destroyed. Five people were injured and losses totaled $6,000.

+ Confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, May 7, 1933F#LocationCounty / ParishStateTime (UTC)Path lengthMax. (Maximum) widthSummary F2S of Remsen to SE of AltonPlymouth, SiouxIA19:45–?12 mile (19 km)Tornado struck seven farmsteads, three of which lost their barns. One person was injured and losses totaled $20,000. F2NE of SearcyWhiteAR21:30–?Short lived tornado, attended by hail, destroyed barns. F2N of Harrisburg to TrumannPoinsettAR22:00–?16 mile (26 km)Tornado destroyed a school and nine homes in the Shady Grove community. At least two—possibly three—people were injured and losses totaled $25,000. F2W of BarnumWebsterIA22:00–?Tornado destroyed a CBS type barn. F2N of Bondurant to MaxwellPolk, StoryIA22:00–?12 mile (19 km)Widely visible tornado destroyed a couple of barns. A farmstead sustained the third tornado strike in its history. Losses totaled $3,000. F2Eagle GroveWrightIA22:30–?2 mile (3 km)Tornado destroyed a chicken coop, a toolshed, and a barn. Losses totaled $5,000. FULu VerneHumboldt, KossuthIA23:30–?Losses totaled $500. F3S of Covington to CharlestonTiptonTN23:45–?15 mile (24 km)6 deaths – Tornado destroyed or damaged approximately 105 agricultural outbuildings and homes. 20 people were injured and losses totaled $75,000. F2N of Somers to N of BarnumCalhoun, WebsterIA12 mile (19 km)Tornado destroyed a few barns. Losses totaled $4,000. F2E of Fort DodgeWebsterIAOne barn was destroyed.

+ Confirmed tornadoes – Monday, May 8, 1933F#LocationCounty / ParishStateTime (UTC)Path lengthMax. (Maximum) widthSummary FUSycamoreTurnerGATornado reported. FUCloverdaleDadeGATornado reported.

Around midnight local time, a violent tornado touched down approximately 6 mile (10 km) north of Livingston and headed northeast, paralleling Big Eagle Creek and passing northwest of Bethsaida. The tornado subsequently struck the small settlement of Beaty Swamp, 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 , 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 West Fork before dissipating near Byrdstown. In Pickett County the tornado caused only minor damage to properties and trees. Estimates of the path length vary from Heavy rainfall, suggestive of a high precipitation supercell, immediately preceded the tornado. Another violent tornado did not hit the area until April 3, 1974.