As the cluster of thunderstorms was crossing much of the Ohio Valley and northern Indiana, additional strong storms developed much further south just east of the Mississippi River into the Tennessee Valley and Mississippi. A large festival tent at St. GertrudeChurch on Miami Avenue at Shawnee Run Road in Madeira wasblown down, temporarily trapping 100 people inside. ActressSharon Tate and four others were brutally murdered in Los Angeles by followers of Charles Manson. Audio will be available later today. With winds up to 70 miles per hour, the F4 tornado caused major structural damage throughout the city that night, including at the fairgrounds, churches, and businesses like Groceryland (now Grocerylan), which was flattened. Several F2 and F3 tornadoes had struck portions of the Ohio Valley and the South in a separate, earlier outbreak on April 1 and 2, which included three killer tornadoes in Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee. "The house was crashing in and the winds were picking me off the bed and I believed I was about to die," she said. By May, hed signed amendments to the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to include tornado recovery. The tornado quickly became violent as it moved into Meade County, producing F4 damage as it passed north of Irvington, sweeping away numerous homes in this rural area. Photograph courtesy of United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. From April34, 1974, there were 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario. There was a reported F5 tornado touchdown. >> PHOTOS: The 1974 Xenia tornado The Montgomery/Blue Ash tornado tore through Ohio on April 9, 1999. 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. Aftermath The tornado caused an estimated $100 million in damage in Xenia's Greene County. One passenger did survive the fall. Many trees and power lines were downed leaving more than 7,000 people without electricity. Damage was reported in Cullman from the storm before it lifted. . [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. Firefighters discovered them in the wreckage the next morning. [1] However, that tornado may itself have been composed of three individual tornadoes. 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. Were a tough group, says Xenia Mayor Sarah Mays. Multiple locations were found. Many homes were badly damaged or destroyed as the tornado passed through residential areas of the city, and a school was destroyed as well. SEE how the Enhanced Fujita Scale, adopted in 2007, measures tornadoes. Heard on All Things Considered. One home that was swept away sustained total collapse of a poured concrete walk-out basement wall. [51][52], While tornadoes were causing devastation in the northwesternmost corner of the state, another supercell crossing the Mississippi-Alabama state line produced another violent tornado that touched down in Pickens County before heading northeast for nearly 2 hours towards the Jasper area causing major damage to its downtown as the F4 storm struck. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an entire state was under a tornado warning.[13]. The 1974 Super Outbreak was the first tornado outbreak in recorded history to produce more than 100 tornadoes in under a 24-hour period, a feat that was not repeated globally until the 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak[4] and in the United States until the 2011 Super Outbreak. In addition to the direct fatalities, two Ohio Air National Guardsmen deployed for disaster assistance were killed on April 17 when a fire swept through their temporary barracks in a furniture store. A Fairborn medic assists after a tornado hit Xenia in 2000. [6] It formed at around 8:50pm CDT near the Mississippi-Alabama border, north of the town of Vernon, striking the Monterey Trailer Park, resulting in major damage at that location. Briefing Service centers were opened at two National Guard Armories, one in Dalton and the other in Calhoun, as well as a church in Dawsonville. The tornado exhibited a multiple-vortex structure, which was described as a "pair of funnels coming together". how the Enhanced Fujita Scale, adopted in 2007, measures tornadoes. On April 3, 1974 49 years ago much of Xenia was leveled by a powerful F5 tornado. Ground scouring occurred in this area, as reddish soil was dug up and plastered against trees. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards from residences and mangled, and a few were completely wrapped around trees. Most of the images have been matched to lat/lon coordinates. The memorial in downtown Xenia lists 34 deaths, in honor of the two Guardsmen. But nonetheless, the Shawnee were right. The tornado finally dissipated south of Basham, destroying 546 structures, killing 28 people, and injuring 332 others. 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. [7] However, thunderstorm activity, for the moment, remained mostly elevated in nature. The Guin Tornado traveled over 79.5 miles (127.9km), from the town of Vernon, Alabama, to just south of the small town of Basham, before lifting just after 10:30pm CDT. 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. 1964-6-23 - F1 Tornado: 1.9 mi. [34] A news photographer reported that the tornado "left no grass" as it crossed KY 79 in this area, and canceled checks from near Irvington were later found in Ohio. The tornado then struck Talma, destroying most of the town, including a fastening plant and the schoolhouse. And while Xenia's death toll was the single largest, it accounted. . "It lasted about a minute and then I looked and everything was gone the roof, the walls, everything. Major damage in the Northfield neighborhood of Louisville, including a vehicle partially wrapped around a tree. There were a record 30 F4-F5 tornadoes in six states in a 24-hour period (April 3-4). Please Contact Us. [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. All three storms swept through communities leaving a deadly and destructive wake. When it crossed the river and blasted into Sayler Park, virtually all communication was shut down. Twenty-five years ago this weekend, the town of Xenia, Ohio was crushed by . [44] A WHAS-TV cameraman also filmed the tornado when it passed just east of the Central Business District of Louisville. 