Well done!!!, As usual. I had a front row seat to The Super Outbreak. On April 3, 1974, I was a pilot for a commuter airline based at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, a US Army facility located about 130 mile southwest of St. Louis. In addition to flying scheduled passenger routes, my company had a contract with the US Army to fly prisoners (mostly AWOLS) from Detroit to Fort Leonard Wood. On April 3, 1974, I departed Detroit for Fort Leonard Wood flying an old twin engine Beech 18 with 8 prisoners, my copilot, and one military guard. Our 1954 nine passenger airplane did not have weather radar, however, nearing Jackson, Michigan my copilot and I could see a line of thunderstorms ahead the likes of which we had never seen before. I queried the Air Traffic Controller about the storms ahead and was told the storm tops were measured on radar above 70,000 feet!! In nearly 57 years as a pilot, that is the only time I have ever heard of storm tops above 70,000 feet, which is 13.2 miles high. Keep in mind that radar can only see precipitation, and not cloud tops, so the actual tops of the clouds were well above 70,000 feet. We paralleled the line of storms from Michigan all the way to St. Louis before we found a gap in the squall line to fly through and get on the back side of the storms. People talk about the 2011 event as a Super Outbreak, but as you most accurately said, it cannot even come close the the REAL Super Outbreak, the one in 1974! In an 18 hour period, there were an astounding SIX F-5 tornadoes. It is extremely rare to have ONE F-5 in an entire year much less than six in 18 hours. I thank you for highlighting this weather event that holds a special place in my heart and my memory.
I will never forget April 3, 1974. I was a freshman in high school, and was walking the block home from my bus stop and looked up at the sky. It was around 3:30 PM, and it was deathly still. Mammatocumulus clouds in an eerie shade of green. Not more than an hour later, I watched the tornado devastate the subdivision of Northfield, about one mile from mine. My dad worked in Clifton, which suffered major damage. Every year, I remember that I was lucky.
I was almost 4 years old and the memory of that storm is my earliest childhood memory. That Northfield tornado lifted, the storm moved over our area, and then briefly spun up a funnel over E P Tom Sawyer park that my mother and I watched from our back door.
I was very young and lived not far from Xenia on that day. One of my first memories is being out with my father, looking at the sky and suddenly seeing a tornado overhead in the distance. Needless to say, we ran for cover. Ever since, if I hear a warning or a siren, I head for shelter. I don't live in Ohio now and haven't for a number of years, but everyone I know from there who lived through that outbreak reacts the same way. I appreciate those who are out there gathering weather information, but I also know co-workers who crowd around plate glass windows to watch the sky. Just nuts. IDK what it is about Xenia, but it's one hell of a tornado magnet. They got clobbered again a number of years ago and then just a few weeks ago, Beavercreek, right next to Xenia, got hit hard. It's enough to make you think that area might be a Ground Zero for tornadoes, somehow.
My dad and grandpa were golfing just south of Xenia when the tornado came through. They saw what they thought were birds flying around a cloud in the distance, but as it got closer, they realized it was cars and pieces of buildings.
My dad and his family are from Brandenburg, KY which was mentioned in this video. My grandmother was caught out in the storm and was very nearly killed but managed to make it to shelter in time. I now live in the Dayton area (Riverside) and were almost in the path of the EF4 that hit on Memorial Day. It stopped about 1/3 of a mile from our neighborhood but it was headed straight for us if it hadn't lifted. We also live less than a mile from the neighborhoods in Beavercreek that were devastated during that storm. Seeing the damage from those storms up close shocked me, I can't imagine what it would have been like to see the damage from the tornadoes that hit Xenia and Brandenburg.
I was stationed with a guy from Xenia, OH. We saw all this on the TV in the dayroom of the barracks, he was a nervous wreck for a day or so until he could find out about his family. Luckily none of them were hurt bad.
Thank you for this presentation. I was 26 years old and living in Louisville when the April 3rd, '74 tornado hit - I remember the storm very well. My wife's brother and family live in Madison, IN at the time, Don was at work when the storm came through - his wife and 3 sons were at home - they lived in a brick, ranch style home with no basement - she and the 3 young boys gathered in a centralized closet to wait-out the storm - a tornado leveled their home, yet somehow, the frame of the closet was not affected.... she and the 3 youngsters survived
Glad to hear of your extended family's safety. Brick construction is excellent for tornado resistance but awful for earthquakes. So keep up with the brick construction over there and we'll use wood for homes here in California.
@@LadyAnuB Thank you. Funny story: Years ago, the wife and I were visiting her aunt & uncle who lived in Long Beach, while we were there, a mild earthquake occurred - strong enough to rattle dishes, etc - it was my first experience with a quake and I responded by saying, "wow". Our uncle kinda' chuckled and said, "...ah, that ain't nothin'... we think that you guys are nutty for living with tornadoes"... lol... I'm guessing that just about everywhere has its pros & cons
my mom and aunt took shelter under a mattress in a bathtub in yellow springs. I wasnt born yet but I've grown up hearing lots of stories about it. everyone said it sounded like a train and the sky was eerie and yellow. xenia had another less devastating tornado in 2004 that killed a guy. place is cursed. stay cool Mr Moore.
My Grandmother was a survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, turned 21 on November 11, 1918, was a young nurse in Boston working on the 1918 Flu pandemic, and the Great Molasses Flood in 1919. She was living in Providence RI, during the 1938 Hurricane, and later was among the last group of evacuees off the American Embassy roof during the Fall of Saigon. She never thought of herself as being a part of history, it was just her life.
I lived in Xenia and attended Xenia High School when it was destroyed. We had to take night classes at nearby Beavercreek H.S. to finish the year. I volunteered at Greene Memorial Hospital at the Disaster Information center. Like you, I have always loved history. Now subscribed, I'll be watching lots of your videos.
It won't be long before he gets the gold play button.
Před 5 lety+4
as someone with personal knowledge, if the public knew bow technologically outdated the weather warning system is, they would be terrified we are talking about technology based on copper telephone lines and vacuum tubes
Joecephus _ Yes. CZcams has some gems: this channel is one of them. As a trained historian, I REALLY appreciate the high caliber of the research and content.
