It is probably the least-known of the F5 tornadoes in the outbreak as it traveled through rural areas in southern Indiana northwest of Louisville, traversing about 65 miles (105km) through parts of Perry and Harrison Counties. [67], West Virginia Governor Moore declared 14 counties as disaster areas by April5 and requested the assistance of the National Guard. The Super Outbreak set in motion a host of changes to weather reporting, including outdoor warning sirens, emergency power backup, and wider use of radar at NWS stations. This is a shot of the tornado taken by H.V. The outbreak caused roughly $843 million USD (~equivalent to $4.58 billion in 2019) in damage, with more than $600 million (~equivalent to $3.3 billion in 2019) occurring in the United States. [48] The tornado crossed into Morgan County, causing additional destruction in rural areas near Hillsboro and Trinity. The Enquirer reported thousands of sightseers drove through the devastated neighborhoods, but there were few reports of looting. The Brandenburg tornado, which produced F5 damage and took 31 lives, touched down in Breckinridge County around 3:25pm CDT and followed a 32-mile (51km) path. [55], While rescue efforts were underway to look for people under the destroyed structures, few were aware that another violent tornado would strike the area. Huntsville was affected shortly before 11:00 pm EDT by a strong F3 tornado produced by the same thunderstorm that produced the Guin tornado. One home that was swept away sustained total collapse of a poured concrete walk-out basement wall. [12] During the peak of the outbreak, a staggering 16 tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously. CINCINNATI Charles Mara of Sayler Park said he would never forget the terrifying sight of the April 3, 1974 tornado bearing down on his house. Were a tough group, says Xenia Mayor Sarah Mays. [6][25], About an hour after the Brandenburg tornado, the same supercell spawned an F4 tornado that formed in the southwest part of Jefferson County near Kosmosdale. These storms formed the second of three convective bands to generate tornadoes. They were thrown 30 yards almost to the curb. [70] The local Red Cross provided $3,000 to victims in Fayette County and assisted residents with acquiring supplies and dealing with medical bills. Eight tornadoes touched down, including the longest-tracked single tornado of the outbreak: the 121mi (195km) F4 Monticello tornado. Nearly half of the town's population of 25,000 were left homeless. The tornado exhibited a multiple-vortex structure, which was described as a "pair of funnels coming together". The tornado approaching the city of Madison. She remembered the sound like a freight train and their house shaking. The Sayler Park tornado was among a series of tornadoes that earlier struck portions of southern Indiana from north of Brandenburg, Kentucky, into southwest Ohio. F5 damage was observed near the community of Depauw, where numerous farms were leveled. "It lasted about a minute and then I looked and everything was gone the roof, the walls, everything. "I don't know what is was. The . The F-5 storm that destroyed or damaged thousands of homes, businesses and schools was responsible for 33 deaths, and hundreds more injured. Numerous businesses in downtown Xenia were heavily damaged or destroyed, and several people were killed at the A&W Root Beer stand as the building was flattened. Morgan Elementary School in northern Harrison County Indiana was directly hit by the tornado. Xenias nightmare landscape has long been cleaned up, but Mays notes that there are still reminders of the struggle to revive the city. Zelphia Taylor, 45, and her husband, Norman, were in a car that was flipped several times by high winds at Reading and Galbraith. [74][75] The primary purpose of the act was to overhaul how disasters are handled on a federal level and to make acquiring federal aid easier. A total of 19 people were killed in this tornado. A man injured at Lawson's Trailer Park in the first tornado was taken to a church in the area, which collapsed in the second tornado, killing him.[6]. [28] It also struck portions of six other counties, with the hardest hit being White County and its town of Monticello. [69] The National Guard provided four-wheel drive vehicles for search and rescue efforts. Please try another search. Im genuinely proud of my community, she says. [6] The tornado first struck the Guin Mobile Home Plant as it entered the town, completely obliterating the structure. NWS surveyors noted that a pickup truck in this area was carried a half block over the roofs of five homes before being smashed to the ground. Forste died in the rubble of her house as Gorth and others tried to rescue her. Bridgecreek 1999. Possibly one of the most powerful tornadoes to ever hit Ohio happened in Xenia in 1974. Mobile homes in Delmar were obliterated, with their frames wrapped around trees. Tornado Anniversary. More than 500 homes. A violent tornado devastated the community of Xenia, Ohio on April 3, 1974. These aerial