Outbreak Of The Century: 1974 Super Outbreak-- most notable tornadoes and their lasting impacts
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for being here today. As always, here are the several resources I discussed in today’s video. Honestly, there is no shortage of meteorological reanalysis of the 1974 Super Outbreak-these are just the ones that I found to be the most interesting or easy-to-digest.
NOAA Revisit of ‘74 Outbreak Meteorology; [www.spc.noaa.g...](www.spc.noaa.g...)
Dr. Ted Fujita ‘Jumbo Outbreak of April 3, 1979’ : [www.weather.go...](www.weather.go...)
‘New Evidence From April 3’ by Fujita: [swco-ir.tdl.or...](swco-ir.tdl.or...)
Here’s another channel I really love who did a great analysis of the event (MeteoTech): [ • 1974 SUPER OUTBREAK CA... ]( • 1974 SUPER OUTBREAK CA... )
MUSIC:
Harvester by Wicked Cinema: LBOOCWIZGBDM2Z2D
Rampant by CJ-0: RUEYVG6YFLIDILSC
Nuclear Conception by Alice In Winter: LQLOB6TAATBEY1L6
Illusion by Cody Martin: 41WSWBMBZRGWHRXN
Reason Beach by Soulplusmind: PXJ8KYEWKNBCEV6J
Gate of Alfheim by Cody Martin: HYQGR1KSLWSEXVZH
Leatherface by Wicked Cinema: Q7BVHXABNI2XVTJ2
Let Me Out by Cody Martin: ZYEAWMWMCF6QCYQM
Focuser by Neon Beach: RSTNTIUO4TROO34L
Spiraling Into Despair by Adam Saban: SHM0EKVDPIGG5QWT
Each Step by CJ-0: YAYOSS9TUJ2WXTR1
Insidious by Cody Martin : TOMJYPXMD5HYTKND
Things Stranger Than by Falls: B4BZ7EXYQALXBEJZ
Runner by Falls: IIVPULKIHKWWJMID
Dark Hour by Falls: ADGVGSXBSUL6A4QD
Seeking Answers by Cody Martin: 3UGXQAEHWBMZZOVB
About 15 years ago, I worked in Xenia for a couple months during the summer. A few times a week, after work I'd go to the bars for a beer or two. Being the tornado geek I am, I often started conversations with the locals bringing up the Xenia tornado and once they got going, they couldn't stop talking about it. Although it was about 32 years after the event, they described that day and what they went through with such clarity that you would've thought they went through the experience the prior week. Their stories were amazing to listen to. Also in the center of Xenia, there's a memorial with all the names of the people who were killed by the tornado.
Wow ... I was in Columbus .
The Xenia tornado is one of only two tornados to ever be rated as an F6. It (and the other one) were both eventually rated back down to F5 because the F system logically couldn’t go beyond an F5 because the damage at that point was already considered inconceivable and what would even be beyond that sort of damage? But the damage and violence of the Xenia tornado was so severe that it got the consideration to be worse than an F5. I hadn’t even realized that there were tornadoes that ever had been considered to be rated above F5 until a few days ago when I was looking at the Wikipedia page for the Fujita scale.
@@razrv3lc The other one was the 1997 Jarrell TX tornado. The damage seen in the aftermath of the Jarrell tornado was mind-boggling.
There was some debate around the 1999 Moore tornado as well, since the wind speeds were incredible, and close to the treshold of a true F6
alright!!..i did the exact same thing in the early 90's..went to Xenia twice just to hang out and talk to the people that lived thru the storm...while of course tragic, the stories they told were just fascinating. You could just tell they were deeply affected by it all...i could tell it helped them to talk. I also did the same thing in Pass Christian , Mississippi..for the survivors of Hurricane Camille....yes. i am a weather geek to the max..
@MagicPants Thats a lot of misinformation. Fujitas original scale went to F-12.
I like the way the newscasters back then weren’t so focused on the professionalism and used their true emotions to convey how dangerous the situation was, it really would help a lot of us today.
I agree, though I will always argue James Span is perfect. That man can do no wrong. (I'm obviously joking, he's still a man, I just mean he's an incredible meteorologist.)
Fun fact: I was in middle school in 1992 and obsessed with weather. I remember the institution of the NEXRAD radar in northern Indiana (where I lived at the time). There were many retrospectives of the Palm Sunday and Super Outbreak tornados that went along with that. It was a huge deal. On another note, there was still so many misunderstandings about tornadoes in 1974. One of my most re-read books in elementary school was a book published in the early-mid 70s that told people to open all their windows before a tornado hits. We know now that might be one of the worse decisions one can make.
I remember my parents thinking this and also to go under a bridge for safety. What’s funny is both were totally wrong things to do. They meant the best but were miss informed by old news and bad info.
Yes former Xenian here. Going to the lowest level is the best advice. Also going into a small room like a bath room or closet in the center of your home is another spot. One one thing I remember running around Arrowhead subdivision as a kid is that there were many toilets left standing and bathrooms on the slabs left. So I suggest hugging your toilet tight if you don’t have a basement. Ever house I have lived in since then has a basement😘
What fun…
I remember being told to open the windows during a tornado in elementary school in the late 90s. Also we were told to shelter under an overpass if we were caught outside. Granted, I don’t live in tornado alley but we do occasionally get tornados- we just had an EF3 last year. So that misinformation is definitely still floating around.
they thought tornadoes would cause homes to explode due to pressure gradient. I remember all the stupid stuff they used to believe
On one side of my family, with deep roots in Xenia, there was life before, and life after the "Xenia tornado".
We lost our family's generational Victorian style home in the storm that day. With little warning, my aunt, no chance to make it to the cellar, grabbed the dog and held on under the old iron wall sink in the kitchen as the house came apart around her. Good spot, the old, stout construction and plumbing, as was about the only part of the substantially built house uneffected. The hundreds of photos that my family took the day of and following, utterly rocked me. I was just 8 years-old, and couldn't parse them with the house, the area that I knew and visited. The huge century old oak tree in front with tire swing entirely missing. Entire roof and top floor sheared off. Cars wrapped around trees, train cars blown around like leaves in the field. Some of her possessions were found up to 125 miles away.
You'd think with such an impression, I'd run at all speed away from threatening weather, but we all know better. The Xenia tornado was my genesis, my early intro to lifelong weather and storm interest. Just the name Xenia itself, raises the hair on my neck, forever associated...as does that well made, period TV documentary - that narrator's tone and the 50s era radar screen always have me looking toward the basement door and wondering about flashlight batteries...
My aunt, a dedicated elementary school teacher, all 'her kids' deeply affected; many residents of the Arrowood sub. A large extended family to her, of whom she never would forget.
