National Weather Service photo of the F5 tornado |
I didn't live in Ohio when this tragedy happened but the very mention of this event strikes fear in many Southwestern Ohio residents. A super outbreak of 148 tornadoes occurred in 13 states beginning on April 3rd, 1974 and ending on April 4th. It still ranks as one of the largest natural disasters in American history. Xenia OH was the hardest hit community. Half of the city was removed from the map in a matter of minutes.
I remember when I first moved to Cincinnati Ohio in 1979, there was a tornado warning in effect one evening. I was at a friends house whose family was from Dayton OH, which is right next to Xenia. I'd been in tornado warnings before and it is scary but my friend's family was really freaking out. This is why.
What is interesting is that this area was well known by American Indians for severe weather events and warned settlers not to build permanent settlements here. The Shawnee called it "the place of the devil wind". There have been twenty recorded tornadoes in this area since 1884.
Xenia Tornado
April 3, 1974
OHS marker in front of the 1799 Galloway Log Home |
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Thank you for the article
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