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On April 3-41974, the Super Outbreak of tornados over a 24hr period had 148 confirmed tornadoes in 13 US states, killing approximately 315 people and injuring nearly 5,500. The worst was an F5 that destroyed Xenia, Ohio. From the article:
"The April 3-4, 1974 Super Outbreak affected 13 states across the eastern United States, from the Great Lakes region all the way to the Deep South. In all, 148 tornadoes were documented from this event, of which 95 were rated F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale and 30 were F4 or F5. Aside from all the castastrophic damage they left behind, the tornadoes resulted in 335 deaths and more than 6000 injuries.
Some of the strongest tornadoes from this outbreak occurred right here in the Ohio Valley. Dozens of tornadoes struck Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, resulting in 159 deaths, over 4000 injuries, and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. Two violent F5 tornadoes destroyed much of Xenia and Sayler Park (a western suburb of Cincinnati) in Ohio. Resulting in 34 deaths, the Xenia tornado was the deadliest of all tornadoes from this outbreak and remains among the top 10 costliest U.S. tornadoes on record (approximately $250 million in 1974). Several other strong F2 to F4 tornadoes also touched down during the Super Outbreak across southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky, and southwest Ohio, an area that today encompasses NWS Wilmington, Ohio's warning area.
National Weather Service office boundaries and technology were quite different back in 1974. The Weather Service Office (WSO) in Cincinnati served the greater Cincinnati Tri-State area while WSO Dayton was responsible for the Miami Valley and west-central Ohio. In those days, not every NWS office was equipped with a radar. A WSR-57 (Weather Surveillance Radar - 1957) was installed at WSO Cincinnati in 1960, giving NWS meteorologists coarse reflectivity data but no velocity data, which made it extremely difficult to detect tornadoes. Storms on the radar screen were traced onto thin paper maps, and meteorologists heavily relied on the manifestation of hook echoes as well as spotter reports when issuing tornado warnings. WSO Dayton did not have a radar of its own but utilized a facsimile machine tied into Cincinnati's WSR-57 (also known by its identifier, CVG) display.
When the CVG radar displayed hook echoes and other impressive storm features outside WSO Cincinnati's warning area on April 3, meteorologists there made calls to the appropriate neighboring offices. At one point, the CVG radar screen displayed five distinct hook echoes--more than meteorologists there had ever seen before. Shortly after 4:30 PM, a call was made by WSO Cincinnati to WSO Dayton to ensure they had seen the hook echoes, of which one was quickly approching Xenia. In fact, the National Weather Service in Dayton had already issued a tornado warning for Montgomery and Greene counties around 4:10 PM (in effect until 5:00 PM), based on radar indication of a possible tornado 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati moving northeastward. The tornado touched down about 4:33 PM near Lower Bellbrook Road, flattened much of the Windsor Park and Arrowhead subdivisions minutes later, and then roared into central Xenia around 4:40 PM. In the following months, careful analysis of all the damage led Dr. Fujita and other experts to determine that the Xenia tornado was in fact the worst of all the 148 Super Outbreak tornadoes.
About an hour after the Xenia tornado, another violent F5 tornado took aim at the western suburbs of Cincinnati. The only tri-state twister of the Super Outbreak, this tornado originated near Rising Sun in Indiana around 5:30 PM, passed through Kentucky, and then crossed the Ohio River to inflict severe damage in Sayler Park and other neighborhoods west of Cincinnati. This tornado was witnessed by many, including by those at the Greater Cincinnati International Airport and WSO Cincinnati, which had issued a tornado warning at 4:45 PM (in effect until 5:45 PM). Then at 5:40 PM, the power went out at WSO Cincinnati, resulting in a loss of radar, teletype, and most means of communication. While the power was out for the next three hours, the NWS in Cincinnati had some backup radar imagery available from the Air Force and FAA and had the NWS in Cleveland issue warnings for them. Fortunately, most of the worst tornadoes had already occurred before the power went down, but the need for emergency power backup at National Weather Service offices was recognized following this event.
In the aftermath of this horrific event, many lessons were learned that have since been applied by various government agencies to mitigate hazards in subsequent severe weather outbreaks. Improvements in communications, warning systems, emergency preparedness, and forecast techniques and equipment have been implemented since the Super Outbreak, with the end result being increased lead times for warnings, more accurate forecasts of events, greater public awareness, and more reliable communications."
"The April 3-4, 1974 Super Outbreak affected 13 states across the eastern United States, from the Great Lakes region all the way to the Deep South. In all, 148 tornadoes were documented from this event, of which 95 were rated F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale and 30 were F4 or F5. Aside from all the castastrophic damage they left behind, the tornadoes resulted in 335 deaths and more than 6000 injuries.
Some of the strongest tornadoes from this outbreak occurred right here in the Ohio Valley. Dozens of tornadoes struck Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, resulting in 159 deaths, over 4000 injuries, and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. Two violent F5 tornadoes destroyed much of Xenia and Sayler Park (a western suburb of Cincinnati) in Ohio. Resulting in 34 deaths, the Xenia tornado was the deadliest of all tornadoes from this outbreak and remains among the top 10 costliest U.S. tornadoes on record (approximately $250 million in 1974). Several other strong F2 to F4 tornadoes also touched down during the Super Outbreak across southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky, and southwest Ohio, an area that today encompasses NWS Wilmington, Ohio's warning area.
