As compelling as this video is, I am astonished that there was no mention of meteorologist Gil Whitney, whose immediate realization of the gravity of the approaching tornado galvanized him into action to break into the television programming to deliver an urgent warning to TV viewers, therein saving lives.
Perhaps they didn't want to seem to be promoting Dayton Channel 7, WHIO, where he worked. As for WHIO, their radio station, 1290 AM, spent the hours after the tornado reporting vital facts as the details of transporting the injured and search and rescue and everything else became less chaotic. I spent that night in Columbus before returning to the Dayton area the next morning. I am glad I was able to pick up the 1290 signal in Columbus.
Gil Whitney wasn't a meteorologist, most TV stations didn't employ one in 1974, but he was an instrumental part in saving lives. I can partly understand not wanting to promote WHIO, but they were the only ones who had TV radar in Dayton at that time, and I'll always remember him pointing at that hook echo on live TV, telling Xenians to take cover.
I was pregnant with my first baby when this event took place. There was some minor damage at our home that night. The storm woke me up that night & we raced to the basement, wondering if we would make it. I thought sure we were gonna have a tornado. I could feel the pressure inside the house, like the walls were breathing. So weird! After the storm passed we went back to bed. The next morning the damage was around the garage & front porch overhang. I knew we'd had a close call. But the news all day was how much worse it was north of us. So many lives taken & so much damage. I will never forget it. I thank God He delivered us from what could have been. That baby will be 50 her next birthday!
My dad, a fireman saw the EF five tornado that hit Sayler Park in Cincinnati that same day. Ironically, the Monday after his funeral I was in the 2019 Dayton tornado! I remember thinking about the stories he told me and I prayed to him during the night, and I am convinced he protected me. God bless all tornado victims.
Yes, no mention of Saylor Park. One of my father's co-workers lived across the river from Saylor Park. He saw the tornado hit Saylor Park, then skipped over the river and barely miss where he lived.
You may call it "The Day the Clock Stopped", but I call it "The Day the Cows Would Fly". I grew up about 50 miles South of Xenia and I remember the day vividly. The tornadoes were everywhere! A neighboring Dairy Farm was wiped out when the tornadoes took 2 large barns full of cattle waiting to be milked. I watched it all get sucked up into the sky, cows and all. Trust me, if you ever see it happen, you'll never, ever forget it. Two of them landed in one of our fields, the rest were found scattered all over the area within a 2 mile radius. All but 3 were found, thanks to ear tags and their Brand. We suspect the other 3 were remote somewhere or grabbed up by a local before the search began. My family was well known by all of the surrounding Fire and Rescue Departments for volunteering when needed and my Aunt was an LPN, so the following day we loaded all of our vehicles full of supplies and headed for Xenia to help them recover. Your footage and photos might be enough for you to tell your story, but none of it really does any justice to the true extent of the devastation. Some neighborhoods were gone, others were in piles upon piles of rubble. War movies come to mind when I think back about that day. In the movies, they always seem to have a scene where the town is completely obliterated. That's the same scene I saw for 2 days straight. We camped overnight to continue the next day in helping people. We even worked side by side with National Guardsmen in some of the cleanup projects before packing up and heading back to our own cleanup on our small farm. To this day, I can still see those 2 barns disappearing into the sky with all of those cows flying around. It may not be my earliest memory of my life, but it's definitely the most memorable at such a young age. Happy Birthday to ME, I turned 4 years old just 3 days before this all happened. Broke my heart, too. Those storms took my tricycle I got for a birthday gift.
@@allanmcelroy9840 I've lived through a lot of these storms in my lifetime and I've seen some really bad ones along the way. This day still holds the top spot in that long list. Definitely a Once-In-A-Lifetime Event, without a doubt. Amazingly, 4 years later I witnessed another Weather Event that made just as big of an impact on my life. Another OIAL Event, I guess. I call it "The Year We Walked On Water". Others call it The Blizzard of 78.
This is a very well done video. It's just as powerful to me in 2024 as it was when I was a 10 year old boy living in Cincinnati in 1974. Great job and interesting interviews.
I will never forget that day. One of the tornados went directly over us in Louisville. Your ears pop from the pressure change. You open your mouth to scream and it feels like the air is being pulled out of your lungs. Your eyes feel like they're "bugging out". The noise is so loud you can feel the scream in your throat, but can't hear it. My body got lighter, like being in an elevator going down. Felt like I was almost lifted up.... then just like that, it's over. We were lucky, the tornado lifted up as it went over.
Me too susan,...apr 3rd, 1974,...i remember the terror still,...9 yrs old,....my hood was skipped over,...5th and creel ave,...storms hit lennins fish fry area of west lou,..we saw funnel from rear window as dad drove us east to home,....our steet was flooded but funnels started to hit churchill downs barns,...eastern parkway, crittendan dr,....cheerokee pkwy, and park was destroyed,....sightseeing days later,..the damage to homes in highland was just incredible...
Reading your account terrified me. I can't imagine having to actually go through that. I'm so glad you guys were safe. Here in South Florida, we have hurricanes, but we get a few days to prepare. For those who live where tornadoes are a real threat, you barely get a few minutes. That's so scary dude. Sincerely wish all of you who live in tornadoe territory all the best.🙏🏽🫶🏽💖🫶🏽
That sounds terrifying. I was 10 years old and lived in Kettering. I remember the sky being this horrid shade of dark green before the hail started. I remember hiding in the hallway with my mother and younger brother. Apparently the tornado went over our house but fortunately did not touch down. Can't imagine being as close as you were.
My husband was graduating from high school in Antlers Oklahoma. He ended up going to the University of Oklahoma as a chemistry major. One day, the School of Meteorology at OU put out a call for science majors to come help with a project. He went. The project was chasing tornadoes with a map and a radio, to find tornadoes and help the school calibrate the new Doppler radar that was being tested at the university. The work they did on that has saved countless lives in the almost 50 years since (he graduated in 1978). He still watches weather, and, in his twilight years now, wishes he had majored in weather science. The project was an outgrowth of the Xenia tornado.
Honey, doppler radar was designed and tested on tornados in the mid to late 1950's. We even had NSSL doppler radar in 1971, years before the 1974 outbreak. Nice that your husband went on a field trip, but I believe you're very mistaken about some things!
@@scotabot7826 "Honey," there were different types of Doppler radar and refinements that came as they were developed. Synthetic-aperture radar was invented and developed circa 1951 and was based on Doppler principles but was distinct from the Doppler radar we know today. Digital filtering and microprosessors, which became available during the 1970's, were immediately applied to coherent pulsed radars, which allowed velocity information to be extracted. NSSL Doppler Radar was first deployed in 1971, but refinements were needed, and the work was accelerated as a result of the 1974 outbreak. I submit this for your reading and enjoyment, "honey:" www.nssl.noaa.gov/about/events/40thanniversary/stories/radar.html Perhaps in the future you might try not being condescending, or at least make sure you aren't "very mistaken about some things" before you patronize someone else.