Been waiting for this one. Excellent work. I wish we still possessed those hundreds of photos taken on the ground the day after, up close, devastating yet hopeful. Remarkable to see the lot of family, friends, surrounding communities, government, humanitarians all, already on site to help. As remarkable as the destruction itself, that.
I had no idea Tanner was hit twice. How tragic indeed. 1974 was a year I will never forget. My hometown of Crowley, Louisiana was hitby an F3 tornado on October 24 of that year at 1:10 in the morning. My mom tells the story of tremendous lightning and opening front door and putting one foot on the porch. She realized something wasn't right because of the sound. She closed the door and woke up my dad. She told him it sounded like a train coming up the street. He responded "it's a tornado! Help me get the kids into the hall!" I remember being dragged into the hall and the sound of glass breaking and the roar of the tornado. We were fortunate that the path of the tornado was about a block and a half away. The next morning we walked through the neighborhood and I just couldn't believe the damage. This event sparked my fascination with severe weather. Thanks for another informative and outstanding video Carly!
Tanner was also hit by the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell EF5 (in the afternoon) during the outbreak of April 27, 2011. A nearby community, Harvest, was also hit by the two 1974 Tanner F5s and the 2011 Phil Campbell EF5, as well an F4 tornado in May of 1995, and an EF3 in March of 2012.
I think it's kind of weird how the hackleburg Phil Campbell tornado had the same path as the two tornadoes in 1974 that hit Tanner
It is similar to how the paths of may 1999 and may 2013 Moore Oklahoma tornado path follow and cross over each other
@@johnoliver9979history always tends to repeat itself even with Tornadoes
@@RuanAntunes7 so true
I was 11 years old when Xenia got hit. I grew up in the town that shows up in the radar pic at 20:10, just left of the center circle. To this day, it's still the weirdest and scariest weather I've ever seen, or been in. The clouds (mammatus clouds) were boiling for lack of a better word, and everything was a weird green color. Even the light coming in through the curtains had a green hue to it. Definitely a bad weather day!
Tanner, Alabama was also hit by the 2011 Hackleburg/Phil Campbell EF5 tornado.
I N T E R E S T I N G
Yep, I was there at the time.
That tornado caused my water heater to explode in South Huntsville when the power cut off… I don’t know how or why, but we had to leave town because we had no water for the toddlers
People forgot that the sane path got hit through Harvest and Toney smashing Anderson Hills subdivision in 1995 crossing hwy 53. That part of the county is a serious tornado path. 1974, 1995, and 2011 same path. Wow
@@darrylclaxton2757 an F0 tornado just went through Harvest and Toney about two weeks ago
Thank you for your excellent analysis of the ‘74 Super Outbreak. I grew up in Decatur AL and had family in Tanner. I saw the Catastrophic damage in Tanner the day after when we went to check on family and my grandmother’s house. My college roommate is from Guin. She had a audio recording of the tornado. It was horrifying. 49 years later, this event stays with me. Thank you for addressing the mental impact of such an event.
Nicely done. I lived in Dayton from 85 to 96, and worked at WHIO as one of their meteorologists from 93 to 96. I have a bunch of friends from Xenia, and whenever they would recall that day I could see "that look" in their eyes as they replayed the events in their minds. A terrifying experience to say the least. The town rebuilt, but the memory will live on forever.
I remember you--hope you are weil!
The Guin Alabama F5 is one of the more underrated tornadoes in terms of intensity. As Carly said, this one was different. Had it hit a bigger town, it would be remembered more. I traveled through Guin multiple times in the late 80's early 90's could still see the deforestation pattern in contrast to the foliage around the path. It was a very intense storm that doesn't get talked about a ton.
The Guin tornado was extremely powerful. It actually dislodged and swept away house slabs. I cant imagine how fast the wind speed wouldve been to do that, especially since the tornado moved through the town very quickly.
It wiped out Yampertown and destroyed/shredded a lot of timber in Bankhead Forest 🌳🌳. Satellite 🛰 view showed it looked like an Interstate 🛣 afterward
You could see its path on the satellite photo. Yikes!
Brandenburg and Tanner were arguably stronger.
Thank you SO much for doing this. I was 3 years old when one of the EF 5s went through Saylor Park in Cincinnati. My mom and brothers saw the tornado and so did my late father when he was out in it as a fireman. 2 months before his passing my father was sharing with me his memories of the tornado. This tornado outbreak was infamous in my childhood and is still talked about by older,generations in Cincinnati today.
Thank you for talking about the 1974 Super Outbreak! It was one of the events that kickstarted my special interest/hyperfixation on tornadoes
I got interest in tornadoes when downtown Nashville got hit by a F3 on April 16th 1998.
I too have an hyperfixation / special interest on tornadoes! But it has no logical explanation, as I don't live in an area with tornadoes (I'm not from the US, I'm a European)
I remember that, it picked up a construction crane that they were using in building the Titans stadium and tossed it into the river like a toy. The same system devastated Clarksville
ayeee fellow nd tornado enjoyer !!!! i love ur pfp btw
There's a certain eeriness about the Brandenburg tornado. There are no photos or video of it (the video you showed while you were talking about this storm was from the Louisville tornado). All witnesses said it just looked like a wide wall of black clouds, so it was obviously a wedge, more than likely concealing multi-vortices. The downtown area of Brandenburg never recovered, as all new construction has been on the outskirts of the town. Another odd fact about this storm: there was a funeral home on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River and the town. The ambulance/hearse was never found after the storm. It's suspected that it's been at the bottom of the river all along. Another odd fact: One can dine at a pizza restaurant (Jailhouse Pizza) in the remnants of the Meade County Courthouse. It overlooks the foundations of all the buildings destroyed in the tornado. Every April 3rd, we are on edge, and every so often there's a minor tornado outbreak on the anniversary.
I was a teenager in 1974 and remembered the news coverage of the Outbreak, especially of Xenia. I drove from Pennsylvania to the Cincinnati several times in the mid and late 1990s and I had a bit of chilling feeling whenever I passed to I-71 exit that said " Xenia".
My uncle was in Brandenburg in a pickup truck when the tornado hit. He and my Aunt still live there today and he’s driven us through downtown and recounted his experience multiple times.
Brandenburg was actually the strongest tornado of that day.
I was in the tornado on April 1st, 1974 in Campbellsburg, ky. But no one ever talks about that. I remember that day like it was yesterday..the town was obliterated. My house took a direct hit. If we hadn't been at my grandparents house, we probably wouldn't be here anymore!
Oof. I imagine that the residents of Campbellsburg, KY thought the tornado warning issued for their area was an April Fools prank because it was April Fool's Day.
I used to live right next to Xenia in neighboring Beavercreek, and if you were to visit you can tell that there’s a huge part of the town where the buildings look newer, they are mostly 1 story and significantly lower to the ground in addition to younger trees compared to the rest of the town - the tornado legit decimated most of the city and you can still see it today. People who lived through it still talk about it and we don’t heck around when it comes to drills.
