xenia ohio tornado 1999

A day after the 1974 tornadoes, Opening Day in Cincinnati went on as scheduled even though the sight of so much destruction in person or on TV and so many deaths and injuries left many fans in a somber mood. A total of 32 people lost their lives in the tornado, and about 1,150 were injured in Xenia, several of whom took proper shelter. Remembering the deadly Xenia tornado on its 45th anniversary Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen on state active duty assisted in the cleanup efforts in Xenia, Ohio after an April 3, 1974, tornado. Eighty-eight buildings in southern Kenton County were destroyed, including Janet Cooper's 175-year-old home. [57] The death toll from the two tornadoes was over 45 and over 400 were injured. [8] By 19:50 UTC, supercells producing F3 tornadoes hit the Decatur and Normal areas in Illinois. 3. Nick is a Riverside native and has been a journalist in the Dayton area for more than 20 years. Damage in Delhi was rated as high as F4. [8] This first convective band moved rapidly northeast, at times reaching speeds of about 60kn (69mph) (30.9m/s (111km/h)). A large floating restaurant barge at this location was lifted, ripped from its moorings, and flipped by the tornado. There were a record 30 F4-F5 tornadoes in six states in a 24-hour period (April 3-4). [46][56] Numerous homes throughout Madison County were swept completely away, with extensive wind-rowing of debris noted once again. (CVG had radar back then, but Dayton didnt.) Nothing was left of the plant but a pile of mangled steel beams, and its foundation was partially pushed clean of debris. A total of 23 people were killed in Guin.[54][63]. The storm hit before the disaster warning systems we take for granted today. It was also noted for the rarity in that its path was in parts of three states. A violent tornado devastated the community of Xenia, Ohio on April 3, 1974. [6][54] Past Delmar, the tornado grew up to a mile wide as it tore through the William B. Bankhead National Forest, flattening a huge swath of trees. The outbreak extensively damaged approximately 900sqmi (2,331km2) along a total combined path length of 2,600mi (4,184km). With winds up to 70 miles per hour, the F4 tornado caused major structural damage throughout the city that night, including at the fairgrounds, churches, and businesses like Groceryland (now Grocerylan), which was flattened. Residential areas in Guin suffered total devastation, with many homes swept completely away and scattered across fields. A total of 11 tornadoes were reported in those 24 hours. [6][43], Dick Gilbert, a helicopter traffic reporter for radio station WHAS-AM, followed the tornado through portions of its track including when it heavily damaged the Louisville Water Company's Crescent Hill pumping station, and gave vivid descriptions of the damage as seen from the air. [7], Michigan was not hit as hard as neighboring states or Windsor, with only one deadly tornado that hit near Coldwater and Hillsdale, killing people in mobile homes; however, thunderstorm downpours caused flash floods, and north of the warm front in the Upper Peninsula, heavy snowfall was reported. +Cincinnati Magazine looks back to see how Cincinnatians of the past made it through their dark days and to the leaders of todays efforts to move forward. Further analysis by Ted Fujita indicated that at the start of the tornado path near Otterbein, downburst winds (also called "twisting downburst") disrupted the tornado's inflow which caused it to briefly dissipate before redeveloping near Brookston in White County at around 4:50pm EDT and then traveled for 109 miles (175km). The adrenaline of crisis galvanized Xenia residents quickly. Xenia didnt even have sirens to wail. 6. 2000-9-20 - F4 Tornado: 3.6 mi. 4. There were no confirmed touchdowns in Greene County, but one reportedly hit Clark County. Published photographs of this storm reveal a very wide debris cloud and wall cloud structure, with no visible condensation funnel at times. 2023 www.cincinnati.com. The 1974 F5 wasnt the only twister to hit Xenia even though its wrath is unmatched. Four schools, nine churches, and more than 1,300 homes and businesses were totaled. She wasnt even born when the 1974 tornado hit, but she was around for the 2000 storm that killed one person, and now shes seen her neighbors respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Montgomery/Blue Ash tornado tore through Ohio on April 9, 1999. A portion of Fujita's track analysis focused on the northern portion of the outbreak. Monday night a series of tornadoes ripped through the Miami Valley and the region killing one in Mercer County and injuring scores of others. In that pre-FEMA era, help came from the Ohio National Guard, Red Cross, and regional aid workers. At one point, 15 separate tornadoes were ongoing at the same time. [69] The National Guard provided four-wheel drive vehicles for search and rescue efforts. The tornado then finally dissipated near Oliver Lake airfield. ActressSharon Tate and four others were brutally murdered in Los Angeles by followers of Charles Manson. The worst and most widespread damage came on April 3, 1974, during the country's deadliest Super Tornado Outbreak. 