Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Xenia Tornado - April 3, 1974 - A Look Back



On April 3rd back in 1974, the 2nd deadliest tornado outbreak in US history (2nd only to the outbreak last year).  The Xenia tornado touched down around 4:30PM and was on the ground for more than 30 miles killing 32 people.  All told, 12 tornadoes touched down in Ohio in less than 24 hours with 148 tornadoes across 13 states!  Half of the buildings in Xenia were destroyed

Imagine television weather reports like this in 2012. The archaic radar loop hardly has any detail!


Original 8mm footage of the tornado as it approached



The photos of the damage below tell it all.











HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE (ABOVE) AND AFTER (BELOW)

The "Ohio History" website has even more great photos and some video.

http://www.ohiohistory.org/etcetera/exhibits/swio/pages/content/1974_tornado.htm



1 comment:

Diane Barski said...

Thanks so much for the coverage. I can't help but comment about this tornado every time we pass the Xenia sign on I-75, My now-grown children heard about the tragedy every time we drove to Disneyworld. Now I can share your coverage with them. Thank you.