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25 years ago, Palm Sunday tornado outbreak killed 42

One tornado impacted an Alabama church during Palm Sunday service

ATLANTA — With the threat for tornadoes looming Sunday -- Palm Sunday to some -- this may bring back memories of another severe weather day in 1994.

The March 27, 1994 Palm Sunday outbreak killed 18 people in the state of Georgia alone.

Overall, 42 people from Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina were killed by 29 tornadoes.

Credit: NOAA

North Georgia was the only part of the state impacted by tornadoes. 

The strongest being rated an F-4 (the EF scale wasn't used until 2007) that impacted Floyd, Bartow, Cherokee, and Pickens Counties killing three people and 500,000 chickens.

The most significant storm from the outbreak overall was the F-4 tornado that damaged the Goshen United Methodist Church in eastern Alabama during a Palm Sunday service. The roof of the church collapsed, killing 20 people and injuring 90.

While indeed we may see tornadoes this upcoming Sunday, our ability to predict and detected tornadoes has improved immensely over the last 25 years.

We'll use that technology to keep you safe this weekend during the threat for severe weather. 

RELATED: 4 things you can do now to prepare for severe weather

RELATED: Understanding severe weather: What's a Marginal Risk, what's a Slight Risk? 

 

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