The milewide tornado entered in the southwest quadrant of the city and did not leave the ground until it had demolished hundreds. In ohio, 12 tornadoes touched down, killing 36 people. Xenia tornado of 1974 xenia, ohio weather, xenia ohio. Select delivery location the wrath of god super outbreak. Filmed by my dad on his trusty ol super 8 movie camera. Residents and families who lived through the 1974 xenia tornado, one of the worst in u.
Over the span of 18 hours, some 148 tornadoes touched down, ravaging the ohio and tennessee valleys. I asked my mother a number of times if that was a tornado. The tornado that struck xenia had maximum winds of three hundred miles per hour. Highlights famous books and authors famous left handed people, xenia. I happen to own an mp3 file i made of a cassette tape recording which is 3. The tornado injured 1,150 and destroyed approximately 1,400 buildings about half of those in xenia. After the 1974 tornado outbreak, the city purchased a system of federal signal thunderbolt sirens for warning. Photo courtesy of national weather service forecast office, wilmington, ohio. Search the internet for april 3, 1974 xenia tornado memorial. Visible are shattered houses, scattered debris, streets, and a few vehicles. The xenia, ohio, storm turned out to be the most deadly of the tornadoes to strike. Home movie of the aftermath of the 1974 xenia, ohio tornado. Photos arranged, edited, and concept vision and selection of song by jacob lenhoff category. You hear the train and what it sounds like to me is that the nails are being pulled out of the woodhomer ramby.
The 1974 super outbreak was the secondlargest tornado outbreak on record for a single. The devastating tornado outbreak of 1974 by mark levine. The above pictures show damage to pine trees with relative intensity increasing from left to right. The 1974 super outbreak was one of the destructive tornado outbreaks ever known in united states history. A bright sun late this morning reflected on the tornado spawned miseries of xenia, literally laying bare a communities soul still in shock but rallying back from its worstever tragedy more than 1,000 injured, and the death toll now mounting steadily already 32 known fatalities. The xenia tornado was recorded on film by one resident, and its sound was recorded on tape by a.
I remember the events in xenia very well, my brother was dispatched there as part of the ohio national guard. Nine schools, nine churches and almost 180 businesses were destroyed in the f5 tornado, which claimed more than 30 lives. Apr 04, 2017 its no secret meteorologist mike bettes has a passion for weather, but hes also very passionate about tornadoes. This page has been viewed 2,517 times since then and 178 times this year. A 140page book, first published in march 1992, can be obtained here at. Personal experiences during the april 3, 1974 super outbreak. Xenia s tornado was the single most deadly of this outbreak. In fact, it is home to one of the strongest, if not the strongest, ever recorded, during the superoutbreak of 74, killing many, and leveling over half the town. Many notable tornadoes occurred, such as the xenia, ohio tornado which was an f5 tornado that killed 34 people and destroyed a large portion of the town. Includes information on the immediate aftermath and recovery efforts as well as more long term recovery plans. The above pictures show damage to pine trees with relative intensity increasing from left. My father drove me from our home in worthington, ohio to see the aftermath.
Blink films, a company based in london, england, is in the early planning stages on a project for the new pbs series well meet again that is aimed at featuring the city of xenia and the. Hank aaron was playing a game against the reds in cincy on that day, and apparently saw the xenia tornado on his drive to the park. Tornado at xenia, april 3, 1974 riedel lynn barbara on. It bulldozed a path more than a halfmile wide, destroying or damaging more.
Galloway log house xenia tornado, april 3, 1974 by. Xenia, ohio f5 tornado april 3, 1974 the day of the. On april 3, 1974 an f5 tornado tore through the heart of xenia, killing. This week marks the 43rd anniversary of the 1974 super outbreak, which included the xenia tornado that tore through and catastrophically damaged xenia, ohio. Xenia tornado 4 minutes audio horror with video clips almost 4 minutes of terrifying audio, mixed in with photos and footage of the tornado that struck xenia, oh on april also a brief view of the hoo. To get the real effect of the audio use a set of earphones and turn the sound up it makes you feel like your are there. Resulting in 34 deaths, the xenia tornado was the deadliest of all tornadoes from this outbreak and remains among the top 10 costliest u.