I noticed that too. Cities along state route 68 have mostly Victorian era homes....very nice ones. Xenia is an old town just like Urbana or Springfield but yet no victorian's no nothing. I hear they're gonna tear down the strip mall that Fulmers was in that was built after the 74 tornado. But I can't believe that one old house .....the one that looks roman to me... survived that tornado.
@@garrettkessler1895 yes most of the victorian homes were mowed down right down main st ( st rt 35). And detroit street. 1 street over north of there. North of Detroit Street is an area that has some of the victorian homes still left. But the best were destroyed. I miss those. Xenia will never be the same again
@@debclassyfied9723yep, still some over there on Second St. Not many though.
Thank you for always addressing the psychological injuries (usually life long) with the utmost respect and dignity.
I’ve lived in Limestone County my whole life, and my entire family on my moms side lived in Tanner during this outbreak. I’ve spoke to numerous people including family that have stories about that day, some that would give you chills. It was a very unusual day I’ve been told, the air felt and smelled different. My grandfather was good friends with Spencer Black and Bob Dunnavant. At the time of the first tornado hitting Tanner, in Elkmont where I live now, my grandfather and grandmother on dads side were having a cookout, when the power went out. Out of curiosity they turned on the radio in their station wagon and heard Bob and Bill Dunnavnt on the radio exclaiming for people to take cover. There were no sirens here at that time, really no early warning system, besides tone-alert radio receivers. There was no way to warn those unfortunate people. Shortly after April 3rd, a group of scientists conducted studies, observing topography data as well as recorded meteorological data, and concluded that if an event similar ever occurred again, the most violent tornadoes would take the same path as they did that day. Flash forward to 2011, and they were proven correct in their studies. The Hackleburg tornado took the same exact path through Limestone county, with no more than a 1 mile variation of the April 3rd path. I do personally believe that we will se a similar outbreak in the future, possibly even worse. Things that were unusual as noted by my grandfather are becoming more and more common in todays time when speaking with regard to meteorological phenomena. Excellent video, I thoroughly enjoyed watching!
I was at work on the Purdue campus in West Lafayette, IN when the sirens sounded. I went out with my coworkers to see what was happening and will never forget the color and movement of the clouds. We were probably watching the storm that destroyed the small town of Rainsville, IN.
I grew up in the same county as Xenia (as did my mom) and she told me she could see the tornado from her sun room, she’s been terrified of storms ever since.
Wow, great job covering this, Carly. My coworker from Ohio has told me to look up the Xenia tornado because it's "a big deal to locals," but I had no idea it was considered for F6 damage. What a terrifying and mind-boggling disaster.
I was 14 in 1974 living in central Georgia,and remember the outbreak. I can't hear the name Xenia without thinking of that tornado even after almost 50 years.
Guinn was too.
@@teenageapocalypseusa5368 Guin was a TERRIBLE tornado. Imagine a tornado as violent, destructive, and ferocious as the Smithville tornado happening at night, while also moving at a rapid speed meaning that there was little to no time to take cover. Unfortunately, that's what the residents of Guin Alabama endured on April 3rd, 1974.
I heard from somewhere (cant remember where) that Xenia is the only tornado that pound for pound that can rival Moore 99
@@wolfgamingnetwork3542 this is the only twister to get a preliminary rating of F6. This tornado, Guin 74, Jarrell, smithville 2011, Phil-Campbell Hackleburg 2011, el-Reno 2011(yes 2011, not the 2013 twister. The 2011 EF5 that man handled a 5-9 million ton oil rig) all could have had equal to or greater than speeds than the 99 Moore tornado. Smithville ripped out plumbing from the ground and 74 guin ripped out concrete foundations. Also, all the tornadoes listed above minus Jarrell(not 100% sure how fast the el-Reno Piedmont EF5 was moving) we’re all traveling at 50-70 mph on the ground as well. Bruce Boyd’s video took major balls let me tell you, because as soon as the Xenia tornado finally spooled up, it instantly reached F5 intensity and moved into Xenia quickly at 50-60 mph.
I was in that outbreak. To this day I'm traumatized. I don't even remember much. Neither does my sister.
We lived in the Shelby county Alabama. It was bad there too.
This was the event that pretty much got James Spann started. He was a teenager and a volunteer.
James is our life line here. Dozier Alabama.
The way people talk about indigenous stories is weird. They say “Native American legend” as if it’s this myth or fable that’s meant as symbolism only. Native tribes have their own oral historical records and not just myths. Tornadoes have always existed and the “legends” are most likely recounting them. 🤷🏻♀️.
You started out saying every generation has "their" storm. Xenia was mine. I actually saw the Xenia tornado as it was cutting through the countryside. I was 12 years old and my mother was driving my older sister and I down to Lebanon, Ohio from Columbus, OH. We were big into horses and we were going down there to look at a new horse we were thinking of buying for my sister. Mom was driving her Oldsmobile 98... my sister in the front seat; me in the back. We had just passed through Xenia when I saw my mom's terrified eyes in the rearview mirror. I turned around and threw my elbows up on the back dash (no one wore seatbelts back then) and I saw this big black turning twisting "noodle" with stuff flying all around it. I know my eyes must have been as big around as half-dollars because I'd never seen anything like it.... not even in movies (I wasn't allowed to watch Wizard of Oz until I was 13 - it was too "violent" according to my parents). I couldn't take my eyes off it. In the "background" I could hear my mother screaming and beginning to panic. She just kept screaming "where do I go? Where do I go?". I remember she kept turning the car one way, then the other down side streets and the sky was so angry. Black clouds hung everywhere and some were black wisps that were turning in circles and dipping down and going back up and swirling around. Not tornadoes, but just very very tumultuous clouds. I don't know how long we drove around; mom just literally freaking out. I think my mom really just wanted to go home (to Columbus), but I think she was afraid to drive back through Xenia. So she headed back toward Lebanon, and sure enough, there was a SECOND tornado. It wasn't as easy to see as the one in Xenia, but we saw it and that's all it took. Mom swung the car around and we headed back to Columbus. When we got back to Xenia, people were walking around everywhere, cars were being stopped and asked to help carry wounded. Don't judge... but my mom said she couldn't do that with her two children in the car. I guess whoever had asked understood and let her go through. Mom told my sister and I to get down on the floor (of the car) as she made her way through Xenia.... she didn't want us to see whatever horrors there were to see. Even as we got back into Columbus, there were such bad storms and I kept watch for any more tornadoes.