Thanks so much for posting this one. I was in 7th grade in Cincinnati at that time. My parents were natives of Southern Illinois and they taught me and my brother to respect severe weather and take tornado warnings very seriously. My mom wouldn't let me finish my paper route unless my dad accompanied me because the warnings and civil defense sirens had been blasting away since about 3:30 in the afternoon. I delivered my papers from the back of dad's Pontiac by running along side and placing the papers inside my customer's doors. As I finished, dad was turning the car around at a local gas station and I had a minute to "to see if I could see a tornado". It took about five seconds and I was looking right at #44 from the maps in your video. It was about a mile away, coming out of the south west. It was an orangish-brown color and the sky beyond it was yellow. I was looking to the west and the funnel was uniform in shape from top to bottom with what looked like a corkscrew at its midpoint. From the corkscrew down, the tornado was making a sweeping motion. That was the tornado that hit the Elmwood Place community. That particular tornado ended up bouncing over the Ponderosa restaurant where my brother was working. His story is very interesting as well. We had hail the size of eggs that day. I have yet to see any larger. The hail stones drove 6-8" deep holes in the fresh mulch we put down in our landscaping beds. How people weren't caught out in the open in that situation is absolutely amazing to me. My family "slept" in the living room that night in case we needed to get to the basement quickly. We spent from 4:30 until about 8:00 that evening in the basement. I've seen one other tornado since then, but my "storm chasing" days are over. I really don't care to see another one.
I was thinking that in ‘74 I was in 10th grade, but wasn’t into current events at the time so I didn’t remember this. So as I’m reading your account, your words captured my attention. I only wish that certain people (#44) would take weather as seriously as your parents. By doing so it would save lives.
Same here. I'd forgotten the hail, but now that you mention it, I remember we had one the size of a golf ball that we kept in the freezer for several years.
I was 16 and lived in St. Bernard, the town right next to Elmwood Place when the storm hit. I didn't see the tornado; I was hiding in the closet but thank you for the details of your experience.
@@mariaadam5375 I was 11 and lived (and still do) in South Lebanon. I had real good view of the storm as it moved between Mason and Lebanon on its way to Xenia I guess, 4:30 pm +/- My Dad had just got home from work. We had very little damage, trees down, power and telephone out.
Thank you for this. This happened toward the end of my senior year at Ballard High School in Louisville, KY. Over 900 homes were destroyed in Louisville, but many of them were in affluent neighborhoods, so were well insured. It passed a half mile from my parent's house. I spent a lot of the next few weeks helping cleaning up the damage.
I was 16, living in Huntsville, Alabama when the tornadoes came thru, it was a scary night. I’ll never forget the damage left behind. I went with my father to help rebuild houses for weeks.
I was in Athens Alabama I remember the sky toward Elkmont was a beautiful blue with the sun shining back towards Huntsville and Tanner the sky was a sickly green....was a long night...
The blizzard of ‘78 was more of a nuisance to me. Going to work was bad, but us New Englanders are used to snow, so we weren’t concerned. I was stuck at work for 3 days. It was amazing walking and seeing that there were cars completely buried by the snow. The meteorologists didn’t see this coming. Thank goodness they’re better at forecasting the weather now. But history has a way of repeating itself if we’re not alert.
You're one of the very few youtubers I will watch and be okay with a 10-15 minute video... You never repeat yourself and it's always informative and YOU NEVER PUT DOWN ANYBODY. I like those characteristics.
I was 7yo and my parents had taken me to the Dr. We were about a quarter of a mile from our house when it started raining so hard my dad couldn't see so he pulled over. Within seconds the wind started picking the car up , first on one side then slamming it down and then the other. It was the first time I ever heard my dad say the "F" word. He looked at my mom and back out the windshield and said "F this sh*t!" and jerked the car in drive and took off. He was guessing where the road was. Within 30 seconds we were out of it and then pulled in our driveway. Our house was fine but trees were uprooted and the barns had damage. There were boards literally sticking out of our car where the wind had shoved them. Scariest moment of my life and it took me years to get over being afraid of storms. Later we found out that it had been an F5 tornado that we survived. Truly a miracle. I believe that if my dad hadn't took off it would of sucked our car up because it was sure trying to.
I lived in northern Alabama at that point in History, thanks THG for this lesson. Twin tornados tore through my area, homes were completely demolished while the house across the street was unharmed. The community came together the next day, food from refrigerators without power was donated to food banks, families took in neighbors freshly homeless, entire neighborhoods had meat smoking parties to save meat without freezing. Clothes, tents, hygiene supplies and toys, yes toys for the children that lost everything were donated. I still look back on those days as a reminder that in the worst times, people come together to survive.
I was only 3 years old in Louisville, KY when the tornado ran through there, but it was such a part of the collective psyche of the City that anytime I hear April 1974, that tornado is the first thing that pops to mind. Massive trees that were uprooted by the storm lay in Cherokee Park for nearly a decade - a constant reminder of the storm, and why we needed to be scared whenever the sirens went off. I've been in other tornados since, but nothing that affected an entire city as much as that one, and that one was not nearly as serious as many others. Great episode.
I remember that outbreak pretty well. It happened (Apr 3-4) the same week that Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record (Apr 8). I was living in NE Ohio, so I wasn't affected by it, but it fascinated me and I kept watching the news about it. The film of the Xenia big one is still etched in my memory. It was the first week or so of the baseball season, and I always associate the outbreak with Aaron, may he rest in peace. I did see that live, along with millions of other people. Ironically, though I've lived almost all of my life in the Midwest, I've never seen a tornado. Some came close, but not close enough. And I did hunker down in an interior utility room on a few occasions. The pipes help reinforce the room.
The 1974 economy was in dire straits to say the least. My father owned a business in Cleveland, TN. Since he was connected to the building trade, the slowing of the economy was starting to be felt in our livelihood. The devasting tornado, although lives were lost, brought much needed commerce to the rebuilding of Bradley County, TN. Answers to our prayers. Thank you for posting.
@@mikezylstra7514 I do not know him, however googling his name to see his picture and running across his obituary, I wish I had known him. Sounds like an awesome guy.