Blink films seeks survivors from 1974 tornado that struck xenia. This is the list of tornadoes confirmed that occurred during the recordbreaking 1974 super outbreak tornado event that occurred on april 34, 1974 across the eastern half of. Blink films seeks survivors from 1974 tornado that struck. Xenia tornado 4 minutes audio horror with video clips severe weather. First hand accounts of the tornado that hit xenia, ohio on april 3rd, 1974 and.
Xenia, in southwest ohio near dayton, became wellknown to the nation that year. Bit of trivia, which i think i learned from reading the book referenced below. As were most of its industries and most of its schools. But its life and history are preserved in ohio town. The book is also factually wrong in at least one respect. As the f5 tornado passes over the center of town, it lifts and overturns 7 of the 47 railroad cars of a a moving penn central freight are lifted and blown over. Apr 27, 2012 we live just a few miles from xenia, ohio, which i have learned sort of functions like a tornado magnet. The first picture in the book actually from the 1974 super outbreak is that of the sayler park, oh tornado. The book concentrates primarily on limestone county, alabama.
The tornado that struck xenia was just one of at least 148 tornados that occurred in the south and midwest in a twentyfour period. The 1974 super outbreak, as its known, was a tornado outbreak that occurred april 34, 1974. Remembering the 1974 xenia, ohio tornado weatherbug. This tornado caused three deaths and 210 injuries in xenia. Xenia, ohio has a long history of severe weather, namely tornadoes. There was a red barn restaurant in xenia before the 1974 tornado. All but about two supermarkets were leveled, making food supplies questionable. It is not a book for people interested in the technical andor historic details of the 1974 super outbreak. This was the worst outbreak of tornados recorded in the twentieth century. At the time of the events of this book i was 12 and living in ohio. According to records, the largest tornado in the xenia area was an f5 in 1974 that caused 1150 injuries and 36 deaths. If there is no street address for a park or it is not known, it will not appear below. Select a picture to view it full size or to give it a thumbs up to vote for it to receive a spot in the peoples choice spotlight. First hand accounts of the tornado that hit xenia, ohio on april 3rd, 1974 and destroyed portions of wilberforce university and central state university.
It bulldozed a path more than a halfmile wide, destroying or damaging more than 1,400 buildings, including 1,200 homes, dozens of. Same as the original video, but with some am radio broadcasts recorded to compact cassette. My aunt, uncle and cousins were caught in the xenia tornado. This film covered multiple states from alabama to ohio. Apr 3, 2014 on april 3, 1974 an f5 tornado tore through the heart of xenia, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. On april 3, 1974 an f5 tornado tore through the heart of xenia, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. List of tornadoes in the 1974 super outbreak wikipedia. Several other strong f2 to f4 tornadoes also touched down during the super outbreak across southeast indiana, northern kentucky, and southwest ohio. Ted fujita and a team of colleagues undertook a 10month study of the 1974 super outbreak. May 11, 2008 xenia ohio f5 tornado footage from april 1974. I was always told a tornado sounds like a thousand freight trains, but when i watched this storm, it was dead silent. During the 2000 tornado strike, the lack of backup power silenced the sirens, so the city purchased four federal signal 2001srnb series sirens with battery backup. Xenia, ohio april 3, 1974 vegetation damage is a fairly reliable method of comparing one tornado to another. Im actually in the beginning processes of writing a book about my experience.
Xenia tornado april 3, 1974 side b on april 3, 1974, at 4. Parts that include the xenia tornado starts at approximately 10 minutes in. The most famous of those, however, was the f5 tornado which struck as part of a supercell of 148 tornadoes across the midwest on april 3, 1974. After the 1974 tornado outbreak, the city purchased a system of five federal signal thunderbolt sirens for warning. The tornado superoutbreak of april 34, 1974, resulted in 148 tornadoes in states.
Xenia, popularly known as the land of the crazy winds due to tornadoes is city in ohio. Along with discovering much about tornadoes which was not known before, such as the downburst and the microburst, and assessing damage to surrounding structures, the xenia tornado was determined to be the worst of the 148 storms. Ohio national guardsmen at work clearing debris in xenia after the 1974 tornado. Xenia tornado 431974 4 minutes audio horror with video clips. The xenia tornado caused the most deaths of any tornado in the outbreak.