Weatherbox just covered this yesterday. Theodore Fuijta gathered a team and surveyed the damage. So, what this person describes was explained in the documentary.
Ever been to a funeral with six caskets in the front of the church? I have. One of my best friends in 7th grade died with his entire family that afternoon in Alabama. Later learned the dad was talking to a neighbor on the phone regarding weather reports when the neighbor overheard one of the daughters yell that "it was in their backyard." God bless the Owens family, a loving family.
I grew up in London Ohio, but we had moved to New Carlisle in 1972 and when this tornado hit, I was in the bathtub and a bolt of lightning struck a tree right next to that side of the house sounding like a bomb and causing the tub water to slosh back and forth as my little brother ran in screaming that the back yard was on fire! My father called us from school where he worked to tell us to go to the basement and wait for him to get there. The storm went through so quickly that he didn't make it till it had passed and while my brothers and I cowered in the basement we could hear the destruction happening above. Thankfully it was just high winds and large hail balls pummeling everything. We saved several hail balls the size of baseballs in the freezer for years as a reminder of escaping the brunt of this devastating storm that wiped out Xenia. RIP those that lost their lives that day.
I was delivering the Dayton Daily News that day about 10 miles to the Southwest of Xenia. I remember taking shelter in a neighbor’s garage from hail the size of golf balls. Later I realized I was in the path of the same storm.
I had just gotten home from High School as a Junior and my Mom was in tears as she listened to the radio about the devastation that had happened in Xenia. Was very sobering for me as I was just beginning to think and act as if I was invincible and was never going to get old. Was humbling to see days later the destruction that these tornados caused and the deaths lost, homes destroyed and lives never to be the same again. That old saying of 50 years ago....and it STILL feels like yesterday! Blessings To All from COW-lumbus MOO
I remember that day; we heard about it on the radio, and I believe we also had storms later that day in PA! As I recall, that was a Sunday; possibly Easter sunday that year (?)!
I was 15 and living in Columbus Ohio. I was babysitting my younger sisters and brother chilling after school watching I love Lucy. All at once the show was interrupted by special report. There was nothing said except this. “This is the weather service. Get in the basement or take shelter NOW. A tornado is in Zenia headed North to Columbus. REPEAT TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. Never was I so starteled or scared. I looked out the picture window and the sky was a pea green in parts and dark yellow in others. I have never seen it liked that EVER AND HAVE NEVER SEEN IT LIKE THAT SINCE. I GRABBED MY KIDS AND RAN DOWN. TO THE BASEMENT LESS THAN 5 minutes later it went over our house. The wind was so loud and strong. I held my brother and sisters. That day traumatized me for years. Until I was 24 I had panic attacks every time we got a bad storm. And I didn’t even see it. The noise was deafening the kids were screaming. I had them in the north west corner. Thought we were all going to die. I cured myself of these panic attacks. I had moved to the country where you can see storms coming for miles. I went out on the sidewalk and waited for a huge storm and stayed outside from beginning to end. I remember screaming at the storm and the wind was howling thunder crashing come on mother fucker if you want me take me now with my hands to the sky. I am 65 now and am not afraid I had to face my fear. That’s how bad that storm was. I live in Texas now. Been through Ike Rita and Harvey. Didn’t faze me a bit
These images remind me immediately of the Minnesota tornado outbreak of 1965. I was living in the small town of Excelsior. I'll never ever forget that ghastly f-4 wedge passing just across Galpin Lake where we lived. We were spared. The f-4 was headed toward a number of large marinas on Lake Minnetonka. They were all utterly destroyed. I was ten years old, and if I live to 100 I'll remember that day vividly. Many communities came together to help rebuild the many small towns affected.
The Brandenburg ky tornado missed my school by roughly 1/8 mile. It was sufficiently impressive to make me pay attention to weather 50 years on. Our bus passed through the damage path on the way home
My dad and some co- workers (Toledo Fireman) volunteered to help Xenia in the aftermath of the tornado. During the course of their duties they flipped an overturned car back upright, to their amazement there was an infant under the car still alive. Dad was never able to find out if the child made it or not. Hopefully he/she did. Dad passed away in 1976, Thanks for everything dad.
When violent EF5 tornadoes get together and want to scare each other, they tell Xenia Tornado stories. It wasn’t just an EF5 tornado . . . it was THE EF5 tornado! 🌪️
Pretty sure Joplin Mo was this vicious too. 😮 It too was an EF5… on the ground for 46 min and killed over 150 people. That was 2011. We drove thru there in 2014 and things were still being cleaned up and starting to rebuild.
@@louistaplin4665 What year was that? I can't remember what they named the 2013 that hit Moore. But we remembered what we went through. I along with four other ladies formed a group and we adopted 12 families that needed help. One of your local churches helped us identify those families. At first we said 6 and then found out there were 6 no one would take on so we took them. We helped them for a solid 12 months. So many of the citizens of Xenia donated money, clothing, household items and mind you, not used but brand new. We wanted to let them know that we knew what they were going through. We wanted to give back because so many helped those that needed in 1974.
My Dad and I drove to the city from Hillsboro to offer help, my dad was a carpenter and builder. We were turned back by the Natl. Guard. We did this several times in my childhood. We went down to the Silver Bridge collapse and many other devastated places in our state. But in my memories I can't remember any worse site than coming up to Xenia. My heart and prayers go out to the Survivors and to all those then and now for the Spirit of Thriving in the face of such natural destruction. I hope the community continues to thrive and pass into the future w such driving Spirit.
I was in my first year of graduate school at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. I was not from Indiana, had no television so I listened to radio, and I had no idea where the various spots they were talking about... but I eventually figured out they were generally east and north of Muncie. The next morning, I left campus in a van to go on a geology field trip to West Virginia. We went through Xenia on an interstate that overlooked the town. I'll never forget someone said it looked like a bulldozer with a 1/2-mile-long blade and gone through the town. And that was a good description. I'll never forget what Xenia looked like that morning. The normally noisy van full of students, was quiet for the next hour.
I’m so glad this popped up in my recommendations. What an excellent documentary about one of the most important weather events in American history. I was 21 when the tornado happened and the stories about Xenia were amazing. This storm helped create my fascination with severe weather. May the victims rest in peace.
