Today marks the 40th anniversary of the 1974 SuperOutbreak of tornadoes, a series of devastating convectivestorms that hit 13 U.S. states over a period of 24 hours.

RMS estimates that a recurrence of this event today could resultin insured losses of between $7 to $8 billion.

Click through for a look at the destruction wrought on this darkday in '74, and some facts about the severe loss of lives andproperty.

Photos provided by AP Photos

This incredible photo taken by Fred Stewart, an employee of aXenia hospital, shows a tornado funnel rolling through thesoutheast Pine Crest Garden section of Xenia, Ohio, on April 3,1974. The tornado caused millions of dollars in damage and killedat least 300 people and injured scores of others.

Among the ruins and battered possessions of a home lies awrecked dog house bearing a “Xenia Lives” sticker distributed by alocal church on Easter Sunday. The day's tornadoes caused thesecond-highest recorded number of fatalities in such an event (morethan 300, surpassed only just by the number of deaths caused by the2011 Super Outbreak).

The aftermath: Xenia, Ohio, April 4, 1974. According to RMS, theSuper Outbreak ranks second in recorded history for the number oftornadoes to occur in a single outbreak (148 in total).

Cars and debris lay strewn over Xenia, Ohio after a tornadoripped through the area the previous day. The Super Outbreak ranksfirst in recorded history for the number of F4 and F5 tornadoes ina single outbreak with 30 total recorded, with seven F5s and 23F4s.

A boy removes clothing and shoes from a house that has lost itsroof after a tornado touched down on April 3, 1974 near Decatur,Ill. At one point during the outbreak, 15 tornadoes were on theground at the same time across the outbreak area.

School buses rest on April 5, 1974 upon the remains of thehigh school where they were tossed in Xenia, Ohio, by a tornadothat went through the town. If you added up all of the paths of allof the tornadoes that occurred, the total path length would bearound 2,500 miles.