National Weather Service office boundaries and technology were quite different back in 1974. The Weather Service Office (WSO) in Cincinnati served the greater Cincinnati Tri-State area while WSO Dayton was responsible for the Miami Valley and west-central Ohio. In those days, not every NWS office was equipped with a radar. A WSR-57 (Weather Surveillance Radar - 1957) was installed at WSO Cincinnati in 1960, giving NWS meteorologists coarse reflectivity data but no velocity data, which made it extremely difficult to detect tornadoes. Storms on the radar screen were traced onto thin paper maps, and meteorologists heavily relied on the manifestation of hook echoes as well as spotter reports when issuing tornado warnings. WSO Dayton did not have a radar of its own but utilized a facsimile machine tied into Cincinnati's WSR-57 (also known by its identifier, CVG) display.
When the CVG radar displayed hook echoes and other impressive storm features outside WSO Cincinnati's warning area on April 3, meteorologists there made calls to the appropriate neighboring offices. At one point, the CVG radar screen displayed five distinct hook echoes--more than meteorologists there had ever seen before. Shortly after 4:30 PM, a call was made by WSO Cincinnati to WSO Dayton to ensure they had seen the hook echoes, of which one was quickly approching Xenia. In fact, the National Weather Service in Dayton had already issued a tornado warning for Montgomery and Greene counties around 4:10 PM (in effect until 5:00 PM), based on radar indication of a possible tornado 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati moving northeastward. The tornado touched down about 4:33 PM near Lower Bellbrook Road, flattened much of the Windsor Park and Arrowhead subdivisions minutes later, and then roared into central Xenia around 4:40 PM. In the following months, careful analysis of all the damage led Dr. Fujita and other experts to determine that the Xenia tornado was in fact the worst of all the 148 Super Outbreak tornadoes.
About an hour after the Xenia tornado, another violent F5 tornado took aim at the western suburbs of Cincinnati. The only tri-state twister of the Super Outbreak, this tornado originated near Rising Sun in Indiana around 5:30 PM, passed through Kentucky, and then crossed the Ohio River to inflict severe damage in Sayler Park and other neighborhoods west of Cincinnati. This tornado was witnessed by many, including by those at the Greater Cincinnati International Airport and WSO Cincinnati, which had issued a tornado warning at 4:45 PM (in effect until 5:45 PM). Then at 5:40 PM, the power went out at WSO Cincinnati, resulting in a loss of radar, teletype, and most means of communication. While the power was out for the next three hours, the NWS in Cincinnati had some backup radar imagery available from the Air Force and FAA and had the NWS in Cleveland issue warnings for them. Fortunately, most of the worst tornadoes had already occurred before the power went down, but the need for emergency power backup at National Weather Service offices was recognized following this event.
In the aftermath of this horrific event, many lessons were learned that have since been applied by various government agencies to mitigate hazards in subsequent severe weather outbreaks. Improvements in communications, warning systems, emergency preparedness, and forecast techniques and equipment have been implemented since the Super Outbreak, with the end result being increased lead times for warnings, more accurate forecasts of events, greater public awareness, and more reliable communications."
The Super Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974
Posted from weather.gov
Natural Disaster
Weather Forecaster
American History
Xenia
Posted >1 y ago
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I was at a friends apartment in Upper Price Hill in Cincinnati and watched the one in Cincinnati. Young and stupid, we watched from the balcony instead of taking cover. I was in Maysville, Kentucky the night another Tornado took out the top of the hill as we watched from a parking lot by the river. The final one up close and personal was a smaller tornado the hit Eastern Lexington and the Northern edge of Winchester. Unfortunately, I was between those two points headed for a job site and there was no warning. A blinding rain forced the few cars on the road I was on to stop, and as soon as I did I heard that roaring sound, and since I had actually seen two, knew what was making it. Debris was hitting my S10 and I was looking for a place to take shelter and there wasn't even a ditch where I was stopped. The only stupid thought I really remember was thinking that the Weather Channel never told us what to do if there wasn't ditch. The wind was strong enough that it was sliding my truck backwards, so I dived into the floor board and was kissing my ass goodbye. After a few seconds it stopped sliding, then a short time later the wind slacked up, then the rain moderated. I crawled back up in the seat and looked around. There was a farm house that set about 300 ft off the left side of the road, between us the trees on his side were laying on way and laying the opposite on my side. I figure it came with in about 60 yards of my truck and not one tree hit the farm house, so both of our luck held for that day. Being out on the county edge for Fayette Co, I had to walk out and get a friend to pick me up and I came back for the truck after they cleared the debris off the road. Had beer for lunch that day, lucky I didn't hit the bourbon.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
My uncle lived in Beaver Creek, a suburb between Dayton and Xenia. He was fortunate and it missed Beaver Creek, but going up to see him shortly after I got to see the aftermath of the storm on Xenia. Most of the town looked like it had been carpet bombed.
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I was fortunate to have avoided all of the destruction during those days, SGT (Join to see).
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