My dad worked for FEMA and was an educator and went there and helped the rebuilding of that town with his guidance for them to get the federal help they needed.❤
My aunt and uncle survived this tornado. My uncle was the pastor of the church and was there when the tornado hit. I remember coming with my parents afterwards to see the destruction and to visit my aunt and uncle.
It was initially assigned an F6 rating by Dr. Ted Fujita, but he later downgraded it to an F5. If I was Dr. Fujita, I would've let that F6 rating stand because it was even worse than all the other F5s that day!
Dr. Fujita toyed with/assigning an F6 rating to the 1977 Smithfield (Birmingham), AL tornado. That storm killed dozens & was directly responsible for the crash of Southern Airways flight 242 outside of Atlanta, GA later that afternoon.
Learning that the majority of the victims were children, my heart broke. I began to cry. That makes me so sad because these kids never got to live. They never got to live their lives and become who they wanted to be. It makes me so sad. Rest in Peace little babies 💔
@@JohnnyDanger36963 ……are you high or something? As a Christ Follower myself, your comment makes no sense. God wouldn’t send death to anyone unless he absolutely needed to. This was just nature taking its course. Also, babies aren’t sinners, their babies. Children are only evil if raised wrong.
I had never been to Xenia, til about a month before the tornado, when I bought new tires at the Michelin store there. That store was destroyed. I remember checking out the town and thinking it was very attractive. I am glad I got to see it before it became a totally different place.
We had "Day of the Killer Tornadoes" on reel to reel film in the 80's and, from 74 till a few years later, tornado sirens were always screaming, they were taking no chances, but it also caused complacency
Until 2011 when the Joplin Mo EF5 tornado happened. To this day its the costliest of all tornados. It was on the ground for 46 min and over 150 people died. 😢
1:40: For me too. I was 14 ( a month before my 15th) years old when this happened, living in southeast Pennsylvania. I became a young weather "geek" after Hurricane Camille in 1969. In that tornado outbreak of 1974 ( which still today is the second largest outbreak of all time in the US with 148 total, of which 30 were F4 or F5s), Xenia was the one place with the most media coverage and attention. In the late 1990s, I made took several road trips from Pennsylvania, going west through Ohio.. On one of them, I took a detour off I-70 and drove about 20 miles south to get to Xenia for a drive through the town before going back to my intended destination.
Nice to see my old classmate Jeff Louderback, I have been gone from Xenia since 1986, but all my family is still there. This is something you never forget that’s for sure.
I am a member of the historical society, although I am from extreme Northwest Ohio, so I have talked to her many time. She is a very nice, friendly person
The most surprizing thing to me about this was what came down from the sky a few weeks after a Xenia tornado. My parents were living in Delaware, Ohio (to the northeast of Xenia) and I was visiting on a weekend. Out in the back yard I noticed some things drifting slowly down from the sky. I checked a few of them as they reached the ground. What I remember was those little chips of paper were identifying paper personal bank checks on Xenia banks. It took me a few moments to come to grips with this. But I had visited Xenia by car a few days after that tornado and noticed how a there was a path maybe 30 yards wide diagonally through a residential street visible from a traffic bridge. Totally empty the width of the path; houses remaining standing seemingly untouched, except for the totally destroyed path through them (like a chain saw diagonally through the house). An indelible memory. I doubt I have any souvenirs of those check chips anymore. Would this have been the 1974 tornado?
I remember this like it was yesterday. I was 8 and wasn't in Xenia but was at church on Far Hills in Kettering/Centerville and looked outside to see clouds that looked like rows and rows of cotton candy in the sky. It was something to see. Not even aware of the destruction that happened just miles away. I remember too my school, Dayton Christian received books from Simon Kenton school library, many of which had a tar like substance on them which now I know was most likely tar from the roof of the school. There were other marks on them too, town pages and things like that. One devastating situation led to donations to our school. Great story by the way. Thank you!
Fun fact. I was on that stage with Maureen shortly before the whole auditorium imploded, partly from the buses landing on the very spot we were in moments before. Pretty amazing experience...
@@irismania I don't think I went back to my locker. I remember Mr. Heath, our drama teacher, led us as a group out the front doors, climbing over the roof that had been blown off and came down in front of the doors. We were all in a bit of shock. I think we stood there staring at all the devastation around us for a bit. Then, we walked off to our various homes. We had no way to call anyone, and our families were seeing the high school destroyed on the news, knowing we were there, but not knowing if we were ok. Pretty wild...
I was in Wilmington, Ohio near Xenia and we walked home from school at 3....we had heard from teachers that tornados were on the way and we were told to keep an eye out and they reminded us to go into the basement or hallway bathroom. Many of us back then walked home, and maybe our mom was home or perhaps at the grocery store (very few mothers worked then) but it was not uncommon....I was in the 4th grade...9 years old. Will never forget the green/yellow hue of the sky and the movement of the clouds. We all knew something bad was approaching.
I was a high school senior in Norwood, Ohio and remember clearly this day. I did not experience what these folks did but it was still terrifying, not knowing what was going to happen. I remember it as a sunny warm spring day.
I can still remember my late uncle telling me of how he parked Conrail railcars outside of the school, and then surveying the damage the day after. Years later I ran across a picture of those railcars sitting in the school yard, just like my uncle had told me. I'm from the Cincinnati area, but was living in Phoenix when the storm hit.
At the time, I was 12 and living in Western Pennsylvania. But that was still close enough to vividly recall how devastating this was. Before then, I never really knew the full wrath of a tornado until that fateful day in Western Ohio. What a real monster that thing was. From that point on, the fear of this type of storm would forever be instilled in me.
I remember that day. Fortunately for me, I lived in Cincinnati and we were spared. But the horror of Xenia and, to a lesser degree, many smaller areas were horribly scarred by this act of nature.
I was 11 then and lived in Sharonville and we had a f4 which sat down right behind our house and destroyed around 40 homes and still remember that sound and the fear!!
My family were driving down from my grandparents farm when the weather got really weird. My father was considering stopping until the storm had passed but I wanted to get home. I just felt like the storm was going to get worse. My dad cussed me out but continued to drive all the way to Milwaukee. That’s when we found out that the area that we had just left had been destroyed by a tornado. I forgot to mention, it was on April 21, 1974.
I was 10 years old. My heart goes out to the victims of that multi-vortex monster and I'm also thankful we haven't been hit like that here in Columbus, Ohio. I pray I'm able to leave the area in time if one does come this way.
I'm 72 years old and have lived in Vermont all my life, and I still remember the news coverage of the Xenia tornado and how devastating it was. I was horrified by the destruction.