1979. [6] The tornado first moved across the north edge of Hardinsburg, inflicting F3 damage to homes at that location. The next occurrence of two F5 tornadoes hitting the same state on the same day happened in March 1990 in Kansas, and then in both Mississippi and Alabama on April 27, 2011. [1] The first tornado of the outbreak is disputed, with some sources indicating an isolated F2 in Indiana at 13:30UTC while Fujita marked the outbreak's onset at 18:10UTC with a F0 in Illinois. These aerial photographs were provided to NWS Wilmington, Ohio by Attila Kilinc and are used with permission. The Drake Motel on Reading Road sustained heavydamagewith crumbled walls and shattered windows. Were a tough group, says Xenia Mayor Sarah Mays. A total of 35 were killed 33 the day of the tornado and two who died later as a result of the storm. Hope,[46] and then tracked into Mt. [51][52], While tornadoes were causing devastation in the northwesternmost corner of the state, another supercell crossing the Mississippi-Alabama state line produced another violent tornado that touched down in Pickens County before heading northeast for nearly 2 hours towards the Jasper area causing major damage to its downtown as the F4 storm struck. [6] The tornado first struck the Guin Mobile Home Plant as it entered the town, completely obliterating the structure. "There is just no way to calculate the damage. "The house was crashing in and the winds were picking me off the bed and I believed I was about to die," she said. CINCINNATI Charles Mara of Sayler Park said he would never forget the terrifying sight of the April 3, 1974 tornado bearing down on his house. Xenia Ohio 1974. The Guin tornado was originally believed by Fujita to have had a 132 miles (212km) long path, that went all the way from Vernon, to the small town of Hytop, just a few miles south of the Tennessee state line. However, the 46.5 miles (74.8km) section of the original path, from Decatur to Hytop, was determined later to be from the F3 tornado listed below. The first tornado formed at 6:30pm CDT in Lawrence County, Alabama and ended just over 90 minutes later in Madison County, Alabama, killing 28 people. Past Harvest, the tornado abruptly dissipated northeast of town, having a peak width of 500 yards. On the 44th anniversary of the 1974 tornado, an F1 tornado uprooted trees, damaged homes and leveled barns in Beavercreek, Miami Township and Xenia. [6] Numerous homes in Harvest and surrounding rural areas of the county were swept completely away and scattered, and extensive wind-rowing of debris was noted. [nb 1] In the United States, tornadoes struck Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. Damage was reported in Cullman from the storm before it lifted. The 1974 tornadoes forced updates to weather technology, storm warning systems, and federal disaster recovery. SEE how the Enhanced Fujita Scale, adopted in 2007, measures tornadoes. She served as Xenia mayor from 2010 to 2017 and agrees that her community is resilient, but she cautions that a disaster doesnt wipe out divisions. [6][29], After the tornado struck Monticello, the tornado reached peak strength and completely leveled several farms northwest of town. The deadliest tornado of the April 3-4, 1974 outbreak was the F5 that hit Xenia, OH. [22] It toppled headstones in Cherry Grove Cemetery, then moved through the length of the downtown business district, passing west of the courthouse (which sustained some exterior damage). 9. Those tornadoes killed five people in Hamilton County and sent more than 200 injured to hospitals. It was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period and was also the most violent outbreak recorded with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. Zelphia Taylor, 45, and her husband, Norman, were in a car that was flipped several times by high winds at Reading and Galbraith. The 1974 Super Outbreak was the first tornado outbreak in recorded history to produce more than 100 tornadoes in under a 24-hour period, a feat that was not repeated globally until the 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak[4] and in the United States until the 2011 Super Outbreak. Fifty-one years ago, on Aug. 9, 1969, a tornado struck near Galbraith and Reading roads in Reading, leaving four dead and more than 200 injured. One of the few consolations from the tornado was that a century-old bronze bell that belonged to the White County Courthouse and served as timekeeper was found intact despite being thrown a great distance. The tornado then crossed Dewart Lake and Lake Wawasee, destroying multiple lakeside homes and trailers. The Walker County Library and the Jasper First Methodist Church were also damaged. Lightning was lighting up all over the place.". XENIA Its an anniversary people would rather not celebrate. The damage became more intense continuous as the tornado entered Tuscaloosa County. [6][19] The same storm would later produce tornadoes in the Louisville metro area.