For quite some time after the one above I mentioned (Huntsville/Redstone Arsenal,Ala,same day(s)) there was a similar sight to this. A '69-ish Dodge about 20 ft up a large metal tower, almost as if you were to fold it in half in the middle, to where the front & rear almost,or may have actually been touching. Luckily no one was in it? (Had they been,they'd be dead....and they've been quicker to get it down to remove them??) Had to IIRC go 'up' with it to remove the car with a huge mobile crane. Really got stuck up there good!!! Also saw an almost new Impala/Caprice driven nose first thru a roof like a spear. Almost perfectly vertical.
@@babayaga1767 Uhhhh, man has been controlling the weather for awhile now, hoss. "They" steered their first hurricane in 1947 into Savannah, Ga. There has been no natural weather for years, ever since that bitch lost the rigged in her favor election They are pulling all the stops.
I remember the Super Outbreak of 1974. I was at home after school when the warnings came on the TV and radio. It was the first time I remember that shows were interrupted to give warnings about tornadoes for most of the evening. It was a scary night as we had no idea where the next one would come.
Me too. I was in elementary school (1st grade) in Delaware Indiana, when it started. I remember coming home from school and seeing the sky and I hope I never see another sky like that again.
Rodney Stephens I lived in MS from ‘93-‘96 and I remembered hearing a siren for the first time. Then when there was a tornado watch, the sky and the air was eerie. The air is perfectly still. They scare me.
I know several people who went thru the one(s) in the Huntsville/Redstone Arsenal/Madison Co.,Ala area that day,(Huntsville P.D. shown rolling up 'hot' at about 11:04) and also one that went thru the one(s) in Xenia,Oh. The one(s) in Huntsville I saw the damage from first hand a little later. You could still see evidence of that one many years later. Even the last time I was there (2017) if you knew where to look,and what to look for,you could still see it?? (Trees on or near a certain part of a street not as large as the others nearby, houses/buildings that didn't look quite like all the others (obviously built mid '70s, instead of about 1958-60),etc?) The person I knew later who went thru the one in Ohio that same two days simply used one word to describe the town....'Gone'?
We lived on the eastern edge of the outbreak and had been listening to weather reports all day. My parents decided we’d sleep in the basement that night. The morning newspaper had horrible photos. We had no idea it would get worse. We were glued to the TV at every free moment throughout the day and then back in the basement that night. The news and photos from Xenia were unbelievable, and terrifying. Very effecting as a child. I moved out of the Midwest as soon as I could when I reached 18. Since then I’ve lived all over the world and survived multiple earthquakes, hurricanes, and even tsunamis. Still, even today at 60, nothing scares me quite like tornados.
No, no, no. Don't you remember? They weren't in Kansas anymore. The dog recalls the owner turning to him and saying, quote, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto" just after the event occurred. It took hours and even the help of a few good citizens, another witch, magic slippers and a wonderful wizard to find their way back to Kansas, the tornado threw them so far.
i lived in dayton then went to help clean up arrowhead was a mess ..now i live in sugarcreek township .. now dayton area got hit with 14 tornadoes the 27 ,,at night ,,its worse than the 74 xenia one
I lived in Columbus and the day before a friend and I rode our motorcycles to a Xenia Suzuki shop to pick up a part. I had never even heard of Xenia Ohio before that day. I do remember it was slap you around windy riding that day before.
In April of 1974, one month before my 19th birthday, a tornado hit my home town in NE Indiana, it skipped over a few houses, it hit and destroyed a barn built in the 1800's that was only 200 feet from Mom's & Dad's home. It caused a 150 foot Weeping Willow tree in our yard to come down onto the basement door. Mom & Dad was stuck in the basement with a kerosene lantern for several days, living on the vast can goods & Mom's Homemade Wine that were stored there, until several relatives came to cut up the tree and to get them out. They were happy to be alive or were they snookered on the wine.
My father spent 4 days re establishing communication with Ohio Bell Co. The flag pole at the town hall woven itself from the second floor up the third floor and out the window. My future wife and I were at Morehead State Univ.
We lived near Xenia OH. You're absolutely right about storm detection and warning systems. My Mother was an elementary school teacher who was fascinated with Meteorology and taught it to her students in Science class back when teachers had more freedom to teach specialized subjects. She watched the weather that day, and called the Xenia radio stations to tell them to warn listeners of the coming weather - they had posted no warnings before her call. They put the warning out after her suggestion, which may have saved quite a few lives. We drove through the devastation the following day - many, many homes were completely flattened - save the bathroom. Residents had survived by sheltering in bathrooms and basements. The same day, my cousin was driving home as fast as she could - watching a tornado pursue her in her rear-view mirror.
They must be trolls....or a mistake. I cant see how anybody would thumbs down...if you don't like history(which is foolish) then just don't watch. Maybe they thumbs down because the storms were deadly and destructive not really about the quality of the video at all. Yeah....I don't get how you couldn't love these....my new favorite channel. Just awesome, awesome work. Couldnt be happier to have found this channel.
maybe they are those hard core climate change activists that don't want to believe that damaging severe weather happened in the past too and they find this video a threat to their self righteous views
@@tomme3913 I've always been confused by the people that hold up "severe storm patterns" as evidence of climate change. Severe weather has always happened and our documentation and identification of it has dramatically improved in recent decades. It is really impossible to tell if it is happening more now or just present bias.
danaphanous ....I would say bias. Uuppity yuppity dweebs are only interested in those folks and events in their own very insignificant and poorly developed circles. Yes, dweebs, and many if not all yuppies and yippies, combos of yuppy and hippy, do indeed suck. No respect for themselves or others they may encounter in their daily lives. 🕊🦅
When I was 6 there was doppler, Sattelite TV (for rural areas like mine) and a well placed basement, i was always still terrified, couldnt imagine what it was like in 74
I was a meteorologist at the US Air Force's AFGWC, or Air Force Global Weather Central. This massive facility has over a thousand weather guys (and ladies) under one roof. During this outbreak, I worked in the severe weather section, and plotted weather radar using real time data. Our teletypewriters had ... crazy traffic. We were running 90 minutes behind real time. We never got the severe weather reports in enough time to warn our military installations. It got so bad...SO BAD, the the Governor of the state of Indiana had the ENTIRE STATE'S tornado warning sirens turned on, at once, for every location in the state. Remarkable. Our lead meteorologist was the finest severe weather forecaster in the world, at that time. For those REALLY interested in the science, try to find AWSTR TR-200. This is Air Weather Service Training Regulation 200, the severe weather "bible" used for decades. This was also my source document, while I was an Instructor at the Department of Defense Weather Training Division, teaching Convective Scale Dynamics. I was the SME, or Subject Matter Expert, on severe weather analysis and forecasting for the military technical training center, training all military weathermen worldwide...for over seven years. Good times, good times.