That's when my "love" of weather was borne. I have never been afraid of any storm, though I have a great deal of respect for what they can do. I "studied" weather (at the library, on my own) for years and kept charts and graphs and essays that I'd written for no one by myself to look at. I chased tornadoes one "season" - well, I was the "map girl"... the team I was on never intercepted a single tornado. But it was fun and I'll remember those times forever because we DID see some really awesome storms. I'm now 60 years old and I still love thunderstorms as much as I ever have... and until I die I will always be looking for another tornado. I live in Oklahoma, and I've seen one since living here. It's only a matter of time before I see another.
I was there too!..Bridgetown
Awesome stories. I'm in lawton oklahoma
I love the meteorological setup of this storm system. It is probably just as bad as 2011 and yet most people forget it. Thanks for covering this Carly
Thanks for this informative and detailed video on the ‘74 Super Outbreak. I was in elementary school when this Super Outbreak happened. My Aunt and Uncle lived in Xenia, Ohio in a brand new house they had moved into less than a year earlier. They lost their house to the F5 which tore through the city. My cousin was at the A & W in Xenia when the tornado tore through. There were quite a few fatalities at that A & W and my cousin ended up under the rubble. She was seriously injured but survived and recovered. I’m really amazed at how many people are not even aware of this historic event, particularly those with an interest in weather and tornado history. Just a small error I noticed at the beginning of your video regarding the Palm Sunday Outbreak. That outbreak occurred on Palm Sunday in 1965, not in 1964.
Glad somebody mentioned the correct date of the Palm Sunday outbreak. I was hoping that somebody would.
i read a great book on the Xenia tornado by a guy named Polk Laffoon...he went quite a bit in depth about the victims of the A&W root beer stand....incredibly sad...
I live somewhat close to where the 1974 Xenia F5 tornado occurred, to this day it is chilling to visit the area and realize what incredible destruction it caused.
It was a full blown f5 that leveled xenia
I can't believe that Xenia didn't have any tornado sirens! We had one here outside of Cincinnati.
Thank you so much for this excellent documentary Carly! My momma survived this tornado outbreak - back then everyone in the neighborhood lived in single wides and they all had to huddle in a hardware store that was built into the base of a hill for shelter. My pawpaw worked in limestone and Madison and saw all the devastation on his way to work the next day. It scared him into building a basement house and scared the other neighbors into building solid brick homes. Fast forward to 2011 and we went through the 2011 outbreak in that basement house. Luckily we were spared a direct hit. But where I went to nursing school in Phil Campbell as you know wasn't so lucky. Since then I've moved to East TN and been within 50 miles of the Chattanooga and Cookeville tornados. It never gets less scary on days like those. Thank you so much again for all the research you do! ❤️
I would bet that with the modern radars, spotter network, and chaser army, there would have been a lot more F0 and F1 tornadoes that were brief or didn't impact much.
Finally! My dad and his sister has some traumatic memories of this day; He talks about it often. I'm curious to see what one of my favorite wx TH-camrs have to say about this event. I've sent it to him as well. Thank you for covering it!!
Update: My aunt witnessed the Richmond, Madison Co, Ky tornado while she was a student at EKU herself. The image of a car in Louisville wrapped around a tree was seared into my brain when my dad showed it to me talking about the damage. Very well done!!
I wonder exactly what Damage Indicators led Fujita to call Xenia an F6. I can't imagine what he saw. It must've been almost physics defying. If only they had mobile dopplers on that storm. That'd be some crazy data, I'm sure.
One of the images in the video showed a building foundation in Xenia that was ripped out of the ground. It takes an unimaginable amount of force to do that.
The only other tornado that could have possibly achieved an F6 rating was the Jarrell TX tornado in 1997, which due to its slow forward momentum literally "sandblasted" an entire neighborhood in its path. It is the most extreme tornado damage ever witnessed, even though the houses in the Double Creek subdivision was of sub-par standard for withstanding tornadoes, I think that not even a well-built home could have sustained the sheer force of this tornado, as it had the strength to rip the plumbing out of foundations, and rip up asphalt from roads.
Some people believe that these two events could have warranted a true F6 rating on the scale.
All I can tell you is what I saw the next day:
There were several places where houses used to be, but absolutely nothing remained in some places except slabs of concrete and maybe a toilet or bathtub.
No standing walls, very few trees, but lots of bare concrete slabs with sometimes a toilet and bathtub, only one or the other, and sometimes nothing but a few inches of pipe sticking up from slabs.
There were none. That F6 rating is not true. Dr. Greg Forbes, who did the study with him, says it's ridiculous. They thought Tanner or Brandenburg were stronger.
@@SGobuckso extreme F5 damage.
I believe he said the same about Guin as well. We now know that it was basically just high end EF5 damage.
What a nice Job. Both of my Parents and one of my uncles survived this day with the highest amount of luck one can imagine. Dad Was sent tumbling down a ditch along Highway 31 during the two Tanner F5's and He came away with only some scratches. My mom and my uncle lived in Guin back in 74 and they where sucked out of their Shelter when the F5 struck. They still tell These Stories everytime we have a family meeting.
I live in NE Indiana, and was around for both Palm Sunday '65 and the Super Outbreak. Tornadoes passed just to the south of where I lived on both of those nights. I was very young in '65 and remember little about it except the sirens and the power failure, and being afraid to go to sleep that night. I was in seventh grade in 1974, and remember that quite well. I stood in our yard and watched the storm that produced a tornado that touched down to the east. The interruptions on the TV (they only interrupted the regular programming for about a minute back then) were so continuous you couldn't follow the plot on whatever show you were watching, and the constant interruptions just made the anxiety worse. Again, I was afraid to go to sleep that night. I remember falling asleep on the couch and finally going to bed after 2am when the last Tornado Watch for our area expired. My brother worked for a train wreck clean up company at the time, and was working just north of Xenia. They were called in to deal with that derailed train in downtown Xenia. So yeah --- TWO "once in a generation" outbreaks for folks my age in northern Indiana.
Anyone else think that Xenia footage looks eerily similar to the Jarrell, TX "Dead Man Walking" photo?
I love hearing about tornadoes and outbreaks before my time. You're one of my favourite people to listen to about tornadoes. You should really open a podcast as you've got the perfect voice for it :)
The second deadliest tornado in American history happened in Natchez, Mississippi in 1840. Today it would instantly be blamed on "climate change" caused by Conservatives.
Same. I wasn’t born til 86 and my mom was 9 months pregnant with my brother when this happened. My brother was born in May 1974.
I feel all kinds of sorry for the "grieving father" mentioned around 11:13.
Thank you for this nice documentary. I am from Tanner,AL. I lived off Stewart Rd, less than a mile from Lawson's Trailor Park. I know some of the families affected by the 1974 tornadoes. My family home was hit by the April 2011 tornado, which was the same similar track as '74 tornadoes. I eventually moved in 2012. The funny thing is I moved to Tuscaloosa, AL, which is like the back alley of Alabama tornado alley, lol. Again, you do nice work! Keep it up!