[6]. There was just nothing left," he said. He said his wife and three sons had called him to the front door to look at a funnel cloud crossing the Ohio River. [70] The local Red Cross provided $3,000 to victims in Fayette County and assisted residents with acquiring supplies and dealing with medical bills. The fierce 100-123 mile per hour winds damaged 106 houses and 10 businesses, leaving many without power. I tried to catch the doors which were moving out. Been googling a bit, and wondered about some of the other ones. [44] A WHAS-TV cameraman also filmed the tornado when it passed just east of the Central Business District of Louisville. We have even seen tornadoes in August (1969) and November (1992). Crossing into Winston County, the tornado struck the small community of Delmar, destroying additional homes and killing 5 people. [74][75] The primary purpose of the act was to overhaul how disasters are handled on a federal level and to make acquiring federal aid easier. T. Rows of old-growth trees in Terrace Park were splintered and toppled. The Wawasee Airport was hard hit, where hangars were destroyed and planes were thrown and demolished. Notably, it would prompt the creation of a disaster coordinating agency. One of the buildings destroyed was a publications center for the Nuclear Weapons Training School on the Arsenal. According to The Weather Channel, on April 3-4 there were 148 tornadoes in 13 states and Canada of which 30 were categorized as violent including six rated F5. . At one point forecasters in Indiana, frustrated because they could not keep up with all of the simultaneous tornado activity, put the entire state of Indiana under a blanket tornado warning. Then disaster struck again on Sept. 20, 2000. [17] The tornado had a peak width of 7001,760 yards (6401,610m). Nearly half of the town's population of 25,000 were left homeless. All utilities were knocked out and communication with those off campus was nearly impossible. [54] The tornado crossed Lewis Smith Lake and moved across the south side of Cullman at 7:40 pm. At one point, the National Weather Service was tracking five funnel clouds on its local radar at the airport. More than 100 tornadoes associated with 33 tornado families. Remarkable electrical phenomenon was reported as the tornado passed through Huntsville, with reports of luminous clouds, ball lightning, and multi-colored flashes and glowing areas in the sky as the storm moved through the city. Tornado Anniversary. A small tornado, spotted in the field along Fairground Road, struck Xenia at 9:35 p.m. April 25, 1989. [citation needed], By 12:00 UTC on April 3, a large-scale trough extended over most of the contiguous United States, with several modest shortwaves rotating around the broad base of the trough. Firefighters discovered them in the wreckage the next morning. At the same time, the forward-propagating MCS spread into the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, where it evolved into the first of three main convection bands that produced tornadoes. "That was an eerie feeling. [7] Meanwhile, a new band of scattered thunderstorms developed at 15:00 UTC over eastern Arkansas and Missouri; over the next four hours, this band became the focus for several intense supercells, starting in eastern Illinois and southern Indiana. ", "The Super Tornado Outbreak of 1974 Farmers' Almanac", "TORNADO OUTBREAK OPENED EYES ABOUT MYTHS, SCHOOL SAFETY", "4 Apr 1974, Page 7 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com", "The Indefinitive List of the Strongest Tornadoes Ever Recorded (Part IV) |", "April 3, 1974 Xenia Tornado Memorial Marker", "Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value from 1913 to 2015", "Monticello, Indiana April 3, 1974: Fort Wayne Girl Survives Van's Plunge", "Monticello, Indiana April 3, 1974: 122-year-old Bell Survives", "Our Meade County Heritage: Forward and Dedication", "Tri-State remembers Sayler Park Tornado of 1974", Times Daily pg 66 Google News Archive Search, "Limestone County Damage Pictures on the Ground", "Madison County Damage Pictures on the Ground", "Never Before Seen Aerial Pictures of Tornado Damage Taken by Madison County, AL", "NOAA and the 1974 Tornado Outbreak Alabama", "The April 3rd and 4th 1974 Tornado Outbreak in Alabama", "Alabama Tornado DatabaseYear 1974 Tornadoes", "3/21/01 EIIP Virtual Forum Transcript: The Lawrence County Supercell, the Forgotten F5", "F5 Tornadoes of the United States: 1950present", "Night of April 3, 1974, marked