I lived in Louisville during this outbreak and was supposed to go to a picnic that afternoon but the weather was looking very ugly so decided to go home instead. Fortunately, #48 missed me by 10 minutes but was still quite scary. There are certain life events that occur that are as clear today as they were then and this was definitely one of them. Thanks for the video.
@@themeparkreconnoiter9787 I grew up in Minneapolis where we did have sirens. But most of the other places I've lived (outside of major cities) don't have warning sirens. If taxes are low and there isn't a lot of revenue coming in, a municipality can't afford to install sirens. Sirens also require a fair amount of maintenance to ensure they will work when needed. It's not that a municipality doesn't care, it's that other necessities take priority..
New Albany at the time. I remember a thunderstorm came through that night, and one of the stations interrupted programming to say this one was NOT severe. In my 64 years, that is the only time I know of where they interrupted programming to say, essentially, don't worry.
I love your approach on history. I would like to see your take on the Columbus Day storm on October 12, 1962, and/or, the Alaskan earthquake of March 27, 1964, and the tsunami effects thereafter. Thanks.
Joel Frederick I remember the 62 Columbus Day storm, we where in Central Oregon, (Oak Ridge) 100' + Douglas fir tree snapping and popping falling Every which Way, It look like the end of the world,3 ft of rain in 24 hrs I was 7 years old. I remember it like it happened yesterday.
The Alaska earthquake was even better for science at that time as plate tectonics science was really taking off then and this helped confirmed this science. (The uplift and downlift that occurred on the sides along the fault helped with this science.)
When I saw the title I knew what storm you were going to talk about. I still remember the coverage about the destruction in Xenia, while living in the Columbus area back then.
I'm an F5 tornado survivor, having been taken by my mother, along with my sister, to my mother's beauty shop appointment at Candlestick Park in Jackson, MS in March, 1966. The tornado that struck us that day was among the worst in Mississippi history. I think in Mississippi, or at least in Jackson's schools, tornado drills must have started soon after that, and possibly even sooner, such as perhaps after the F4 Vicksburg Tornado of about twelve years earlier. I say this because we moved almost every year, such that by the time I graduated high school, I had been enrolled in 13 different schools. The Candlestick Park tornado happened when I was in Kindergarten, and I can remember tornado drills at school for each of the next several years. I can remember that sometimes we would have more than one drill within a week or so, which I guess must have meant that either severe storm season was approaching, or that something had gone wrong in the first drill and we needed to test some sort of solution. I think one of the most interesting tornadoes in American history happened here in Mississippi, on the big river at Natchez in 1840. It was the second deadliest tornado in US history, and definitely far deadlier than anyone knows because only the deaths of white people were recorded. The interesting thing about the Natchez twister is the way it approached the city from the southwest, with the funnel described as running right down the middle of the river, throwing small boats near the center of the river onto land and pulling docked boats and boats running closer to the banks into the river and sinking them. The local newspaper account from the time is harrowing, and conjures a most remarkable and unique image of destruction. I remember the 1974 outbreak very well because we had a huge food and book drive at school. I can remember collecting canned goods and books in my neighborhood and taking them to school, to be delivered to Ohio.
Oh my, this is so dreadful. We get cyclones in Australia and famously Darwin in the northern territory was levelled. I would be pleased if you would cover this event in a program. 73-74 I think. It was so critical an event that no structures were permitted to be rebuilt until rigorous cyclone safe building codes were established. Homes in Darwin are 25% more expensive to build than any other place in Australia. Please look into this and your reportage skills will be rewarding.
I wonder if there's any correlation between those odds and the prevalence of gambling addiction amongst the population that inhabits the same region... hmmm...
@@dopaminecircuit "Prevalence of gambling addiction"....This covered 13 states and province of Ontario. Got some links that show this supposed gambling addiction is more prevalent there than the rest of the US and Canada?
I had never heard of this, and it happened in my lifetime. This makes Cyclone Tracey (which devastated Darwin) seem like a rain squall. Your channel keeps important history alive. Thanks again. You provide a fantastic service.👍
I lived on the east coast in VA and I recall an incredibly bad storm. I was visiting at a friends house, where we spent the night due to the weather. Multiple lightning strikes occurred within a 1/2 mile and a huge tree was split in twain across the street.
A great and timely episode given the recent Missouri tornadoes. I was a young boy when this happened, but my grandparents and uncle owned farms in Palmyra and we visited them fairly often. To my recollection none of their buildings sustained major damage, but the thing I remember seeing was how the heavy (and very old) gravestones from a local cemetery were picked up by the storm and pelted all over their fields. Seeing it for myself was the first time I really came to grips with how powerful tornadoes are (and made me leave the room during the intro to the "Wizard of Oz" for several years thereafter). One minor correction, the small Indiana town Palmyra is pronounced pal-MY-ra. I am not trying to nitpick, but I know you're a stickler for accuracy! Thanks again for this excellent episode!
@kragseven however at that time it was the pending ice age that was going to do us all in the climate has always fluctuated you can study the agricultural history of different regions climate stability is a myth
Even that 12-14 minute warning assumes the public is listening for it. While many cell phones can react to a tornado warning signal, this assumes a person has cell coverage.
I absolutely love you and your channel. I was born and raised in south central Ohio and I've heard of the Xenia tornado my entire life, by word of mouth. And here you are, giving voice to it on the internet. It really is history that deserves to be remembered. Love you, History Guy, and I love the History Gal wife you have there. You're a lucky man.
I was in Hanover, indiana on April 3rd, 1974. I can still see that tornado to this day. it devastated half the town and then headed toward Madison. horrible damage.