photographs were provided to NWS Wilmington, Ohio by Attila Kilinc and are used with permission. ** The video in the player above details information regarding the deadly tornado in a 2020 newscast ** XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) On Wednesday, April 3, 1974, a dangerous tornado struck the Miami I just never seen anything like it," Cooper said afterward. The damage became more intense continuous as the tornado entered Tuscaloosa County. That included an F5 with 300-mph winds that practically destroyed the nearby town of Xenia, Ohio, and killed 33 people and injured 1,150 there. Xenia Tornado rare footage - YouTube 0:00 / 0:09 Xenia Tornado rare footage 677 views May 20, 2021 Rare footage of the 1974 Xenia, Ohio tornado taken from an old news clip. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. The Shawnee Indians who occupied many states in the Ohio River Valley including Ohio long ago referred to the area that would become Xenia as the land of the devil wind or land of the crazy wind, depending on which source you trust. But thanks to early warning from an MP picket line on Rideout Road (now Research Park Boulevard (SR 255)), there were only three, relatively minor, injuries. Hope,[46] and then tracked into Mt. Over 1,000 houses, 200 mobile homes and numerous other outbuildings, automobiles, power lines and trees were completely demolished or heavily damaged. how the Enhanced Fujita Scale, adopted in 2007, measures tornadoes. Thirty-one people have died locally in tornadoes and severe storms since 1968. The station remained on the air delivering weather bulletins and storm-related information until well into the early morning hours of April 4. [47] In one case, the destruction was so complete that a witness reported that the largest recognizable objects among scattered debris from an obliterated house were some bed-springs. Earlier in the day, the famous Xenia, Ohio tornado was also an F5 in this outbreak (32 killed). According to most records (including the presented map of north Indiana), this tornado formed just southwest of Otterbein in northeast Warren County in west central Indiana, and ended in LaGrange County just northwest of Valentine a total distance of about 121 miles (195km). The storm demonstrated the critical need for research funding research that ultimately led to the development of Doppler radar. Xenia Ohio 1974. When the tornado struck on April 3, 1974, many of the Brandenburg residents at that time had also experienced a major flood of the Ohio River that affected the area in 1937 as well as numerous other communities along the river, including Louisville and Paducah. The F2 tornado spared lives this time but left reportedly $1.22 million of damage to clean up. Smithville 2011. Damage was reported in Cullman from the storm before it lifted. Most of the fatalities occurred in and around the Tanner area. Yet this "forgotten tornado" is rarely. Homes swept away and scattered across fields near Hazel Green, Alabama, as a result of the second F5 tornado to impact the area. Slowly,the neighborhoods recovered and rebuilt. [72] Sightseers traveling to look at the damage clogged up roadways. The fierce 100-123 mile per hour winds damaged 106 houses and 10 businesses, leaving many without power. HUD arrived to organize housing, and President Nixon made an unannounced visit just days after the tragedy. [23][24][25] About 1,400 buildings (roughly half of the town) were heavily damaged or destroyed. They did the best they could, says Bayless. Lightning was lighting up all over the place.". A large festival tent at St. GertrudeChurch on Miami Avenue at Shawnee Run Road in Madeira wasblown down, temporarily trapping 100 people inside. [52] The tornado continued northeastward through rural portions of Madison County before crossing into Tennessee, where major damage and 6 deaths occurred in Franklin and Lincoln Counties before the tornado dissipated in Coffee County. Then disaster struck again on Sept. 20, 2000. She had five cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. It was pure evil," she said. One of the buildings destroyed was a publications center for the Nuclear Weapons Training School on the Arsenal. When it crossed the river and blasted into Sayler Park, virtually all communication was shut down. Audio will be available later today. Remains of the Guin Mobile Home Plant, which was completely flattened. 