Several destructive tornadoes struck the Southeastern United States, primarily along and east of the Lower Mississippi Valley, on February 13, 1952.
Another intense tornado affected the Mississippi embayment near Manila, Arkansas, injuring five people, and a pair of deadly F3s in Alabama claimed a combined two lives.
These lows moved in tandem into Oklahoma on February 13 and triggered a severe weather outbreak in the Southeastern United States starting that morning.
[3][nb 2] 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.
The tornado then moved into Franklin County and obliterated parts of Beech Hill where a church, school, store, and dwelling were all destroyed.
After passing through another rural, forested area, the tornado roared into the north side of Decherd, where more heavy destruction and another fatality occurred.