I was in Hanover too! I remember crawling out from the hallway where we took cover, house gone (but someones boat where the living room once was). Thankfully didn't have time to go to the neighbors that had a basement because the house and EVERYTHING was gone.
it just occurred to me that You Tube is a wonderful teaching platform. i'm 63 years old, and i learn things every day. mostly from fine teachers, like you. Thank you, and please keep up the good work. on a personal note, i like your tie.
My grandfather, along with his family, helped people immediately after the Xenia tornado. It deeply affected our family for years, and came up repeatedly over the years. Trees with straw embedded horizontally like a comb, buses on top of barns, bodies in tree branches, all these things are surreal. When the wind gets angry, very bad things can happen...
I wonder if we’re related because my family helped clean up immediately after the tornado and I have heard the same stories of straw embedded in trees and a bus on barn. :)
Could you do a video about the 1990 Plainfield, IL F5 tornado? Here in Chicago it is a big part of local history. Tons of people still remember this storm, and I think it would be fitting considering it is storm season here in IL!
Anecdotally, I've been on the edge of two tornados: *The First Tornado* was back in the late 1970's and we were on the spot just ahead of where the tornado lifted. No one was killed or injured, we lost one tree in our yard and a few shingles. Our neighbors behind us had more extreme damage, but they were otherwise okay. The most damage done was in the one spot in the entire town where nobody lived (literally)... the graveyard. The worst of the damage was to two GIANT oak trees that had been toppled over. They were so big that, when we climbed up onto the trunk of either of them, we were more than 10 feet off the ground. It was a tragic loss, due to their beauty... but, if you were going to pick a spot that would risk the fewest people, you couldn't have picked a better one. *The Second Tornado* was, almost identical to the first -- in that our house was on the spot where the tornado lifted -- except, about 1/4 mile later, it came back down (I seem to remember that two or three people were killed and a few dozen injured in the area where it came back down - it struck a flea market). Our street, which was one of the oldest and most beautiful in town (but I'm biased towards it) was decimated. Our house had minor damage and we only lost a few shingles (almost exactly like the first). However... the house directly next door had a cedar tree jammed through the front wall (it penetrated all the way into their living room). Not a branch... the whole damned tree, trunk first. The damage got worse the farther down the street we went. After five or six houses... there were mostly no more houses. It had decimated a section of town (our neighborhood) about half a mile wide, encompassing at least 100 homes. The absolute miracle was the storm's timing and where it decided to touch down. The elementary school was at the end of that street where all those houses were destroyed between my house and the school (my daughter was in the first grade). The tornado had set down just in front of that school... the school was virtually undamaged, but the houses across the street were not so lucky. All the kids were inside hunkered down and completely uninjured. In addition to this, most of the people, whose homes were destroyed, were at work. No one was killed in our section of town and there were only about three or four minor injuries. Had the storm set down just one hour later, hundreds would have been killed, comprising mostly school children and those parents arriving home to meet their kids. I worked second shift at that time, and had only just woken in anticipation of my daughter arriving home from school. On a side note about that second tornado. As I said, it set down just beyond the school and then traveled up our street, and it began to lift only about three or four houses between where we lived and the school. I could not help being tickled by the fact that, directly behind our house... was a Methodist church. My house and that church were the only two structures that were virtually undamaged by the tornado, I lost about 100 shingles, the church only lost about 10 or 20... and that's it! Not another piece of damage to our house or that entire church. So, if you were wanting to know *which denomination God considers the correct one...* a serious argument can be made for Methodist. Just sayin'!
I've been following tornado outbreaks since first seeing one live in the 1960s. I had somehow never heard of the Tanner, Alabama, twin tornados, though, until this video. This was fascinating, thanks for sharing!
27 April 2011, Cordova, AL was hit by an EF-2/3 in the morning, then hit by an EF-4 that afternoon. Morning storms took out massive amounts of power lines, cell towers, weather radio transmitters; such that 250,000+ didn’t have any warning of the afternoon killer storms.
Best channel on CZcams....I wish there was an "auto-like" button. I listen at work and have to come over to the phone to like the videos and sometimes I don't make it in time....otherwise every single one would be a like. So interesting and informative with awesome, obscure quotes and references from eye witnesses on the ground. Love, Love, love this channel. Thank you for making and sharing all of these...I just discovered you a week ago so I am very happy to have your entire catalogue to watch. Woo hoo. Thanks history guy.
I would love to see you discuss the Tri-State Tornado from 1925. That was the deadliest in US history. The deadliest in world history was in Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. Both topics are worth the research.
@@Survivor58 March 18th 1925- ran 219 miles through 3 States (Missouri, Illinois and Indiana) and was on the ground for over 3 1/2 hours. 2,027 killed.
I still believe it was multiple, high powered tornadoes. Not one single entity.. With the last onw being the only one on record that could truly qualify to be an F6 if there was such a thing. That tornado was the ever saugbt after but never documented "inverted wedge". (the tornado was considerably wider at the ground than at the base, think if a wedge tornado. But upside down.) It is a dream for all chasers to see one. But there never was one, that we know of. After 1925.
here in western ky, we fear the night tornados most, because you cannot see them coming & when you hear, what sounds like a train it is past time to to hunker down as best you can. Thank you good Sir for this video =D
Same here in mid TN, we get some bad straight-line winds during Spring storm season and in the dark you'd swear a tornado was right on top of us. It seems like we lose a couple more trees every year.
Trust me, meteorologists will never forget this outbreak. As far as those perfect conditions, they spawned on April 27th, 2011, but not as widespread as April 3-4th, 1974, only centralized in Alabama and Mississippi in the 2011 outbreak. Also, WSR stands for Weather Surveillance Radar, not Weather Service Radar. I wonder if the footage in 3:21 is of the DuPaw F5 since I've never seen footage of that? Would be neat. Also was neat to get those radar sketches.
I remember it very well. Where I live, it started in the late afternoon/early evening hours and lasted all night and into the next day. The sky was alive with motion - howling winds, swirling clouds etc.. Tornadoes were dropping like apples from a tree. Needless to say, nobody got any sleep that night. The next day we went in my parents' car to survey all the local damage. It was a sight I will never forget. There were different trails of tornado damage all around the area. 15 years later I was actually hit by a category 4 twister while in my truck and on the way home from work.