In a few months the 1974 super tornado outbreak will be 50 years old. Rest in peace all the victims of the tornadoes and the survivors that have since then passed away. Gone but never forgotten.
I was a 5yo living in west side of Cincinnati during the 1974 outbreak. I remember my mom insisting we sleep on cots in the basement that first night (and several other times over the next few years). She was an immigrant and never really experienced tornadoes before, much less an outbreak like this, so it shook her to the core. I know it's at the root of my tornado anxiety to this day. My uncle and several others I've known over the years watched as it moved across the horizon. I've spent a lot of time looking through the materials collected on the Wilmington, OH NWS page about the Super Outbreak. In the document of Fujita's stats, I especially find his comment on the Windsor tornado amusing.
The house I currently live in is less than a mile from the path of Sayler Park F5. Some trivia for you - the piece of land that was used to collect the debris from the destroyed homes in the area is now a lovely public park.
FYI - The Delhi neighborhood is pronounced "dell-high", not "deli". Just one of those regional quirks. :)
I grew up in Brandenburg, KY. My dad was the mayor ( newly elected) at the time. I was 6, and had just gotten home from school. One thing not mentioned here is that although the death toll in Xenia and Brandenburg was similar, Brandenburg had a population of only about 2,000 people. Xenia, OH had a population of nearly 30,000. Everyone in B-burg knew, personally, someone who died.
The Palm Sunday outbreak was in 1965, 8 days before my late husband was born (4/11/ 1965---hubby was born 4/19/1965). I was 8 years old, and lived in Dearborn Heights, MI at the time. The weather was bad, and we did have tornado watches, but thankfully no tornadoes. I was living in Mesa, AZ when the Super Outbreak of 1974 occurred. I remember seeing the damage on the news, and reading about it in the paper. Great video, as always. (Jan Griffiths).
I live in the Cincinnati area. We still to this day talk about the Xenia tornado and the more recent Dayton tornado. They don't happen incredibly often around here, but it does seem when they do, mother nature shows her teeth.
I live in the area as well. The tornado that hit Goshen back in July was pretty gnarly, too, even though it was only a high-end EF2. It's hard to think about how much worse it could have been.
There's nothing else to say. You do a damn good job, Carly. You never disappoint.
The Xenia twister looks like a more ominous version of the 91 Andover twister and the 2011 Tuscaloosa twister. It's amazing how quickly that tornado started producing extreme damage. It's almost like an approximation of what the 2011 Smithville tornado would've done if it hit a suburban area in the sense that they both reached catastrophic F5/EF5 intensity pretty much instantly. That quote where they stated that Xenia looked like Hiroshima is bone-chilling. Catastrophic storms such as F5/EF5 tornadoes are one of the few things that can rival some nuclear weapons in ferocity, minus the radioactive fallout and firestorms. Hell, you even seek shelter for both of them more or less the same way.
Asel Jerrell 1997 on how fast it intensified from a waek tornado to an extremely destructive tornado
@@iceresistance Jarrell did so EXTREMELY fast. Jarrell was also a relatively short-lived tornado too which makes it even crazier. Joplin also intensified suddenly.
@@dannyllerenatv8635 Smithville was one of those instant EF-5 tornadoes, there is a video of it from Tornado Forensics.
@@iceresistance Yes, it wedged out very quickly. It started off as dancing whispy little funnels that were moving very fast per eyewitnesses to a massive wedge with a tight 3/4 wide ground base.
@@dannyllerenatv8635 Smithville WAS the Dead Man walking in Mississippi!
This is my favorite series on TH-cam. You do such an amazing job editing, explain, and showing footage of these events! Thank you for everything Carly!
imagine if this outbreak happened with todays technology. not only would we surely have some incredible and unmatched footage, but imagine the data we could have collected if we had the modern meteorological equipment that we use every day. the meteorology geek in me would go nuts to be able to see data from an event like this, but at the same time, from a strictly human perspective, i hope we NEVER get another opportunity like this. the horror this day must have brought is something i never want to see in my lifetime
And many lives would undoubtedly not been lost!
Criminally underrated channel. Clear, concise information even for those not in the WX community (like me, just some nerd who enjoys extreme weather despite living in California). Hope you continue to grow and stay safe
Idk, there's a lot of typos in the text of this.
I was 18 in April 1974 when this happened and we lived in Nebraska and also had storms that night, when the news came out the next morning I can remember being so frightened it could happen to us. I still fear tornadoes all these years later and when I go home to visit I’m always alert today!
"Alamaba" lol. Love the vid anyways, as always!
Great video! I know you put a lot of time and effort into each one. I'll never forget Xenia. I remember 60 Monutes or some show like that examining the psychological impacts a year or so later. Somebody asked a school kid what he remembered about that day and he drew a black tornado on a sheet of paper. For some reason that kid's drawing really said it all.
Sorry about the typo. That would be "60 Minutes."
My aunt was stationed at Fr. Benjamin Harrison for basic training in 1974. One night she decided to tag along with a few of her friends who were going out for a drive, they didn't tell her they were going storm chasing. So basically my aunt inadvertently storm chanted during this outbreak. I only learned this recently!
Thank you for putting this together
Carly, wonderful job! Seeing the huge scope of this weather system and the outbreak reminds me how severe weather can rapidly affect distant portions of our nation, many hours apart. Suffering knows no barriers. Thankfully, help and recovery is not limited either. Great research, videos and pictures. Best,
I was 8 at the time. Although I was on the opposite side of Ohio from Xenia, near PA and WV, it was still very frightening. Our sirens went off for the first time ever that night. There was no tornado, and for that matter, no damage...but everyone was scared to death because of knowing what happened in Xenia! As soon as the storms rolled in, we were all in the basement for good measure.
ALABAMA. You misspelled the word on the screen but pronounced it great! We love you anyway! 😍 And you are 1000% correct. The 2011 outbreak was sad that Phil Campbell and Hackleburg tornado victims didn't receive 1/20th of help that Tuscaloosa received. I know. My family was a part of that, and we still haven't recovered to before those storms hit. That's why I try to go and help those who don't receive the help
Alamaba should become the 51st state. Lol
Brilliant work yet again Carly (and Blaze 🐱).
I lived through the 1974 and 2011 outbreaks and it was a world of difference. In 1974, we took shelter in a basement for about 3 hours because we had only sparse reports on the radio for information. There was no TV radar or warning maps. I believe that at some point, out of desperation, the NWS put all of north Alabama under a tornado warning because they couldn’t keep pace with all the reports coming in. A warning map would have just been completely activated so we’d have been sheltered anyway.
