 Mississippi and Alabama were the two states hardest hit by this outbreak . Alabama saw the most twisters of any state with 13 , but Mississippi saw the largest and deadliest tornado . An F4 tornado that tore through Pike , Lincoln , Lawrence , and Simpson Counties at 8 : 14 a.m. killed nine people and injured over 200 ; severely damaging 38 blocks in the town of McComb . The 39 tornadoes that touched down on January 10 marked the most active tornadic day in January in U.S. history at that time . The 52 tornadoes that touched down during January 1975 also set a U.S. record for the most tornadoes during that month . Both of these records were eventually broken in January of 1999 . 