I grew up in southern Indiana and the April 3rd Tornadoes is something that still haunts me to this day. One of those tornadoes came through the area I lived in and, as we were running to the cellar house for safety, I looked up and saw one as it jumped our farm landing in field just an acre away. Tornadoes are my nightmares.
Definitely a new fave from THG. I love History and I love tornadoes so, a History Guy short about these incredible storms is going to rank very high on my entertainment scale! I'm currently involved in an augmented reality application that uses live drone feed to anticipate where emergency services will be needed and direct response to casualties after a severe weather event. I hope you never need it. Keep up the great work.
Great Presentation, Thanks. I actually remember that day/night very well. I was 8 yrs old and lived/live not to far from where the first TN. tornado touched down in Cleveland TN. just north of Chattanooga. I remember my parents gathering me and my brother and taking us to a central hallway in the house and covering us with blankets. That night has left an indelible memory that has followed me my entire life. We made it through without any damage but their was a lot of damage around us. I now watch the weather and have passed on to my kids to watch and be weather aware. When you live in Tennessee you never know whats around the corner weather wise.
We also get tornadoes in the UK but for the most part it just rips a few tiles of some roofs or uproots a few small trees. I think if something like the super-outbreak came through there would be a lot more devastation because our towns and cities are much closer together.
Don't worry, there is only one Tornado alley on earth and it is in the US. I can't imagine Europe would even have a risk of this kind of an outbreak whereas in the US it is only a matter of time until it happens again as History Guy said.
Me too. Well, kind of. I hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to more severe storms, but hope no-one gets hit. I love storm watching. I just posted a bit of my tornado history if you look up at newer posts.
My dad constantly talks about the tornado he saw around Hustonville, Kentucky on the 3rd. Even my mom experienced the same tornado in Danville, Kentucky.
Ten years after this event, I was on a Land Navigation exercise in North Carolina, also in April (1984) when another Super Cell dropped all around us. "Thunderbolts and Lightning, very very frightening' to say the least. Was in the area again in April 2011, just in time to get hit by that Super Cell too. No longer living in or visiting Tornado Country in April
@@albertschroeder3306 I grew up on the San Adrais fault in central coastal Ca.we thought the earthquakes were fun as kids I'm glad that I don't live there anymore. About 100 miles south in the Salinas valley there is a dried up riverbed that just stops. About 100 feet away it starts again. One day it going to hit.
@@albertschroeder3306 they both scare the crap out of me, I've been through the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the Oakland firestorm, the 1974 AND the 2011 tornado outbreaks AND Hurricanes Katrina, Ivan and Ike but I travel a lot
Whenever I watch this guys videos, all I can do is shake my head and wonder why some network hasn't offered him a TV series. This man is a natural talent. If that so called "History Channel" aired a show with him as the host I would never miss an episode.
I remember when this happened. Afterwards my Parents drove from Michigan down to Xenia Ohio to help out where they could. Thank You for this content, you've produced one of the greatest channel on CZcams.
Good coverage once again History Guy! I live in Xenia still and at that time they were actually considering making a rating higher than f-5 for the Xenia tornado because it exceeded f-5 damage here in town. Pretty impressive and SO much was lost in our town that never came back. Since then we are nothing special to visit unlike the time prior to April of 1974. Old buildings can not be replicated and businesses here did not come back for the most part. Post tornado environment I suppose is similar to a raping .....never the same again and not forgotten. Thank you again for such a good and informative video! Greg
A total of 30 violent tornadoes hit (23 of F4 strength, and 7 F5's!). The seven F5's hit DePauw in Indiana. In Ohio the Cincinnati Metro and Xenia were swept clean. Obviously Kentucky saw Brandenburg reduced into splinters. After sunset, the other three F5's all occurred in Alabama with Tanner getting hit twice, and a few hours later Guin was hit by the third and lifted outside of Huntsville after being on the ground for 105 miles. The Guin tornado is considered to be one of the most violent tornadoes to occur and the most violent tornado in Alabama history. Not only were homes swept away, some homes had their entire foundations swept away and cracked!
Ya know one thing that I love about your videos is that you talk about the aftermath. What changed as a result of some seldom known event or person, and how their small actions could have made a big change to history
Living in Memphis TN, at the time, I remember the reports of this terrible outbreak. Xenia Ohio's devastation was forever in my mind. About a week later, I was listening to radio news and they mention a terrible tornado in Xenia, Ohio. Since we didn't have the internet to check, I called the radio station to suggest that this couldn't be accurate. I was told they got it from AP. The next round of news didn't include the report. The thought of adding another 7 to Xenia's pull of the handle was heartbreaking.
Wow, a HG event that I witnessed! I remember the weird feeling in the air, and the worry my dad had. That night, I remember my parents came home early from an event so that my dad could drive the babysitter home because she didn’t want to be stuck at our house. I don’t know why, but I rode along. Ironically, dad dropped her off at a trailer park!! Thank God nothing happened to her family’s trailer or he would never have forgiven himself.
I can’t thank you enough for the videos that you produce. I had completely forgotten about the tornadoes that hit Cleveland Tennessee back in ‘74. I had been home in Knoxville, back from the military for just a few months. We here in East Tennessee are sheltered from most bad weather as we are in the Tennessee Valley, shielded between the Cumberland and Appalachian mountains. That was a real wake up call. Thank you again for these most informative videos, I click on them as soon as I see a new one and hit the like button before the video begins.
I lived just north of Cincinnati, was 12 years old. My older brother was a paramedic, they were called up to Xenia while the storms raged. My dad had a pilot friend, (Cessna) and he and his wife barely got the cellar door open, the wind blew them down the stairs then took the house off the foundation. It was truly terrifying.
I remember the Xenia Tornado. I lived in Dayton at the time. I remember it being a mile wide, but fact-checking was only 1/2 that. I also remember one of the organizations I was in, I can't remember which, we put together gift boxes for elementary age kids. There may be no small tornado, but the hearts of people are bigger.
I had always believed the Morris, Illinois tornado was the first to spawn on April 3rd but my hat is off to The History Guy. I went to look it up and, backed up by many sources including old reports direct from Georgia, I found I was wrong. Somehow, way off from all the other action and in an area that would not see more tornadoes until about four hours later, that Gilmer/Fannin Counties tornado spawned ten minutes before Morris. I now ask myself the question, being that far away and generally knowing how the major portions of the outbreak unfolded, was this early Georgia tornado even part of the overall conditions we think of as what caused the Super Outbreak or was it sort of a coincidental "lone wolf"?