I was 9 years old....and remember that day like it was yesterday. It was a day and night of severe weather...i will never forget going thru that tornado
Gil Whitney WHIO Channel 7 Weatherman saved numerous lives that day with his broadcast telling people to get to a safe place I lived in Xenia Ohio at the time & kids just got home from school & were watching afternoon programs when he broke in & announced this we always thought of him as a hero but today you would think he never existed, he saved lives that day!
I lived in the Arrowhead homes worst hit in Xenia the National Guard was called out & no electricity or phone for a week & when we actually could drive to grocery the destruction was enormous it took a good 3 yrs. to put our town back together & a few people just left empty lots & moved out!
We were living in a small town in the foothills of the Applachia - Burkesville KY. I was 13. The sky was eerie - orange, like the sun was setting, but in the wrong direction. We were new in town. Everhone on the street went to a neighbor's basement, but no one called us to join them. We had no idea anything was going on. We didn't know until the next morning that a tornado has struck outside of town, across KY and destroyed Xenia.
I lived in New Lebanon about 25 miles west of Xenia. The weekend prior to the tornado, my parents had taken 15 year old me and one of my friends to Xenia to see log cabins and other historical sights. We were stunned that shortly thereafter, it was all gone.
I was in 3 rd grade in Decatur, Ill. The sky got a strange color and someone burst into the classroom to get in the hallway because a tornado was coming…right at us. We learned later there were two, sister tornados, that a mile from the school hit a ravine and changed course. That night we had a small quake.
50 years already. I was living in Windsor, Ontario on that day and heard the crack as a tornado demolished the curling club a mile from our house, killing 9 people. We were fortunate, though, compared to what Xenia suffered
My family were driving down from my grandparents farm when the weather got really weird. My father was considering stopping until the storm had passed but I wanted to get home. I just felt like the storm was going to get worse. My dad cussed me out but continued to drive all the way to Milwaukee. That’s when we found out that the area that we had just left had been destroyed by a tornado.
That tornado was headed towards Dayton where I lived when I was 11 years old and my mom was getting us ready to go into the basement when it changed direction a little and went for Xenia.
When Xenia was hit April 2024, my uncle’s home was completely destroyed in Ky. They were at my folks home on a visit for Easter when they lost everything. Exactly to the date 40 years forward, they were on a trip to Florida when they were caught in a tornado in Georgia. My cousin was killed and 2 other passengers were critically injured, including my uncle and her brother. The brother broke his neck and made a miraculous recovery. One passenger walked out of the wreck which was hit by a semi propelled into their car during the tornado.
I was near the path of the Xenia tornado 15 miles to the northeast, after it had struck Xenia. I remember that pressure feeling and color to the skies that drew me outside, TV and radio was not on. Immediately after stepping out the door I saw the massive black tornado coming only about 1 mile away. It hit a local farm with cattle and completely leveled the home and barns. As a 13 year old, that frightful day lives in my memory. Many nightmares of tornadoes afterwards. Always take heed to weather forecaster's watches and warnings. There were several tornadoes yesterday on this 50th anniversary.
I was 12 that year and out playing baseball when the sky got incredibly dark. We lived in Franklin, about 30 miles away from Xenia. We had baseball sized hail that beat the windows out of homes and cars minutes before Xenia was hit. It was truly horrific but pales to what those people went through. That tornado was an absolute monster.
I remember it quite well. I was in 4th grade living in PA. For a long time I didn't know tornadoes were real. The on in The Wizard of Oz scared me but I also wanted to see one. I still have not just the aftermath of the May 31, 1985 outbreak.
As compelling as this video is, I am astonished that there was no mention of meteorologist Gil Whitney, whose immediate realization of the gravity of the approaching tornado galvanized him into action to break into the television programming to deliver an urgent warning to TV viewers, therein saving lives.
Perhaps they didn't want to seem to be promoting Dayton Channel 7, WHIO, where he worked. As for WHIO, their radio station, 1290 AM, spent the hours after the tornado reporting vital facts as the details of transporting the injured and search and rescue and everything else became less chaotic. I spent that night in Columbus before returning to the Dayton area the next morning. I am glad I was able to pick up the 1290 signal in Columbus.
Gil Whitney wasn't a meteorologist, most TV stations didn't employ one in 1974, but he was an instrumental part in saving lives. I can partly understand not wanting to promote WHIO, but they were the only ones who had TV radar in Dayton at that time, and I'll always remember him pointing at that hook echo on live TV, telling Xenians to take cover.
I was wondering if they would mention Gil or not but just like McCall they both saved a lot of lives in Daytons darkest days .
It is in his Wikipedia page: "Gil Whitney"
This video is incomplete without the mentioning of WHIO TV7 & the late Gil Whitney
I was pregnant with my first baby when this event took place. There was some minor damage at our home that night. The storm woke me up that night & we raced to the basement, wondering if we would make it. I thought sure we were gonna have a tornado. I could feel the pressure inside the house, like the walls were breathing. So weird! After the storm passed we went back to bed. The next morning the damage was around the garage & front porch overhang. I knew we'd had a close call. But the news all day was how much worse it was north of us. So many lives taken & so much damage. I will never forget it. I thank God He delivered us from what could have been. That baby will be 50 her next birthday!
This happened in Xenia around 4:40 pm in the afternoon, not at night.
Thank you for the story. Glad your baby has made it this far.
@@scottydvintagevideosthe storm lasted most of the night
My parents were denied a loan to build a home in Arrowhead Subdivision, in 1973.
Thank God!
God Bless those families ❤
Maybe it was the universes way of protecting your family. Works in mysterious ways sometimes.
Wow.. coincidence or fate? 🤔
Either way, thank God they didn't
@@piscesempress1978 The universe was created by the one and only God so....Yea.
My dad, a fireman saw the EF five tornado that hit Sayler Park in Cincinnati that same day. Ironically, the Monday after his funeral I was in the 2019 Dayton tornado! I remember thinking about the stories he told me and I prayed to him during the night, and I am convinced he protected me. God bless all tornado victims.
That’s the one that erased our Dayton home.
Yes, no mention of Saylor Park. One of my father's co-workers lived across the river from Saylor Park. He saw the tornado hit Saylor Park, then skipped over the river and barely miss where he lived.
@@larrysorenson4789So sorry to hear that. Hope things worked out.
Pray to God for results, not a spirit of someone deceased (The Bible.)
Rob, I am so sorry about your Dad. But I am glad you are safe!