In 2011, I knew exactly where tornadoes were, actually saw video of tornadoes that were coming in our direction, and only sheltered for about 15 minutes when we were under direct warning and the storm was within a few miles of our home.
I probably won’t be alive when the next outbreak comes but I can’t imagine how different the warning system will be by then.
I had no idea the the original scale had been tweaked so much. I never knew the the F scale was actually 6 levels. Thats insane. I have friends who have had family who have went through tornados. I thankfully have not been through one. I had a close call though when i was young. I can only imagine how life changing that type of experience. Great job covering this carly!
You really do have the most complete tornado coverage videos on YT. Everything including the science. Down bursts & micro bursts are important and that’s kinda cool to find when where and why they were discovered.
Your level of dedication to insuring high quality content just keeps skyrocketing! 🎉 you’re my favorite tornado guru.
Really excellent, thoughtful, and in depth discussion of a complicated and terrible day. And you're right. My mom still talks about an F3 that tore through a good chunk of Tyler, Tezas in 1957, and I still remember the incredible damage of my school torn apart thge day before I graduated by a piddling F2... or the massive damage Hurricane Gloria did to our woods when it was just a tropical depression. The trauma and lifelong memories from a high level tornado or hurricane would be magnitudes greater.
Thank you Carly for this video! Excellent job, many tornadoes to cover besides the famed Xenia tornado in the outbreak. What makes Xenia noteworthy for me was having an uncle there and surviving. My family traveled to Xenia after the rebuild to visit him, hearing the first-hand accounts from his friends got me interested in Meteorology (I have a college Minor in it). Growing up in Western NY taught me plenty about winter weather, but I respect what a tornado can do. Take care.
The level of detail you go into on all the different types of impacts from these storms is amazing, Carly!
My dad watched the Louisville EF-4 (F-4 at the time) tornado tear through northeast Louisville from the roof of his dorm at U of L Shelby campus. It was probably going through Indian Hills or Northfield at the time. He would have been about 3 miles away. He was unharmed, but obviously, don't do things like that!
I did a research paper on the impact of the outbreak on Louisville in 7th grade, my official entry into tornado nerdom 🤓
Also, there's several hours worth of WHAS 11 Louisville radio broadcasts from this outbreak and it's aftermath on TH-cam. Included is helicopter pilot Dick Gilbert's broadcast as he followed the tornado through town, warning people of its location in real time!
I love listening to the WHAS broadcast. It's probably some of the best archived material from the outbreak available right now.
The part where the head meteorologist at the local weather service office shouts, "I've gotta go!" and hangs up the phone right as the storm hits always gives me chills.
@@RikkiSpanish that part always gets me too!
@@RikkiSpanish My parents and I were in our car headed to shelter when we heard John Burke (NWS meteorologist) on WHAS radio yell out, "Good gracious sakes alive! Hear it? I'm going. Goodbye!". We were about 30 miles south of Louisville and had a separate tornado headed our way. I was 8 years old at the time, but I knew it was bad. Then we listened to Dick Gilbert (radio helicopter pilot) follow the storm and report where it was going. Later we got to see the tornado that crossed northern Nelson County into Spencer County right in front of us. It looked a lot closer than it was. That one was an F4. Thankfully it hit mostly in open country. That day was the beginning of my obsession with tornadoes.
@terrib627 That's amazing!
I knew several people who were impacted by the Xenia tornado. Including a history teacher that was in the National Guard that had to be sent down there for the cleanup. As well as knowing somebody who went to Central State and was on campus when a tornado smashed through.
A couple national guardsman died too in an unrelated event, right?
@@bodombeastmode Yep they were killed in a fire.
Love your work, Carly! This outbreak always scared me with how violent and intense it was.
I discovered your videos recently and I absolutely love how concise and detailed you are with your information! If you ever would one day, I’d love to see a video about the Nov. 17th, 2013 outbreak across the Midwest that produced the devastating Washington, IL EF4.
Another interesting tornado Carly could profile on her channel would be the EF-4 tornado that struck Hattiesburg, Mississippi on February 10th, 2013. This tornado was a devastating and fearsome wedge tornado like the ones that occurred two years earlier in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri. The Hattiesburg tornado badly damaged or destroyed numerous businesses and vehicles on Hardy Street and Oak Grove Road in downtown Hattiesburg along with numerous homes in residential areas of the city and damaging residence halls on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. Fortunately, not many students or faculty members of USM were on campus at the time as they had gone down to New Orleans, Louisiana for Mardi Gras. Quite surprisingly, no fatalities occurred and only eighty-two people were injured. Hattiesburg mayor Johnnie DuPree chalks it up to the fact that the residents of Hattiesburg are extremely weatherwise and aware of the potential severity of a tornado and any other natural disaster because the city was hit by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. Of course Hattiesburg didn't get as much media coverage as New Orleans due to the flooding in New Orleans.
I've lived near or through a lot of the outbreaks you discuss...I really enjoy these videos, it helps a ton with my well-acquired storm anxiety. Have you thought about doing a one-time instruction video on storm myths and what to do and not do during these storms? We all know it's best to be inside, downstairs and away from windows, but what about when you're trapped outdoors, or in a large industrial building? In your car? Away from standard shelters?
I'm from Kentucky. I live an hour or two away from Xenia and Brandonburg, and Cincinnati/Sayler park are basically my backyard.
No one talks about these storms here(outside of weather nerds, of course). I don't know why. Whether it's just the fact that it's unknown, or the pain, the generational gap, or whatever.
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Short story: I was in the 2012 Crittenden, KY EF-4. Tornado damage is a foreign object until you see it up close and personal. I never wish it upon anyone, but it's a thing people should experience. It changes how you view everything.
Carly, great video as always. I'd love to see a quick vid on the Tinker AFB tornadoes and Miller & Fawbush. Also, would love to see a video on TV meteorologists like Gary England, James Spann, etc. Folks who issued their own warnings, installed the first private Doppler systems, and know their individual microclimates well enough to forecast behaviors that are outside the norm.
Absolutely! Three other meteorologists Carly could profile would include Dave Freeman, Mike Morgan and Damon Lane. Dave Freeman was the chief meteorologist at Wichita's NBC affiliate KSNW Channel 3 at the time of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado in 2007 and he became known for one particular section of his coverage of the storm that night: Dave knew that because it was a Friday night a lot of kids would be either home alone or with a babysitter because their parents were out to dinner and these kids were most likely scared to death. Dave spoke to those kids directly by telling them that he knew they were scared but assured them that if they listened to him they would be okay. Dave told these kids that they had to be brave and turn up the volume on the TV or the computer speakers so they could continue to hear him as they took shelter. Dave also told them that they needed to take shelter in the center of the basement or under the stairs to the basement as well as telling them to if possible to take shelter underneath a workbench. Dave also told any kids who lived in a house with no basement to take shelter in a small windowless room such as the bathroom or a closet. He also told the kids to put on their winter coats as well as sturdy shoes and to cover themselves with blankets, pillows and mattresses. Something tells me that the kids who followed Dave's advice that night are now parents themselves and use his advice with their own children.