My great great grandmother was a victim in this outbreak. She was caregiving for a friend named mrs Mae. She was on the front porch when the tornado took a turn at her. She was sucked up and thrown miles away from the house. Her family members in Alabama did not get injured. Although she was the only one in that area who got hurt.. many others in Huntsville got hurt. My family and I will always remember her. She was 89 years of age. I hope and pray that no other tornadoes will occur in that area. She was a great mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother. I am a Descendent of her. She will be missed greatly.
Just discovered your channel History Guy. Love it so far. I'm from AL, just a few miles west of Tanner AL. The 1974 Tornadoes are the stuff of legend around here.
Well done!!!, As usual. I had a front row seat to The Super Outbreak. On April 3, 1974, I was a pilot for a commuter airline based at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, a US Army facility located about 130 mile southwest of St. Louis. In addition to flying scheduled passenger routes, my company had a contract with the US Army to fly prisoners (mostly AWOLS) from Detroit to Fort Leonard Wood. On April 3, 1974, I departed Detroit for Fort Leonard Wood flying an old twin engine Beech 18 with 8 prisoners, my copilot, and one military guard. Our 1954 nine passenger airplane did not have weather radar, however, nearing Jackson, Michigan my copilot and I could see a line of thunderstorms ahead the likes of which we had never seen before. I queried the Air Traffic Controller about the storms ahead and was told the storm tops were measured on radar above 70,000 feet!! In nearly 57 years as a pilot, that is the only time I have ever heard of storm tops above 70,000 feet, which is 13.2 miles high. Keep in mind that radar can only see precipitation, and not cloud tops, so the actual tops of the clouds were well above 70,000 feet. We paralleled the line of storms from Michigan all the way to St. Louis before we found a gap in the squall line to fly through and get on the back side of the storms. People talk about the 2011 event as a Super Outbreak, but as you most accurately said, it cannot even come close the the REAL Super Outbreak, the one in 1974! In an 18 hour period, there were an astounding SIX F-5 tornadoes. It is extremely rare to have ONE F-5 in an entire year much less than six in 18 hours. I thank you for highlighting this weather event that holds a special place in my heart and my memory.
I will never forget April 3, 1974. I was a freshman in high school, and was walking the block home from my bus stop and looked up at the sky. It was around 3:30 PM, and it was deathly still. Mammatocumulus clouds in an eerie shade of green. Not more than an hour later, I watched the tornado devastate the subdivision of Northfield, about one mile from mine. My dad worked in Clifton, which suffered major damage. Every year, I remember that I was lucky.
I was almost 4 years old and the memory of that storm is my earliest childhood memory. That Northfield tornado lifted, the storm moved over our area, and then briefly spun up a funnel over E P Tom Sawyer park that my mother and I watched from our back door.
My grandmother also lived in Clifton then.
I lived near Xenia on April 3, 1974. I will never forget that day.
I was very young and lived not far from Xenia on that day. One of my first memories is being out with my father, looking at the sky and suddenly seeing a tornado overhead in the distance. Needless to say, we ran for cover. Ever since, if I hear a warning or a siren, I head for shelter. I don't live in Ohio now and haven't for a number of years, but everyone I know from there who lived through that outbreak reacts the same way. I appreciate those who are out there gathering weather information, but I also know co-workers who crowd around plate glass windows to watch the sky. Just nuts.
IDK what it is about Xenia, but it's one hell of a tornado magnet. They got clobbered again a number of years ago and then just a few weeks ago, Beavercreek, right next to Xenia, got hit hard. It's enough to make you think that area might be a Ground Zero for tornadoes, somehow.
I think Xenia is a Indian word for big wind or something to that effect.
I lived in Dayton during that time and vividly remember the havoc wreaked throughout Xenia.
My dad and grandpa were golfing just south of Xenia when the tornado came through. They saw what they thought were birds flying around a cloud in the distance, but as it got closer, they realized it was cars and pieces of buildings.
My dad and his family are from Brandenburg, KY which was mentioned in this video. My grandmother was caught out in the storm and was very nearly killed but managed to make it to shelter in time. I now live in the Dayton area (Riverside) and were almost in the path of the EF4 that hit on Memorial Day. It stopped about 1/3 of a mile from our neighborhood but it was headed straight for us if it hadn't lifted. We also live less than a mile from the neighborhoods in Beavercreek that were devastated during that storm. Seeing the damage from those storms up close shocked me, I can't imagine what it would have been like to see the damage from the tornadoes that hit Xenia and Brandenburg.
I was stationed with a guy from Xenia, OH. We saw all this on the TV in the dayroom of the barracks, he was a nervous wreck for a day or so until he could find out about his family. Luckily none of them were hurt bad.
Thank you for this presentation. I was 26 years old and living in Louisville when the April 3rd, '74 tornado hit - I remember the storm very well. My wife's brother and family live in Madison, IN at the time, Don was at work when the storm came through - his wife and 3 sons were at home - they lived in a brick, ranch style home with no basement - she and the 3 young boys gathered in a centralized closet to wait-out the storm - a tornado leveled their home, yet somehow, the frame of the closet was not affected.... she and the 3 youngsters survived
A day I'm sure they'll never forget. To say the least...
I’m glad everyone survived. Tornadoes scare the hell out of me!
@@Survivor58 Thank you
Glad to hear of your extended family's safety.
Brick construction is excellent for tornado resistance but awful for earthquakes. So keep up with the brick construction over there and we'll use wood for homes here in California.
@@LadyAnuB Thank you. Funny story: Years ago, the wife and I were visiting her aunt & uncle who lived in Long Beach, while we were there, a mild earthquake occurred - strong enough to rattle dishes, etc - it was my first experience with a quake and I responded by saying, "wow". Our uncle kinda' chuckled and said, "...ah, that ain't nothin'... we think that you guys are nutty for living with tornadoes"... lol... I'm guessing that just about everywhere has its pros & cons
Was a senior in 1974. A classmate had relatives that ran a funeral home in Xenia . Overwhelming.
my mom and aunt took shelter under a mattress in a bathtub in yellow springs. I wasnt born yet but I've grown up hearing lots of stories about it. everyone said it sounded like a train and the sky was eerie and yellow. xenia had another less devastating tornado in 2004 that killed a guy. place is cursed. stay cool Mr Moore.