You may call it "The Day the Clock Stopped", but I call it "The Day the Cows Would Fly". I grew up about 50 miles South of Xenia and I remember the day vividly. The tornadoes were everywhere! A neighboring Dairy Farm was wiped out when the tornadoes took 2 large barns full of cattle waiting to be milked. I watched it all get sucked up into the sky, cows and all. Trust me, if you ever see it happen, you'll never, ever forget it. Two of them landed in one of our fields, the rest were found scattered all over the area within a 2 mile radius. All but 3 were found, thanks to ear tags and their Brand. We suspect the other 3 were remote somewhere or grabbed up by a local before the search began. My family was well known by all of the surrounding Fire and Rescue Departments for volunteering when needed and my Aunt was an LPN, so the following day we loaded all of our vehicles full of supplies and headed for Xenia to help them recover. Your footage and photos might be enough for you to tell your story, but none of it really does any justice to the true extent of the devastation. Some neighborhoods were gone, others were in piles upon piles of rubble. War movies come to mind when I think back about that day. In the movies, they always seem to have a scene where the town is completely obliterated. That's the same scene I saw for 2 days straight. We camped overnight to continue the next day in helping people. We even worked side by side with National Guardsmen in some of the cleanup projects before packing up and heading back to our own cleanup on our small farm. To this day, I can still see those 2 barns disappearing into the sky with all of those cows flying around. It may not be my earliest memory of my life, but it's definitely the most memorable at such a young age. Happy Birthday to ME, I turned 4 years old just 3 days before this all happened. Broke my heart, too. Those storms took my tricycle I got for a birthday gift.
Great story, thanks for sharing it.
Poor cows
😢😢😢🐄🐄🐄
Stories like yours are the ones who leave the most impact
@@allanmcelroy9840 I've lived through a lot of these storms in my lifetime and I've seen some really bad ones along the way. This day still holds the top spot in that long list. Definitely a Once-In-A-Lifetime Event, without a doubt. Amazingly, 4 years later I witnessed another Weather Event that made just as big of an impact on my life. Another OIAL Event, I guess. I call it "The Year We Walked On Water". Others call it The Blizzard of 78.
@@neolithicnobody8184 i heard of that from the new york perspective (I think)
By my math, Happy Easter and Happy 54th Birthday today!
This is a very well done video. It's just as powerful to me in 2024 as it was when I was a 10 year old boy living in Cincinnati in 1974. Great job and interesting interviews.
I will never forget that day. One of the tornados went directly over us in Louisville. Your ears pop from the pressure change. You open your mouth to scream and it feels like the air is being pulled out of your lungs. Your eyes feel like they're "bugging out". The noise is so loud you can feel the scream in your throat, but can't hear it. My body got lighter, like being in an elevator going down. Felt like I was almost lifted up.... then just like that, it's over. We were lucky, the tornado lifted up as it went over.
The description sounds beyond terrifying.
God protected you!
Me too susan,...apr 3rd, 1974,...i remember the terror still,...9 yrs old,....my hood was skipped over,...5th and creel ave,...storms hit lennins fish fry area of west lou,..we saw funnel from rear window as dad drove us east to home,....our steet was flooded but funnels started to hit churchill downs barns,...eastern parkway, crittendan dr,....cheerokee pkwy, and park was destroyed,....sightseeing days later,..the damage to homes in highland was just incredible...
I have never heard or read a very detailed description of what it's like being in the middle of a tornado. I'm glad you and your family were ok
Reading your account terrified me. I can't imagine having to actually go through that. I'm so glad you guys were safe. Here in South Florida, we have hurricanes, but we get a few days to prepare. For those who live where tornadoes are a real threat, you barely get a few minutes. That's so scary dude. Sincerely wish all of you who live in tornadoe territory all the best.🙏🏽🫶🏽💖🫶🏽
I had just turned 13. Our house wasn't hit, but close enough to feel the powerful pull. Forever changed me.
Living in Tuscaloosa, AL; my house was on the very edge of our December 2000 tornado that killed 11. Even so, we still had minor damage.
That sounds terrifying. I was 10 years old and lived in Kettering. I remember the sky being this horrid shade of dark green before the hail started. I remember hiding in the hallway with my mother and younger brother. Apparently the tornado went over our house but fortunately did not touch down. Can't imagine being as close as you were.
My husband was graduating from high school in Antlers Oklahoma. He ended up going to the University of Oklahoma as a chemistry major. One day, the School of Meteorology at OU put out a call for science majors to come help with a project. He went. The project was chasing tornadoes with a map and a radio, to find tornadoes and help the school calibrate the new Doppler radar that was being tested at the university. The work they did on that has saved countless lives in the almost 50 years since (he graduated in 1978). He still watches weather, and, in his twilight years now, wishes he had majored in weather science. The project was an outgrowth of the Xenia tornado.
Honey, doppler radar was designed and tested on tornados in the mid to late 1950's. We even had NSSL doppler radar in 1971, years before the 1974 outbreak. Nice that your husband went on a field trip, but I believe you're very mistaken about some things!
@@scotabot7826 "Honey," there were different types of Doppler radar and refinements that came as they were developed. Synthetic-aperture radar was invented and developed circa 1951 and was based on Doppler principles but was distinct from the Doppler radar we know today. Digital filtering and microprosessors, which became available during the 1970's, were immediately applied to coherent pulsed radars, which allowed velocity information to be extracted. NSSL Doppler Radar was first deployed in 1971, but refinements were needed, and the work was accelerated as a result of the 1974 outbreak. I submit this for your reading and enjoyment, "honey:"
www.nssl.noaa.gov/about/events/40thanniversary/stories/radar.html
Perhaps in the future you might try not being condescending, or at least make sure you aren't "very mistaken about some things" before you patronize someone else.
Weatherbox just covered this yesterday. Theodore Fuijta gathered a team and surveyed the damage. So, what this person describes was explained in the documentary.
Ever been to a funeral with six caskets in the front of the church? I have. One of my best friends in 7th grade died with his entire family that afternoon in Alabama. Later learned the dad was talking to a neighbor on the phone regarding weather reports when the neighbor overheard one of the daughters yell that "it was in their backyard." God bless the Owens family, a loving family.
I saw 'em on Find a Grave. They looked like a lovely family indeed.
I grew up in London Ohio, but we had moved to New Carlisle in 1972 and when this tornado hit, I was in the bathtub and a bolt of lightning struck a tree right next to that side of the house sounding like a bomb and causing the tub water to slosh back and forth as my little brother ran in screaming that the back yard was on fire! My father called us from school where he worked to tell us to go to the basement and wait for him to get there. The storm went through so quickly that he didn't make it till it had passed and while my brothers and I cowered in the basement we could hear the destruction happening above. Thankfully it was just high winds and large hail balls pummeling everything. We saved several hail balls the size of baseballs in the freezer for years as a reminder of escaping the brunt of this devastating storm that wiped out Xenia. RIP those that lost their lives that day.