change in severe weather alerts, preparedness", "Alabama Tornado Database (1974 tornadoes)", "Area Residents Begin Clearing Up Tornado Wreckage", "Red Cross Completes Tornado Damage List", "To Pass S.3062, The Disaster Relief Bill", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Natural Disaster Survey Report: The Widespread Tornado Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974, "WHAS Radio Covers the April 3, 1974 Tornado Disaster," excellent-quality recorded coverage of the tornado at LKYRadio.com, The April 3rd and 4th 1974 Tornado Outbreak in Alabama, The Super Outbreak: Outbreak of the Century (Slide show), The 34 April 1974 Super Outbreak: Outbreak of the Century (Slide show Revised), The Super Outbreak: Outbreak of the Century, Revisiting the 34 April 1974 Super Outbreak of Tornadoes, Potential insurance losses from a major tornado outbreak: the 1974 Super Outbreak example, A website dedicated to the Super Outbreak, Super Outbreak 30th Anniversary Special (WHAS Louisville), WHAS April 3, 1974 Live Breaking News Coverage part 1, WHAS April 3, 1974 Live Breaking News Coverage part 2, 1974 Alabama tornado table including tornadoes from the Super Outbreak Courtesy of NWS Birmingham, Alabama, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974_Super_Outbreak&oldid=1152323950, 4:47p.m. 6:47p.m. April 3 (UTC05:00), This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 14:59. [18][19], The tornado that struck the city of Xenia, Ohio stands as the deadliest individual tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, killing 32 people and destroying a significant portion of the town. Numerous businesses in downtown Xenia were heavily damaged or destroyed, and several people were killed at the A&W Root Beer stand as the building was flattened. The Tri-State may not be part of "Tornado Alley," but springtime tornadoes and severe storms almost seem like a regular occurrence. [73], On April10, voting on the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 was expedited and passed unanimously in the United States Senate in direct response to the scale of damage from the tornado outbreak. A caboose was knocked off the tracks into a field. Home destroyed in Piner, Kentucky, in 2012. A man who was at the fairgrounds ahead of Old Timers Days was killed when a tree fell and crushed his car, trapping him; volunteers and emergency personnel worked to free him. Despite the fact that no one was killed or seriously injured at the college, 32 of the college's 33 buildings were damaged, including two that were completely destroyed and six that sustained major structural damage. [76] President Nixon signed it into federal law on May22.[77]. This forced people to come together, she says, but it doesnt really last, and thats unfortunate. A 1982 case study of Xenias recovery by the Disaster Research Center at Ohio State University documents conflicts over residential planning, urban renewal, rezoning, and racial and socioeconomic inequities conflicts every municipality must navigate, writ large post-disaster. Most of the small town of Tanner, west of Huntsville in Limestone County, was destroyed when two F5 tornadoes struck the community 30 minutes apart. The 1974 tornado heads toward Greene Memorial Hospital. [70] President Nixon approved federal aid for Fayette, Greenbriar, Raleigh, and Wyoming Countieson April11. Flash floods were considered a major risk in the region's mountainous terrain. The Super Outbreak set in motion a host of changes to weather reporting, including outdoor warning sirens, emergency power backup, and wider use of radar at NWS stations. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards from residences and mangled, and a few were completely wrapped around trees. A collection of dramatic photographs from the Dayton Daily News archive documents the ruin a tornado left in Xenia on April 3, 1974. March 31, 2023 The Xenia tornado on April 3, 1974, was the strongest storm in the string of deadly twisters that touched down from Alabama to southeastern Canada. Pete Rose knocked in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth and scored the winning run in the 11th, and baseball, as Terrence Mann would say, would remind us of all that once was good, and that could be again. After devastating what was left of Tanner, the tornado continued across rural Limestone County and into Madison County, where the communities of Capshaw and Harvest were devastated once again. Local Product Criteria. A total of 315 people died in 11 states died during the two-day outbreak. F5 damage was observed near the community of Depauw, where numerous farms were leveled. Click each thumbnail to view the full-size version (1500 x 1000 px). And while Xenia's death toll was the single largest, it accounted. "[62] Surveyor J.B. Elliot noted that the destruction was so complete, that even some of the foundations were "dislodged, and