My mom was nearly killed in this outbreak. Our county was hit by 3 F3 tornadoes and one rolled my mother's car hundreds of yards as she was driving home from work. After seeing the pictures and hearing about that I became a complete and total tornado nerd.
Ooo I love Alamaba
My dad worked for the NSSFC (National Severe Storms Forecast Center) and his boss was Allen Pearson, the co-creator of the Fujita Scale.
Love this one too ❤. You are my absolute favorite to watch, & your kitty ❤️.
Carly, you always do such a fantastic and thorough presentation and analysis in your videos. I was in seventh grade when this outbreak occurred and I still remember it. I lived in Chicagoland and the storms we had were memorable but the devastating outbreak was the first time I could grasp the gravity of tornadic destruction. This outbreak marks the beginning of my deep interest in how weather works and how it affects people and communities. Keep up your great work!
Absolutely love how you touched on the mental scars this storms leave behind. Those scars, do exist, and believe me…. Folks do remember.
From Xenia Ohio, much love. Thank you.
Great work as always, Carly! I love the level of meteorological and historical detail you put into your videos. It really helps to fully put these events into perspective.
Found your channel this summer and been bingewatching your videos since! As someone who lives in a place these really don't happen my knowledge of tornadoes is small and about these specific tornadoes even smaller. Really been learning a lot from your videos!
This was inevitable Carly. I haven't even pushed play and I'm liking it. You do such a great job at covering every angle of an event. Thanks again kiddo!
I work with a guy who survived this outbreak in Madison Indiana. His childhood home was lifted right off his head he says !
I was kind of expecting her to bring up that tornado but she didn't. I was directly across the river from it in Milton, ky. You could see it clear as day!
@@heatherkrebs6324 I've heard some people say it took all the water out of the river for a minute or two. That's SCARY power.
Carly Anna, another great episode, Horribly sad 😔 but gripping. I remember this unbelievable spring in late April. we got just over a foot of snow here in Chicago, but it was gone in just a few days. Nice Job as always 🙏
Very well done video! I have watched all your tornado videos. They are all great. You made a statement towards the end about some areas getting more aid than others such as Tuscaloosa, AL. You are 100% correct, in my opinion, I live in North Alabama. There were F5 tornados and damage, for example Rainsville, AL and Flat Rock, AL (and other area around Sand Mountain) and Trenton, GA. These areas received almost no news coverage or aid other than what the communities could get together and provide. If you weren’t from the area it looked like only Tuscaloosa was effected in Alabama. That’s news coverage for you though….. go where the big football team is. Keep up the great work!!
Absolutely Spot on Carly about PTSD With violent storms ... Thanks
Very well done again! love your videos. First saw you on Ryan Hall Y'All. Love Mr. Blaze!
I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but we were not stereotypical Puerto Ricans. For one thing, We were Jewish Israeli Citizens & as such, We spoke both Spanish and Hebrew, which I grew up speaking. Secondly, both of my parents came from Show Business Families. My Dad's Dad was a Very Famous Singer-Songwriter, who was a Pioneer in The Recording Industry, but He & His Band Recorded Their first Record in Thomas Edison's Own Studio in New Jersey. My Granddad was born in Puerto Rico, but He'd moved up to New York, because that was the place to go to succeed in The Performing Arts. When the first Radio Station Went On The Air in New York, My Grandfather landed a Show with His Band. Later He became An Announcer & A Radio Actor. Then When Television came, He Had a Television Show. Back in those days, Records, Radio & Television were considered by most to be passing fads.
My Mother's Mother was a Well- Known Organist. My Mother was a born Musical Prodigy. Although She'd suffered from Polio, or perhaps because of that fact, She was a Concert Pianist at the age of 4 & 5, without ever having a Piano Lesson. She was also Puerto Rican & Jewish by birth, but they too had moved to New York. My Dad was Educated at NYU with a Degree in Math. After The U.S. entered World War Two, My Dad Went To An Army Recruiter's Office & said Send Me to Flight School & Send Me To Europe. He had heard what The Nazis Were Doing To Fellow Jews from a Man that had Managed To Escape & had ended up at my Dad's Synagogue & told what was happening when he got out of Europe & made it to New York. When I was 10 Months Old, just by chance My Picture was seen by The Man Who's job it was to Cast "The U.S. National Beechnut Baby Food Television Commercials" & Wanted Me To Appear In Their New Television Commercial. They flew us to New York where I Shot My First Role. After my Commercial Aired, my Parents were inundated by calls from other Corporations wanting to cast me in Their Commercials. I was 10 months old when I did my Baby Food Spot, they never dreamed that I'd be sought after for more Television Commercials. They found An Agent for me. I had Starred in Three Latin American "Telenovelas," (Soap Operas.) When I was 10 YEARS Old, my Parents decided that We'd Move To New York. My Dad had become an Accountant after The War & My Mother, who'd Graduated from Julliard had an Offer to Play With The New York Symphony. She was ready to get back to Performing Herself. They told me that I couldn't do anymore Acting Jobs until I learned to Speak Fluent English like an American. Well, my Agent found a Role For Me in New York on A Bilingual Educational Television Show that Aired on PBS on Saturday Morning. They were offering to pay me so well that My Parents couldn't refuse to allow me to Book The Show. So I was acting again. The Show lasted about a Year. My Mother was Offered To Play First Clarinet with The L.A. Philharmonics, & My Father was offered A Great Job with even a larger Accounting Firm. So we were L.A. Bound. Soon after my Dad was tapped to go to Xenia Ohio to Audit The Books Of Some National Chain of Offices. We decided that We'd all go, rent a house for The Two Or Three Months that it was believed that it would take for my Dad to complete the dreadful task & Return to The Beautiful Home We'd bought in L.A. Upon Arriving in Xenia I knew that I'd be just as unhappy there as in New York, because when we got there it was cold & snowy. I didn't like cold Weather being raised in The Subtropical Warmth of Puerto Rico. When April had arrived & there was a Warm, but Strong Wind Blowing, I was thrilled. Well, Summer was finally on it's way. If I'd only known what was REALLY On It's Way. I'd Stayed Home From School & My Dad had Stayed at home from work because it was A Jewish Holy Day for Us. We'd heard that Bad Weather was coming. From that moment on, I was sure That The Older House that We'd Rented in Xenia was doomed, & so were we. I begged my Parents that we should go elsewhere where we could get underground. But they didn't heed. I remember having gone to The Front Foyer of The House that was just on The Southern Edge Of Town. It almost looked like night to me. It was so dark. My Mother was in her Music Room & Suddenly I felt a Strong Hand On My Shoulder, pushing down hard, I went down to my knees then The Hand Pushed hard against my back and I went forward onto my stomach as I felt someone laying on top of me. Then the lights flickered off & I felt Winds hitting me So Hard that I can't begin to describe them. The noise was deafening. I heard my Mother's Voice Cry Out My Dad's Name & My Name. I thought that She'd been blown away! Time seemed to be standing still as The Wind was Tearing Through The Old Home & Disassembling it from around us! Suddenly, it stopped & by The Time that My Dad & I could get to Our feet, my Mother was entering What was left of The Foyer. My Mother was standing when The Tornado Hit. The Wind blew her down & slid her along the Hardwood Floor to underneath Her Baby Grand Piano that brought her such joy likely saved her life from falling debris that was piled all over the Piano as the second story of the house was being torn away. As we stood and looked toward Town, We could see that ugly, black, Real Life Monster Chewing Through The Buildings & Tossing Things Into The Air. I wanted to Understand everything that I could about Tornadoes so I made up my mind that instead of being an Actor all of my life that I wanted to become a Meteorologist. Well, I found that I could do both. I began to help People that had gone through Disasters, I joined The Red Cross Disaster Relief Team & Offered Comfort, Food, Help & Blankets. Neither my Parents Nor I Received A Scratch which was miraculous. But I was wounded on The Inside where Cuts & Bruises Don't Show. As I went into disaster areas & Helped Others that helped me. I studied & became a Meteorologist & in recent years I've begun to Chase Tornadoes once in a while. But, When I see a tornado, part of me feels the same terror that I felt as a 12 year old Victim & another part of me feels like I'm slaying The Dragon.