Good seeing Dr Forbes. Miss him during tornado season.
❤storm master G! 👍
To all those impacted by the 1974 Xenia 🌪: May God continue to comfort you, and keep you in His loving care. You will never be forgotten.
I was delivering the Dayton Daily News that day about 10 miles to the Southwest of Xenia. I remember taking shelter in a neighbor’s garage from hail the size of golf balls. Later I realized I was in the path of the same storm.
I had just gotten home from High School as a Junior and my Mom was in tears as she listened to the radio about the devastation that had happened in Xenia. Was very sobering for me as I was just beginning to think and act as if I was invincible and was never going to get old. Was humbling to see days later the destruction that these tornados caused and the deaths lost, homes destroyed and lives never to be the same again. That old saying of 50 years ago....and it STILL feels like yesterday! Blessings To All from COW-lumbus MOO
I remember that day; we heard about it on the radio, and I believe we also had storms later that day in PA! As I recall, that was a Sunday; possibly Easter sunday that year (?)!
@@pattymiller9040 It happened on a Wednesday!
I was 15 and living in Columbus Ohio. I was babysitting my younger sisters and brother chilling after school watching I love Lucy. All at once the show was interrupted by special report. There was nothing said except this. “This is the weather service. Get in the basement or take shelter NOW. A tornado is in Zenia headed North to Columbus. REPEAT TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. Never was I so starteled or scared. I looked out the picture window and the sky was a pea green in parts and dark yellow in others. I have never seen it liked that EVER AND HAVE NEVER SEEN IT LIKE THAT SINCE. I GRABBED MY KIDS AND RAN DOWN. TO THE BASEMENT LESS THAN 5 minutes later it went over our house. The wind was so loud and strong. I held my brother and sisters. That day traumatized me for years. Until I was 24 I had panic attacks every time we got a bad storm. And I didn’t even see it. The noise was deafening the kids were screaming. I had them in the north west corner. Thought we were all going to die. I cured myself of these panic attacks. I had moved to the country where you can see storms coming for miles. I went out on the sidewalk and waited for a huge storm and stayed outside from beginning to end. I remember screaming at the storm and the wind was howling thunder crashing come on mother fucker if you want me take me now with my hands to the sky. I am 65 now and am not afraid I had to face my fear. That’s how bad that storm was. I live in Texas now. Been through Ike Rita and Harvey. Didn’t faze me a bit
These images remind me immediately of the Minnesota tornado outbreak of 1965. I was living in the small town of Excelsior. I'll never ever forget that ghastly f-4 wedge passing just across Galpin Lake where we lived. We were spared. The f-4 was headed toward a number of large marinas on Lake Minnetonka. They were all utterly destroyed. I was ten years old, and if I live to 100 I'll remember that day vividly. Many communities came together to help rebuild the many small towns affected.
The Brandenburg ky tornado missed my school by roughly 1/8 mile. It was sufficiently impressive to make me pay attention to weather 50 years on. Our bus passed through the damage path on the way home
Absolutely FANTASTIC Video!! I was 13 y.o. (living in Columbus Ohio) when it hit Xenia, but, I remember it like it was yesterday!
I was thirteen and living in Columbus too. We spent that night in our basement.
I was in my last year of high school. I grewup in Fairborn, but we had moved to Southern Ohio. But I remember that well.
I was 2 and lived in Columbus, I remember being in the basement that night.
I remember this tragedy. I still think of it from time to time and what Xenia went through. I can't believe it's been 50 years. 😢
My dad and some co- workers (Toledo Fireman) volunteered to help Xenia in the aftermath of the tornado. During the course of their duties they flipped an overturned car back upright, to their amazement there was an infant under the car still alive. Dad was never able to find out if the child made it or not. Hopefully he/she did.
Dad passed away in 1976,
Thanks for everything dad.
When violent EF5 tornadoes get together and want to scare each other, they tell Xenia Tornado stories. It wasn’t just an EF5 tornado . . . it was THE EF5 tornado! 🌪️
Yes, Xenia was historic and horrific but Jarrell has a seat at that table also.
So does Moore/Bridge Creek. 319 miles an hour was the windspeed
Pretty sure Joplin Mo was this vicious too. 😮
It too was an EF5… on the ground for 46 min and killed over 150 people. That was 2011. We drove thru there in 2014 and things were still being cleaned up and starting to rebuild.
@@louistaplin4665 What year was that? I can't remember what they named the 2013 that hit Moore. But we remembered what we went through. I along with four other ladies formed a group and we adopted 12 families that needed help. One of your local churches helped us identify those families. At first we said 6 and then found out there were 6 no one would take on so we took them. We helped them for a solid 12 months. So many of the citizens of Xenia donated money, clothing, household items and mind you, not used but brand new. We wanted to let them know that we knew what they were going through. We wanted to give back because so many helped those that needed in 1974.
@@irismania The Moore/Bridge Creek F5 tornado happened on May 3, 1999. (Jan Griffiths).
Well done, Dayton 24/7 Now.
My Dad and I drove to the city from Hillsboro to offer help, my dad was a carpenter and builder. We were turned back by the Natl. Guard. We did this several times in my childhood. We went down to the Silver Bridge collapse and many other devastated places in our state. But in my memories I can't remember any worse site than coming up to Xenia. My heart and prayers go out to the Survivors and to all those then and now for the Spirit of Thriving in the face of such natural destruction. I hope the community continues to thrive and pass into the future w such driving Spirit.
I was in my first year of graduate school at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. I was not from Indiana, had no television so I listened to radio, and I had no idea where the various spots they were talking about... but I eventually figured out they were generally east and north of Muncie. The next morning, I left campus in a van to go on a geology field trip to West Virginia. We went through Xenia on an interstate that overlooked the town. I'll never forget someone said it looked like a bulldozer with a 1/2-mile-long blade and gone through the town. And that was a good description. I'll never forget what Xenia looked like that morning. The normally noisy van full of students, was quiet for the next hour.
I’m so glad this popped up in my recommendations. What an excellent documentary about one of the most important weather events in American history. I was 21 when the tornado happened and the stories about Xenia were amazing. This storm helped create my fascination with severe weather. May the victims rest in peace.
My dad worked for FEMA and was an educator and went there and helped the rebuilding of that town with his guidance for them to get the federal help they needed.❤
My aunt and uncle survived this tornado. My uncle was the pastor of the church and was there when the tornado hit. I remember coming with my parents afterwards to see the destruction and to visit my aunt and uncle.
First time I have seen any details or interviews like this. Well done
It was initially assigned an F6 rating by Dr. Ted Fujita, but he later downgraded it to an F5. If I was Dr. Fujita, I would've let that F6 rating stand because it was even worse than all the other F5s that day!