Photo gallery search all albums april 3, 1974 tornado aftermath city administration building project city administration groundbreaking fall foliage photo contest fire division historic xenia municipal court xenia railroad xenia station. The audio was recorded from the corner of church st and west st. There is a large cast of characters, and it is often difficult to keep them straight. We asked mike about the deadly tornado, the impacts from it, and how. For anyone who wants to know about the 1974 super tornado outbreak and xenia, the town hardest hit, this book is a mustread. Xenia, ohio april 3, 1974, is engraved in the memories of nearly all residents of the city of xenia in greene county. When i mentioned about the city of xenia recuperating from some devastating disasters i was referring to tornadoes. The devastating tornado outbreak of 1974 as want to read. With headphones, crackling lightning can be heard between the announcers voices. Recently, the greene county library and the city of xenia had the bumper stickers reprinted to help raise money for survivors of the moore, okla. Im sure that time and progress would have changed things slowly even without that landmark event, but that one afternoon did more than nearly 30 years of change has done since. One of the most violent tornadoes in american history, and one of the most terrifying. April 3, 1974 tornado aftermath back to all albums back to thumbnails.
On april 3, 1974, an f5 category tornado struck xenia, ohio. While this book wasnt the best historical novel ive ever read, it was decent in telling the story of limestone alabama and the devastating tornado outbreak of the early 1970s. Xenia, ohio tornado photos i have shared my story with a women who wrote a book about it and it was also published in the dayton daily news with my dads photos william r. Wednesday, april 3rd, 1974 a badweather day that will never be forgotten. The point of this is that xenia has changed dramatically since that april day in 1974 when the tornado blew xenia onto the map. It bulldozed a path more than a halfmile wide, destroying or damaging more t. And ladies of the club, helen hooven santmyers tribute to her hometown of xenia, ohio, is even more valuable in light of the 1974 tornado that destroyed much of the community. Club x xenia tornado memorial and assume no responsibility for any loss or delay resulting from such use.
Nine schools, nine churches and almost 180 businesses were destroyed in the. Twister conjures echoes of 1974 disaster a tornado destroyed much of the town of xenia in april 1974. Xenia, ohio, begins to rebuild after super outbreak of tornadoes on april 3. Todays tornado watch is the direct descendant of xenia. During the 2000 tornado strike, the lack of backup power silenced the sirens, so the city purchased federal signal 2001srn series sirens with battery backup. Tornado risk is calculated from the destruction path that has. This page originally submitted on march 24, 2012, by william fischer, jr. Xenia was almost destroyed by a very strong tornado on april 3, 1974, during a outbreak of deadly tornadoes from alabama to ontario, canada. Evangelical united methodist church xenia, fairborn free will baptist church, faith in christ lutheran church. The tornado superoutbreak of april 34, 1974 resulted in 148 tornadoes in states. Lucky for us, it lifted up at the last minute and yes they do sound like freight trains. Across the united states, 315 people were killed, more than 6,000 injured, and 27,000 families suffered property losses.
It was released in 1978 and the subject content is about 1974. Apr 03, 2018 home movie of the aftermath of the 1974 xenia, ohio tornado. April 3, 1974 xenia tornado memorial historical marker. We live just a few miles from xenia, ohio, which i have learned sort of functions like a tornadomagnet. Xenia has a history of severe storm activity which also made the shawnee indians refer to the area as the place of the devil wind or the land of the crazy winds according to local legend. After the 1974 tornado, the aldine printing company produced the xenia lives bumper stickers. View the destruction of the 1974 xenia tornado from the air. Return to xenia, ohio tornado photos caleb hutslar my aunt, uncle and cousins were caught in the xenia tornado. Photo gallery select a photo album to view photos or a slideshow.
But xenias tremendous tornado left a city and environment reeling, certainly for days, but likely months and even years. Xenia april 3 was the 43rd anniversary of the 1974 xenia tornado. Xenia had nothing to compare it with, not since founding in 1803. It bulldozed a path more than a halfmile wide, destroying or damaging more than 1,400 buildings, including 1,200 homes, dozens of businesses, 10 churches, and several schools. Evangelical united methodist churchxenia, fairborn free will baptist church, faith in christ lutheran church. Hunter rays professional photography his 2nd profession delco moraine in dayton his 1st. Xenia, ohio simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Meteorologist rich wirdzek discusses 1974 xenia tornado details. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. May 07, 2017 xenia april 3 was the 43rd anniversary of the 1974 xenia tornado. Apr 19, 2011 on april 3, 1974 an f5 tornado tore through the heart of xenia, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. One of the things that gave me doubt was the sound, or lack thereof.