. While moving into the Mississippi and Ohio Valley areas, a surge of unusually moist air intensified the storm further, while there were sharp temperature contrasts between both sides of the system. 45 years ago, a heinous F5 tornado tore through this town and changed it forever By Matthew Cappucci April 3, 2019 at 12:02 p.m. EDT Damage in Xenia, Ohio, following an F5 tornado on April. The U.S. Riddle Elementary School was badly damaged as well. Another funnel cloud formed over Standiford Field Airport, touched down at The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, and destroyed the majority of the horse barns at the center and part of Freedom Hall (a multipurpose arena) before it crossed I-65, scattering several vehicles on that busy expressway. [8] In the wake of the MCS, backing low-level winds, rapid diurnal destabilization, and perhaps cool, mid-level advection had occurred over the warm sector, weakening the convective inhibition (CINH) layer, and favorable wind profiles bolstered helicity to over 230 m2/sa combination of factors conducive to tornadogenesis. When a tornado roars into a populated area, the change is often . [46] The storm then slammed into Tanner, where many homes were swept away, vehicles were tossed, shrubbery was debarked, and Lawson's Trailer Park sustained major damage. [6] The tornado formed near Bellbrook, Ohio, southwest of Xenia, at about 4:30 pm EDT. There were no fatalities there, a blessing that may be attributed in part to the fact that the Xenia disaster had put residents on high alert. 1:25. It is probably the least-known of the F5 tornadoes in the outbreak as it traveled through rural areas in southern Indiana northwest of Louisville, traversing about 65 miles (105km) through parts of Perry and Harrison Counties. Moriah, where the tornado rapidly intensified and swept away homes and hurled fleeing vehicles, and where a family of six were killed. Twenty-five years ago this weekend, the town of Xenia, Ohio was crushed by . 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. The F2 tornado spared lives this time but left reportedly $1.22 million of damage to clean up. Numerous homes were destroyed in residential areas, including a few that were leveled. The deadliest tornado of the April 3-4, 1974 outbreak was the F5 that hit Xenia, OH. Those tornadoes killed five people in Hamilton County and sent more than 200 injured to hospitals. They were thrown 30 yards almost to the curb. WCPO photographer Ron Fischer, who retired in 2017 after 50 years on the job, remembered flying in the station's helicopter with legendary anchorman Al Schottelkotte that day and shooting tornado damage. This tornado produced heavy damage in the south end of the city, eventually damaging or destroying nearly 1,000 structures. Aerial photos of the Xenia debris fields and Cincinnatians snapshots of the Sayler Park funnel cloud helped scientists unravel what happened in the chaos. All rights reserved. The mid-latitude low-pressure center over Kansas continued to deepen to 980mb (28.94inHg), and wind speeds at the 850-mb level increased to 50kn (58mph) (25.7m/s (93km/h)) over portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Cindy Gorth's aunt, Carol Forste, lived in Moscow on Elizabeth Street near the river. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has been making sure the 1969 tornado is remembered by collecting photos of the storm and aftermath to be scanned into the Digital Library and recording oral history interviews. Five hundred buildings were destroyed, with nearly four hundred other buildings severely damaged. (CVG had radar back then, but Dayton didnt.) The worst and most widespread damage came on April 3, 1974, during the country's deadliest Super Tornado Outbreak. Dr. Ted Fujita and a team of colleagues undertook a 10-month study of the 1974 Super Outbreak. Forste died in the rubble of her house as Gorth and others tried to rescue her. Tornado Distance; 1. [6], This half-mile (0.8km) wide F4 tornado developed (as part of a tornado family that moved from Illinois to Michigan for 260 miles) during the late afternoon hours. 1979. Xenia Tornado rare footage - YouTube 0:00 / 0:09 Xenia Tornado rare footage 677 views May 20, 2021 Rare footage of the 1974 Xenia, Ohio tornado taken from an old news clip. Scripps School of Journalism. [23][24][25] About 1,400 buildings (roughly half of the town) were heavily damaged or destroyed. "It lasted about a minute and then I looked and everything was gone the roof, the walls, everything. The tornado tore directly through downtown Jasper at 6:57 PM, resulting in severe damage and at least 100 injuries. The 1974 F5 wasnt the only twister to hit Xenia even though its wrath is unmatched. More than 500 homes were damaged along with the death of four people and multiple injuries. 6. A violent tornado devastated the community of Xenia, Ohio on April 3, 1974. [70] The Federal Disaster Assistance Administration (later FEMA) indicated that trailers refurbished after the 1972 Buffalo Creek flood would be used to house displaced persons. [12] During the peak of the outbreak, a staggering 16 tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously. Thirty-one people have died locally in tornadoes and severe storms since 1968. The same storm would later strike the Cincinnati area, producing multiple tornadoes, including another F5 tornado. These factors allowed the northern part of the MCS to accelerate due to efficient ducting, while the southern part slowed as the boundary layer warmed and moistened. Flash floods were considered a major risk in the region's mountainous terrain. Crossing into Winston County, the tornado struck the small community of Delmar, destroying additional homes and killing 5 people. Tanner was hit by yet another EF5 tornado during the 2011 Super Outbreak. . There were no confirmed touchdowns in Greene County, but one reportedly hit Clark County. This tornado produced the longest damage path recorded during the 1974 Super Outbreak, on a southwest to northeast path that nearly crossed the entire state of Indiana. [76] President Nixon signed it into federal law on May22.[77]. Tornados near Xenia, Ohio - GeoStat.org 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. [6][54] The same supercell then re-strengthened and produced a new tornado just south of the town of Decatur. The fierce 100-123 mile per hour winds damaged 106 houses and 10 businesses, leaving many without power. The 197374 La Nia was just as strong as the 199899 La Nia. The most recent official National Weather Service records show that both[58][59] of the Tanner tornadoes were rated F5. [6][61] According to NWS damage surveyor Bill Herman, the damage in one 6-block area was particularly extreme, and remarked that "It was just like the ground had been swept clean. Activity in the south moved towards the Appalachians during the overnight hours and produced the final tornadoes across the southeast during the morning of April 4. [2] The majority of these were long-lived and long-tracked individual supercells. [6] Overall, six were killed by the storm and 86 were injured. The same system that spawned the Xenia tornado first came through Greater Cincinnati. All three storms swept through communities leaving a deadly and destructive wake. The tornado destroyed several buildings as it passed between Ligonier and Topeka, including Perry School and a Monsanto plant. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards from residences and mangled, and a few were completely wrapped around trees. Nine schools, nine churches and nearly 180 businesses were ripped apart. [44], WHAS-AM broke away from its regular programming shortly before the tornado struck Louisville and was on-air live with John Burke, the chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Louisville office at Standiford Field when the tornado first descended.