6. It began as a moderate-sized tornado, then intensified while moving northeast at about 50 mph (80 km/h). Weather Service documented 148 tornados in 24 hours, labeling the phenomenon The Super Outbreak. Most people simply remember the catastrophe by the name of the southwestern Ohio town that saw the worst of it: the Xenia Tornado. Laurie Arshonsky and her husband Stephen were asleep when a tornado hit their Montgomery Woods home before dawn in 1999. T. [49] Crossing the Tennessee River into Limestone County as a large waterspout, the tornado flattened a -milewide swath of trees on the opposite bank. A caboose was knocked off the tracks into a field. The town's downtown area was also heavily damaged, with many brick businesses and two churches completely destroyed. Another funnel cloud formed over Standiford Field Airport, touched down at The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, and destroyed the majority of the horse barns at the center and part of Freedom Hall (a multipurpose arena) before it crossed I-65, scattering several vehicles on that busy expressway. She served as Xenia mayor from 2010 to 2017 and agrees that her community is resilient, but she cautions that a disaster doesnt wipe out divisions. [54] The tornado then became extremely violent as it approached and entered Guin, with multiple areas of F5 damage noted in and around town. When a tornado roars into a populated area, the change is often . [6], Seven F5 tornadoes were observedone each in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, three in Alabama and the final one which crossed through parts of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. "It was pure black. The tornado then crossed Dewart Lake and Lake Wawasee, destroying multiple lakeside homes and trailers. The roof was sheared off of Lakeshore Drive Apartments on Galbraith Road. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [14] Some tornado myths were soundly debunked (not necessarily for the first time) by tornado activity during the outbreak. There were no fatalities there, a blessing that may be attributed in part to the fact that the Xenia disaster had put residents on high alert. [18][19], The tornado that struck the city of Xenia, Ohio stands as the deadliest individual tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, killing 32 people and destroying a significant portion of the town. On April 3, 1974 49 years ago much of Xenia was leveled by a powerful F5 tornado. There were Xenia Lives bumper stickers and a Spirit of 74 Committee assembled to map the way forward, as city leaders made plans for residential and commercial redevelopment. The tornado continued to strengthen south of Berry, and two people were killed near the Walker County line when a church was destroyed. THE INITIAL TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN GREENE COUNTY WAS ON A GOLF COURSE APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE GREENE COUNTY AIRPORT. I tried to catch the doors which were moving out. [citation needed], By 12:00 UTC on April 3, a large-scale trough extended over most of the contiguous United States, with several modest shortwaves rotating around the broad base of the trough. An aerial view of damage caused by the 1989 tornado. [8], While violent tornado activity increased over the warm sector, a third band of convection developed at about 16:00 UTC and extended from near St. Louis into west-central Illinois. These tornadoes tore through Shelby, Preble, Greene and Fairfield counties, just to name a few. Flash floods were considered a major risk in the region's mountainous terrain. Despite the apparent connection between La Nia and two of the largest tornado outbreaks in United States history, no definitive linkage exists between La Nia and this outbreak or tornado activity in general. Three years ago, a tornado outbreak caused unbelievable damage in Trotwood, Northridge, Dayton, and Riverside in Montgomery County before twisters wreaked havoc in the Beavercreek area on Memorial Day. Formula works for Bellbrook in no-hitter at Carroll, Hill sets school record for Beavercreek Sports Digest: April 5, 2025, Transgender woman not guilty of public indecency, County prosecutor presents Victims Rights Week Awards, Children, children advocates honored at breakfast. An F-5 tornado went straight through Xenia, Ohio's downtown. [6] The tornado formed near Bellbrook, Ohio, southwest of Xenia, at about 4:30 pm EDT. That EF3-EF4 tornado struck late on a Friday afternoon. [6] Overall, six were killed by the storm and 86 were injured. By 18:00 UTC, CAPE values in excess of 2,500 J/kg were present over the lower Ohio and the Mississippi Valley. 1 dead, 1 injured following crash into Preble County pond, Highway Patrol serves at One Bistro in Xenia for Everybody Eats Week. We have even seen tornadoes in August (1969) and November (1992). A tornado that struck near Monticello, Indiana was an F4 and had a path length of 121 miles (195km), the longest path length of any tornado for this outbreak. Officials at NOAA and in the National Weather Service forecast offices were expecting a severe weather outbreak on April 3, but not to the extent that ultimately occurred. And while Xenia's death toll was the single largest, it accounted. These factors allowed the northern part of the MCS to accelerate due to efficient ducting, while the southern part slowed as the boundary layer warmed and moistened. There was a reported F5 tornado touchdown. According to reports, the tornado formed near Bellbrook at approximately 4:30 p.m. As it moved to the northeast at about 50 miles per hour, it intensified in strength.
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