One final note, after a little time while we tried to locate some of our most treasured belongings, we were free to return home to L.A. because the Office In Which My Dad was Auditing & All of Their Records were blown away, probably to The North Pole!!!
I love your videos, I binge watch them and even rewatch them all the time! Keep up the good work, and I hope you're doing well!!
Wow Carly Excellent informative video here with great video clips. I've always been interested in the 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak because the only other comparable one was the 2011 Tornado Super Outbreak. Keep up the Awesome Work!!👍👍👍👍
Very, very interesting coverage of that incredible tornado outbreak of 1974. I was 11 back then living in NW Pennsylvania and although thankfully here we missed being directly impacted by the onslaught of that historic outbreak I believe seeing all the news stories and coverage of the damage it caused no doubt sparked a interest in weather as a hobby that has lasted in me to this day. Perhaps sometime, if interested, you might look into whats been called the greatest natural disaster in Pennsylvania history. The May 31, 1985 tornado outbreak that effected mainly Ohio and Pennsylvania. That tornado outbreak like some of the other worst outbreaks in U.S. history had many strong twisters including the only F5 to strike the U.S. that year.⛈
Well done Carly!! And these videos are never long enough!!!
I have just discovered your channel a couple days ago, and so far I'm hooked! I grew up in the Midwest (moved since then) just west of St Louis, MO, so I've had my share of scary thunderstorms, tornado sirens, and feeling like tornadoes might be on the way to get me. (Thankfully most of those sirens were just regular testing, but you still get nervous when that eerie wail starts up.)
I'm really enjoying the history and research you've put into these videos, and the detail you put into the events leading up to and following a tornado strike. The breakdown of events following the destruction of Parkersburg was very insightful, and I'm planning on catching your video on the mental effects of surviving these events.
I live on the East Coast now, where few in my community has any real experience or deeper understanding of living in areas these deadly storms commonly sweep through. Mostly I live with hurricanes and the like, which is a whole other can of worms.
Please keep up the great work.
My dad remembers this one. He was 10 living close to Monticello, IN, where the long track F3 that went across the entire state destroyed a big part of the town. He remembers it well
Those railroad cars were actually part of the consist of a freight train passing through town ( talk about wrong place wrong time) and I've heard it come up recently but there is actually audio recording of the engine crew talking on the radio with the dispatcher telling them to stop all traffic and laying on the horn to not only try to get Xenia residents to see what the horn was about and see the tornado as well as let people know get the hell out of the way as they opened the taps to try and get clear. Scariest part is hearing the banging of debris in the outer circulation smashing into the side of the locomotive.
I'm as much of a rail fanatic as I am a weather fanatic, I would really like to hear that recording.
In 1972 I passed through Xenia on an Amtrak train on my way to St Louis MO. Was hard to belive that half the town would be wiped out by an F5 two years later.
Yours is the only youtube channel i watch at 1.0x without speeding up.
The mental and permanent physical wounds are the worst. I didn't get mine in a tornado, although I remember the one tornado that I saw that went past me even to this day nearly 40 years later. I was in a motorcycle accident and have permanent injuries from it. It took me nearly a decade to deal with the PTSD from it but the fact of the permanent physical injury means that I also have reoccurring feelings about the whole thing and a sense of loss for all the things I can no longer do physically because of my injuries so I have to face it basically every day, although the panicky PTSD stuff has been mostly dealt with.
I always get such a thrill when I see a new video from you. Kudos for the amazing content!
Your videos are so well done and captivating to watch. Amazing job, keep up the great work!
Not to say i love tornadoes but i love that your video/intro had snippets of the documentary the day of the killer tornadoes!! It was a good old fashioned and interesting documentary!!
I was 10 years old and we lived SE of Dayton, OH. The Xenia tornado storm path was about 4 miles S of our house. Don't know if it was on the ground at that point but it was the most frightening weather I had experienced, and we had moved to Ohio from Wichita KS. As I'm sure anyone who could was, I was watching Gil Whitney on WHIO, then the Emergency Broadcast System came on. The announcer repeatedly requested doctors, nurses, trucks, heavy equipment and clergy to Xenia. The pictures and stories that came out in the next week were just heartreaking.
Some years later (1997 or 98?) another tornado hit Xenia and took a parallel path perhaps 1/2 mile west of the 1974 storm. I believe it was rated F3 and stayed on the ground through neighborhoods and shopping areas across the town, doing a lot of damage. The Land of the Devil Wind indeed.
The second tornado you mentioned occurred on September 20, 2000 and was rated an F4. My wife was planning on visiting friends in Xenia the next day. They were making up the room for her when the sirens went off, and they saw the funnel out the window. They made it down to the basement, and emerged to a trashed house. A near thing indeed for our friends.
@@warrenmadden2586 You are right, thank you for refreshing my memory. I am glad to know your wife and her friends stayed safe.
The yellow line tornado on the map just south of Huntsville Alabama hit my uncle's house directly. It completely destroyed his house, and tossed my uncle, his wife, and his son out into a nearby field. They were all severely injured, but survived.