0:00. I guess because we shoot looters, said a member of the Indian Hill Rangers police department. [36] Several tombstones in the Cap Anderson cemetery were toppled and broken, and some were displaced a small distance. Winds topped 418 kilometers (260 miles) an hour. Losses were estimated at $10 million to $15 million ($69 million to $103 million in today's dollars). A massive re-planting effort was undertaken by the community in the aftermath of the tornado. Fifty-one years ago, on Aug. 9, 1969, a tornado struck near Galbraith and Reading roads in Reading, leaving four dead and more than 200 injured. A total of 319 were killed in 148 tornadoes from April 3 through April 4 and 5,484 were injured. The gym and other large areas were converted into classrooms. Remembering the deadly Xenia tornado on its 45th anniversary Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen on state active duty assisted in the cleanup efforts in Xenia, Ohio after an April 3, 1974, tornado. At the same time, a third supercell was crossing the state line near the track of the previous two. [6] This was the second state to have been hit by more than two F5 tornadoes during the 1974 Super Outbreak. [39][40] At a further inland area of Sayler Park, the tornado maintained F5 intensity as numerous homes were swept away at a hilly area near a lake, with only bare slabs remaining. Aaron obliged in the first inning and the crowd and the city came back to life. [70] President Nixon approved federal aid for Fayette, Greenbriar, Raleigh, and Wyoming Countieson April11. 3. [6] The tornado first moved across the north edge of Hardinsburg, inflicting F3 damage to homes at that location. THE INITIAL TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN GREENE COUNTY WAS ON A GOLF COURSE APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE GREENE COUNTY AIRPORT. In Madison alone, where seven of the fatalities took place, about 300 homes were destroyed. [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. Butwhy has thisdeadly tornado not been remembered? Notably, it would prompt the creation of a disaster coordinating agency. No warning was sounded; the National Weather Service and public safety agencies had no reason to believe the incoming storm posed a threat to the community, officials said. We are now partners with the Storm Front Freaks. Yet this forgotten tornado is rarely mentioned, overshadowed by twisters that devastated Xenia, Ohio, in 1974 and Blue Ash and Montgomery in 1999. More than 100 were injured. Editor's note: On April 3 and 4, 1974, a series of deadly tornadoes struck the Midwest, causing destruction and havoc and the loss of more than 300 lives. A total of 23 people were killed in Guin.[54][63]. Afterwards, the tornado weakened before dissipating in Clark County near South Vienna, traveling a little over 30 miles (48km). The same system that spawned the Xenia tornado first came through Greater Cincinnati. 1966-10-9 - F2 Tornado: 5.4 mi. Hundreds of trees were down, completely blocking every campus road. Tornado Distance; 1. Most of the damage and injuries occurred from Hartwell to Reading. The tornado eventually dissipated near Jacobs Mountain. 1989-4-25 - F2 Tornado: 0.3 mi. It continued on a path of 32 miles through Xenia and Wilberforce. The Upper Krust restaurant at 172 Reading Road had been destroyed in a fire in March 1969, and had re-opened just a few weeks before it was reduced to rubble a second time. However, the 46.5 miles (74.8km) section of the original path, from Decatur to Hytop, was determined later to be from the F3 tornado listed below. Newscenter 7 meteorologist Jamie Simpson will conduct a live chat about the 1974 Xenia tornado at 12:30 p.m. today at . Today marks the 49th anniversary of the Xenia Tornados, an event that wreaked havoc in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky on April 3, 1974. Moriah, where the tornado rapidly intensified and swept away homes and hurled fleeing vehicles, and where a family of six were killed. The Tri-State may not be part of "Tornado Alley," but springtime tornadoes and severe storms almost seem like a regular occurrence. Xenia Ohio 1974. 5. The tornado also brushed the community of China causing additional fatalities.[6][17][19]. The experience prompted the NWS to adopt the F0F5 Fujita scale as a standard for describing the severity of a tornado; its since been updated as the Enhanced Fujita Scale. "I don't know what is was. The fireman on duty at the time took shelter underneath a nearby bridge, and survived without injury. About 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, 1969, a tornado formed near the Williamsburg Apartments in Hartwell, then touched down at Galbraith and Reading near Interstate 75 at 7:20 p.m. [7] Meanwhile, a new band of scattered thunderstorms developed at 15:00 UTC over eastern Arkansas and Missouri; over the next four hours, this band became the focus for several intense supercells, starting in eastern Illinois and southern Indiana. It would be rebuilt again by January 1970. [6][19] The same storm would later produce tornadoes in the Louisville metro area.[6]. Copyright 2016 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. [44], WHAS-AM broke away from its regular programming shortly before the tornado struck Louisville and was on-air live with John Burke, the chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Louisville office at Standiford Field when the tornado first descended. 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. [14] Some tornado myths were soundly debunked (not necessarily for the first time) by tornado activity during the outbreak. 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. All I remember the place was all glass. A total of 35 were killed 33 the day of the tornado and two who died later as a result of the storm. A total of 92 homes and 40 businesses were destroyed and 194 homes suffered major damage, officials said. One of the few consolations from the tornado was that a century-old bronze bell that belonged to the White County Courthouse and served as timekeeper was found intact despite being thrown a great distance. The Montgomery/Blue Ash tornado tore through Ohio on April 9, 1999. Thirty-three died in the Xenia storm, with countless injuries. Aerial photos of the Xenia debris fields and Cincinnatians snapshots of the Sayler Park funnel cloud helped scientists unravel what happened in the chaos. [54] Trees in town were debarked, ground scouring occurred, and vehicles were thrown and mangled as well. Here are 3 of the biggest tornadoes to come through Ohio: April 11, 1965, was the second most dangerous single day for tornadoes in Ohio, (the first happening in 1924). Reportedly, only one of the citys five sirens sounded due to power outages. Cathrine Wilson recalls that someone told her mother a bad storm was coming. But neither she nor Bayless faults their predecessors. The damage became more intense continuous as the tornado entered Tuscaloosa County. Smithville 2011. Over 1,000 houses, 200 mobile homes and numerous other outbuildings, automobiles, power lines and trees were completely demolished or heavily damaged. At the time the damage was estimated at $100 million, which would be closer to a half billion or more in todays dollars.
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