in some cases swept away." The tornado approaching the city of Madison. But thanks to early warning from an MP picket line on Rideout Road (now Research Park Boulevard (SR 255)), there were only three, relatively minor, injuries. The Upper Krust restaurant at 172 Reading Road had been destroyed in a fire in March 1969, and had re-opened just a few weeks before it was reduced to rubble a second time. The 1974 Super Outbreak occurred at the end of a very strong, nearly record-setting La Nia event. Several F2 and F3 tornadoes had struck portions of the Ohio Valley and the South in a separate, earlier outbreak on April 1 and 2, which included three killer tornadoes in Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee. 1989-4-25 - F2 Tornado: 0.3 mi. The storm came with no warning from the National Weather Service, but the Emergency Operating Center issued a tornado warning. More than 350 homes were destroyed and hundreds more were badly damaged. [11] The first F5 tornado of the day struck the city of Depauw, Indiana, at 3:20pm EDT. "It lasted about a minute and then I looked and everything was gone the roof, the walls, everything. In comparison, the two tornadoes that hit Xenia and Sayler Park in 1974 were rated F5and the 1999 tornado was an F4. The F5 category tornado brought winds up to 250 miles an hour, bulldozing a half-mile-wide swath through Xenia. . The worst and most widespread damage came on April 3, 1974, during the country's deadliest Super Tornado Outbreak. Smithville 2011. Major damage in the Northfield neighborhood of Louisville, including a vehicle partially wrapped around a tree. An F-5 tornado went straight through Xenia, Ohio's downtown. In 1974, a young Xenia, Ohio, resident sweeps the slab of a house that was destroyed in a tornado that struck the town April 3. [8] These storms, forming after 23:00 UTC, produced some of the most powerful tornadoes of the outbreak, including a large and long-tracked F4 that struck the western and central portions of Alabama, tracking for just over 110 miles (180km), two F5s that both slammed into Tanner, causing extensive fatalities, an extremely potent F5 that devastated Guin in Alabama, and multiple violent, deadly tornadoes that affected and caused fatalities in Tennessee. Formula works for Bellbrook in no-hitter at Carroll, Hill sets school record for Beavercreek Sports Digest: April 5, 2025, Transgender woman not guilty of public indecency, County prosecutor presents Victims Rights Week Awards, Children, children advocates honored at breakfast. Huntsville was affected shortly before 11:00 pm EDT by a strong F3 tornado produced by the same thunderstorm that produced the Guin tornado. The most Tri-State deaths nine happened on March 2, 2012, when a tornado skipped from Ripley County, Indiana, to Kenton and Grant counties in Northern Kentucky and to Clermont County in Ohio. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration It also heavily damaged the Penn Central bridge over the Tippecanoe River. [72] Sightseers traveling to look at the damage clogged up roadways. Mobile homes in Delmar were obliterated, with their frames wrapped around trees. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. There were seven F5 tornadoes[10] and 23 F4 tornadoes. Their neighbors were thrown from their home, too. 2. The tornado then went on to tear through the west side of Rochester, where businesses were destroyed and homes were completely leveled and swept away. One of the girls called me out to look at the rain, Burger Chef night manager William Featherkile told The Enquirer in 1969. A Fairborn medic assists after a tornado hit Xenia in 2000. Homes swept away and scattered across fields near Hazel Green, Alabama, as a result of the second F5 tornado to impact the area. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. The tornado finally dissipated south of Basham, destroying 546 structures, killing 28 people, and injuring 332 others. Cherokee Park, a historic 409-acre (1.66km2) municipal park located at Eastern Parkway and Cherokee Road, had thousands of mature trees destroyed. 5. More than 100 were injured. Thirty-one people have died locally in tornadoes and severe storms since 1968. But rebuilding was a tangible goal, and Xenia rebuilt. On Sunday morning, 700 members of the Ohio National Guard arrived to help cleanup and rescue efforts. Two of the fatalities in Tennessee occurred when a church was destroyed during service. Noble from the family farm on Stone Road near Hook Road. Areas near Palmyra and Borden were also heavily affected by the tornado. The funnel cloud tore through sections of Hartwell, Arlington Heights, Reading, Amberley Village, Deer Park, Silverton, Madeira, Indian Hill and Terrace Park, according to storm data. [6] The town's downtown area was also devastated with 18 of the fatalities occurring along Green Street alone. Sharon Hagle Winter Park, Fl, Articles X