Dr. Fujita toyed with/assigning an F6 rating to the 1977 Smithfield (Birmingham), AL tornado. That storm killed dozens & was directly responsible for the crash of Southern Airways flight 242 outside of Atlanta, GA later that afternoon.
Learning that the majority of the victims were children, my heart broke. I began to cry. That makes me so sad because these kids never got to live. They never got to live their lives and become who they wanted to be. It makes me so sad. Rest in Peace little babies 💔
maby they were sinners and did not belive in Jesus.
God's wraith!!
@@JohnnyDanger36963 ……are you high or something? As a Christ Follower myself, your comment makes no sense. God wouldn’t send death to anyone unless he absolutely needed to. This was just nature taking its course. Also, babies aren’t sinners, their babies. Children are only evil if raised wrong.
@@EquineMetalhead you need to watch " the bad seed" kids can be devils. God's wraith!!
I remember when this happened. I still live in Ohio. Tornadoes truly terrify me!
Thank God that so many people survived.
I had never been to Xenia, til about a month before the tornado, when I bought new tires at the Michelin store there. That store was destroyed. I remember checking out the town and thinking it was very attractive. I am glad I got to see it before it became a totally different place.
This is the one they always taught the kids about in elementary school during the early 1990’s.
We had "Day of the Killer Tornadoes" on reel to reel film in the 80's and, from 74 till a few years later, tornado sirens were always screaming, they were taking no chances, but it also caused complacency
Until 2011 when the Joplin Mo EF5 tornado happened. To this day its the costliest of all tornados. It was on the ground for 46 min and over 150 people died. 😢
Very nicely done, thank you. Images here that will never leave the minds of many of us still here today of what we saw and went through that day.
1:40: For me too. I was 14 ( a month before my 15th) years old when this happened, living in southeast Pennsylvania. I became a young weather "geek" after Hurricane Camille in 1969. In that tornado outbreak of 1974 ( which still today is the second largest outbreak of all time in the US with 148 total, of which 30 were F4 or F5s), Xenia was the one place with the most media coverage and attention. In the late 1990s, I made took several road trips from Pennsylvania, going west through Ohio.. On one of them, I took a detour off I-70 and drove about 20 miles south to get to Xenia for a drive through the town before going back to my intended destination.
Nice to see my old classmate Jeff Louderback, I have been gone from Xenia since 1986, but all my family is still there. This is something you never forget that’s for sure.
A Louisville resident. same thing same day..we will never forget..
My Sister, Catherine Wilson ❤
I am a member of the historical society, although I am from extreme Northwest Ohio, so I have talked to her many time. She is a very nice, friendly person
The most surprizing thing to me about this was what came down from the sky a few weeks after a Xenia tornado. My parents were living in Delaware, Ohio (to the northeast of Xenia) and I was visiting on a weekend. Out in the back yard I noticed some things drifting slowly down from the sky. I checked a few of them as they reached the ground. What I remember was those little chips of paper were identifying paper personal bank checks on Xenia banks. It took me a few moments to come to grips with this. But I had visited Xenia by car a few days after that tornado and noticed how a there was a path maybe 30 yards wide diagonally through a residential street visible from a traffic bridge. Totally empty the width of the path; houses remaining standing seemingly untouched, except for the totally destroyed path through them (like a chain saw diagonally through the house). An indelible memory. I doubt I have any souvenirs of those check chips anymore. Would this have been the 1974 tornado?
More than likely
Outstanding job on this video!!
I remember this like it was yesterday. I was 8 and wasn't in Xenia but was at church on Far Hills in Kettering/Centerville and looked outside to see clouds that looked like rows and rows of cotton candy in the sky. It was something to see. Not even aware of the destruction that happened just miles away.
I remember too my school, Dayton Christian received books from Simon Kenton school library, many of which had a tar like substance on them which now I know was most likely tar from the roof of the school. There were other marks on them too, town pages and things like that. One devastating situation led to donations to our school.
Great story by the way. Thank you!
I was 10 years old in Kettering! We hid in the hallway at home. I remember the sky being dark green before the hail started.
Excellent video, well done.
Fun fact. I was on that stage with Maureen shortly before the whole auditorium imploded, partly from the buses landing on the very spot we were in moments before. Pretty amazing experience...
Scary to think had school still have been in session what happened to the auditorium and the gyms. Do you go back in to your locker? I did.
@@irismania I don't think I went back to my locker. I remember Mr. Heath, our drama teacher, led us as a group out the front doors, climbing over the roof that had been blown off and came down in front of the doors. We were all in a bit of shock. I think we stood there staring at all the devastation around us for a bit. Then, we walked off to our various homes. We had no way to call anyone, and our families were seeing the high school destroyed on the news, knowing we were there, but not knowing if we were ok. Pretty wild...
I praise and thank God that your lives were spared! May God 🙌🏻 everyone impacted by this devastating event.
I was in Wilmington, Ohio near Xenia and we walked home from school at 3....we had heard from teachers that tornados were on the way and we were told to keep an eye out and they reminded us to go into the basement or hallway bathroom. Many of us back then walked home, and maybe our mom was home or perhaps at the grocery store (very few mothers worked then) but it was not uncommon....I was in the 4th grade...9 years old. Will never forget the green/yellow hue of the sky and the movement of the clouds. We all knew something bad was approaching.
Great video. What a horrifying event. Nature's sheer power is breathtakingly beautiful and terrifying all at once. Respect Mother Nature.
Respect and love God, Who shields His children always.
@@dianefarley37 I'll respect mother nature 😊 You are welcome to respect whomever you'd like, just the same as I am.
I dated a guy from Xenia in 1971. I hope he made it through that tornado ok. Havent seen him since before the tornado hit.
Fantastically well done documentary, thank you so much for sharing it.
Excellent program!!! Nice job!
I was a high school senior in Norwood, Ohio and remember clearly this day. I did not experience what these folks did but it was still terrifying, not knowing what was going to happen. I remember it as a sunny warm spring day.
I can still remember my late uncle telling me of how he parked Conrail railcars outside of the school, and then surveying the damage the day after. Years later I ran across a picture of those railcars sitting in the school yard, just like my uncle had told me. I'm from the Cincinnati area, but was living in Phoenix when the storm hit.
FANTASTIC video, thanks for making and sharing it 🙏. Those are some hardy/resilient folks, God bless ‘em!
50 Years ago today. I don't remember anything about the storms but I remember a lot of talk about tornados in the weeks following.
Survived this Tornado and I'm on the front page of the paper for the one year anniversary holding a candle . I've never forgotten that day .
I remember it well. I was serving in the Ohio national guard W.C.H. Only had been to 1 monthly meeting when i got the call.
On my 10th birthday, I still remember it well.❤
Very Good!
I remember that tornado. I grewup in Fairborn, Ohio.
At the time, I was 12 and living in Western Pennsylvania. But that was still close enough to vividly recall how devastating this was. Before then, I never really knew the full wrath of a tornado until that fateful day in Western Ohio. What a real monster that thing was. From that point on, the fear of this type of storm would forever be instilled in me.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you.
Excellent reporting, well done.
I remember that day. Fortunately for me, I lived in Cincinnati and we were spared. But the horror of Xenia and, to a lesser degree, many smaller areas were horribly scarred by this act of nature.
I lived in Xenia n had just moved outside of town to Beavercreek. I was 14 at the time. Watched the tornado go across the country and imto Xenia
well done. I have tears, and respect.
I was 11 then and lived in Sharonville and we had a f4 which sat down right behind our house and destroyed around 40 homes and still remember that sound and the fear!!
Very insightful and sad, Great video 👍👍
My family were driving down from my grandparents farm when the weather got really weird. My father was considering stopping until the storm had passed but I wanted to get home. I just felt like the storm was going to get worse. My dad cussed me out but continued to drive all the way to Milwaukee. That’s when we found out that the area that we had just left had been destroyed by a tornado. I forgot to mention, it was on April 21, 1974.
I was 10 years old. My heart goes out to the victims of that multi-vortex monster and I'm also thankful we haven't been hit like that here in Columbus, Ohio. I pray I'm able to leave the area in time if one does come this way.
I'm 72 years old and have lived in Vermont all my life, and I still remember the news coverage of the Xenia tornado and how devastating it was. I was horrified by the destruction.
I was 6years old when this happened, my family and i were living in Benton Arkansas. Hello from Tyler Texas!
I was 9 years old....and remember that day like it was yesterday. It was a day and night of severe weather...i will never forget going thru that tornado
Gil Whitney WHIO Channel 7 Weatherman saved numerous lives that day with his broadcast telling people to get to a safe place I lived in Xenia Ohio at the time & kids just got home from school & were watching afternoon programs when he broke in & announced this we always thought of him as a hero but today you would think he never existed, he saved lives that day!
I lived in the Arrowhead homes worst hit in Xenia the National Guard was called out & no electricity or phone for a week & when we actually could drive to grocery the destruction was enormous it took a good 3 yrs. to put our town back together & a few people just left empty lots & moved out!
There's still debris from that tornado in a woods South of Findlay, Ohio, across from my parents' cemetery (Bishop's).
I was in High School then but this weather event stayed with me! 😢
Most violent tornado outbreak to this day .
We were living in a small town in the foothills of the Applachia - Burkesville KY. I was 13. The sky was eerie - orange, like the sun was setting, but in the wrong direction. We were new in town. Everhone on the street went to a neighbor's basement, but no one called us to join them. We had no idea anything was going on. We didn't know until the next morning that a tornado has struck outside of town, across KY and destroyed Xenia.
I lived in New Lebanon about 25 miles west of Xenia. The weekend prior to the tornado, my parents had taken 15 year old me and one of my friends to Xenia to see log cabins and other historical sights. We were stunned that shortly thereafter, it was all gone.
Great program!
I was in 3 rd grade in Decatur, Ill. The sky got a strange color and someone burst into the classroom to get in the hallway because a tornado was coming…right at us.
We learned later there were two, sister tornados, that a mile from the school hit a ravine and changed course.
That night we had a small quake.
My parents tell me stories of that day, being a town over.
Great documentary!!
50 years already. I was living in Windsor, Ontario on that day and heard the crack as a tornado demolished the curling club a mile from our house, killing 9 people. We were fortunate, though, compared to what Xenia suffered
50 years since this outbreak I can picture and image the destruction that happened in front of everyone
That was one of the scariest Years I've known. Not the only one but wow. it was crazy
My family were driving down from my grandparents farm when the weather got really weird. My father was considering stopping until the storm had passed but I wanted to get home. I just felt like the storm was going to get worse. My dad cussed me out but continued to drive all the way to Milwaukee. That’s when we found out that the area that we had just left had been destroyed by a tornado.
That tornado was headed towards Dayton where I lived when I was 11 years old and my mom was getting us ready to go into the basement when it changed direction a little and went for Xenia.
I remember that day clearly. Fred had family living in Arrowhead.
When Xenia was hit April 2024, my uncle’s home was completely destroyed in Ky. They were at my folks home on a visit for Easter when they lost everything. Exactly to the date 40 years forward, they were on a trip to Florida when they were caught in a tornado in Georgia. My cousin was killed and 2 other passengers were critically injured, including my uncle and her brother. The brother broke his neck and made a miraculous recovery. One passenger walked out of the wreck which was hit by a semi propelled into their car during the tornado.
I was near the path of the Xenia tornado 15 miles to the northeast, after it had struck Xenia. I remember that pressure feeling and color to the skies that drew me outside, TV and radio was not on. Immediately after stepping out the door I saw the massive black tornado coming only about 1 mile away. It hit a local farm with cattle and completely leveled the home and barns. As a 13 year old, that frightful day lives in my memory. Many nightmares of tornadoes afterwards. Always take heed to weather forecaster's watches and warnings. There were several tornadoes yesterday on this 50th anniversary.
I was 12 that year and out playing baseball when the sky got incredibly dark. We lived in Franklin, about 30 miles away from Xenia. We had baseball sized hail that beat the windows out of homes and cars minutes before Xenia was hit. It was truly horrific but pales to what those people went through. That tornado was an absolute monster.
april 3 1974 the wrath of GOD F-5 tornado destroyed xenia ,ohio and lives were changed forever
Tomorrow April 3 OH is supposed to have nasty weather with possible tornadoes and flooding. 😢
I remember it quite well. I was in 4th grade living in PA. For a long time I didn't know tornadoes were real. The on in The Wizard of Oz scared me but I also wanted to see one. I still have not just the aftermath of the May 31, 1985 outbreak.
Our area had a tornado in spring of 68. 2 small tornadoes went together and hit Wheelersburg, Ohio. The destruction is unreal.
I remember the day when the tornado hit Zenia and where I was that day.
I was in this tornado, my grandparents and parents were golfing at the golf course in Xenia and when it hit we hid under the tables in the clubhouse
GOD BLESS GIL WHITNEY from channel 7 saved many lives
I'm from North Dakota. I remember hearing about it. Bless your brave souls.
I agree with Dr. Fujita's preliminary assessment that the Xenia 🌪 was an F-6. It was not far out of left field.