You start to feel old when you call events that occurred while I was growing up as history.
Everything behind this exact moment is a part of history, they just call recent happenings as current events.
"What happened to then?"
"We passed it."
"When?"
"Just now. We're in now-now."
"Go back to then!"
"When?"
Ok...I'm done....for *now*.
My Grandmother was a survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, turned 21 on November 11, 1918, was a young nurse in Boston working on the 1918 Flu pandemic, and the Great Molasses Flood in 1919. She was living in Providence RI, during the 1938 Hurricane, and later was among the last group of evacuees off the American Embassy roof during the Fall of Saigon. She never thought of herself as being a part of history, it was just her life.
😆😆
Technically yesterday is history so don’t make history make you feel old! Only as old as your spirit! 🖤
I lived in Xenia and attended Xenia High School when it was destroyed. We had to take night classes at nearby Beavercreek H.S. to finish the year. I volunteered at Greene Memorial Hospital at the Disaster Information center. Like you, I have always loved history. Now subscribed, I'll be watching lots of your videos.
My uncle was a senior at XHS that year.
I see that CZcams award behind you. Congratulations. Love your videos. Thanks for making them.
It won't be long before he gets the gold play button.
as someone with personal knowledge, if the public knew bow technologically outdated the weather warning system is, they would be terrified
we are talking about technology based on copper telephone lines and vacuum tubes
@ What country are you talking about?
I'd bet it'll be a million in a couple of years, if not before.
Joecephus _ Yes. CZcams has some gems: this channel is one of them. As a trained historian, I REALLY appreciate the high caliber of the research and content.
Thanks so much for posting this one.
I was in 7th grade in Cincinnati at that time. My parents were natives of Southern Illinois and they taught me and my brother to respect severe weather and take tornado warnings very seriously. My mom wouldn't let me finish my paper route unless my dad accompanied me because the warnings and civil defense sirens had been blasting away since about 3:30 in the afternoon. I delivered my papers from the back of dad's Pontiac by running along side and placing the papers inside my customer's doors. As I finished, dad was turning the car around at a local gas station and I had a minute to "to see if I could see a tornado". It took about five seconds and I was looking right at #44 from the maps in your video. It was about a mile away, coming out of the south west. It was an orangish-brown color and the sky beyond it was yellow. I was looking to the west and the funnel was uniform in shape from top to bottom with what looked like a corkscrew at its midpoint. From the corkscrew down, the tornado was making a sweeping motion. That was the tornado that hit the Elmwood Place community. That particular tornado ended up bouncing over the Ponderosa restaurant where my brother was working. His story is very interesting as well.
We had hail the size of eggs that day. I have yet to see any larger. The hail stones drove 6-8" deep holes in the fresh mulch we put down in our landscaping beds. How people weren't caught out in the open in that situation is absolutely amazing to me.
My family "slept" in the living room that night in case we needed to get to the basement quickly. We spent from 4:30 until about 8:00 that evening in the basement.
I've seen one other tornado since then, but my "storm chasing" days are over. I really don't care to see another one.
I was thinking that in ‘74 I was in 10th grade, but wasn’t into current events at the time so I didn’t remember this. So as I’m reading your account, your words captured my attention. I only wish that certain people (#44) would take weather as seriously as your parents. By doing so it would save lives.
Same here. I'd forgotten the hail, but now that you mention it, I remember we had one the size of a golf ball that we kept in the freezer for several years.
I was 16 and lived in St. Bernard, the town right next to Elmwood Place when the storm hit. I didn't see the tornado; I was hiding in the closet but thank you for the details of your experience.
@@mariaadam5375 I was 11 and lived (and still do) in South Lebanon. I had real
good view of the storm as it moved between Mason and Lebanon on its
way to Xenia I guess, 4:30 pm +/- My Dad had just got home from work.
We had very little damage, trees down, power and telephone out.
That's actually a pretty interesting story. (Lotta "quotes", though.)
Thank you for this. This happened toward the end of my senior year at Ballard High School in Louisville, KY. Over 900 homes were destroyed in Louisville, but many of them were in affluent neighborhoods, so were well insured. It passed a half mile from my parent's house. I spent a lot of the next few weeks helping cleaning up the damage.
I was 16, living in Huntsville, Alabama when the tornadoes came thru, it was a scary night. I’ll never forget the damage left behind. I went with my father to help rebuild houses for weeks.
I was in Athens Alabama I remember the sky toward Elkmont was a beautiful blue with the sun shining back towards Huntsville and Tanner the sky was a sickly green....was a long night...
Huntsville, AL? Yikes! Your lucky you're alive. Just missed by the big ones. I'd a died of fright with loaded pants.
I hear my dad talk about this and the blizzard of 78 the most when it comes to weather!
The blizzard of ‘78 was more of a nuisance to me. Going to work was bad, but us New Englanders are used to snow, so we weren’t concerned. I was stuck at work for 3 days. It was amazing walking and seeing that there were cars completely buried by the snow. The meteorologists didn’t see this coming. Thank goodness they’re better at forecasting the weather now. But history has a way of repeating itself if we’re not alert.
Blizzard of ‘78 was AWESOME!!!! For a 7 year old kid, that is.
@@Jivolt Yeah, I was 9 and loved it. The Ohio river froze completely and people would walk across to KY or to OH.
@@Survivor58 I think he's talking about the blizzard of '78 in Ohio. Yours came a week or so after I recall.
@@Jivolt
I was 14 and enjoyed it thoroughly!
You're one of the very few youtubers I will watch and be okay with a 10-15 minute video... You never repeat yourself and it's always informative and YOU NEVER PUT DOWN ANYBODY. I like those characteristics.
You must not watch much educational content
In 1974, my dad was the head meteorologist in Louisville, KY. What a absolutely frightening time it was!
I was 7yo and my parents had taken me to the Dr. We were about a quarter of a mile from our house when it started raining so hard my dad couldn't see so he pulled over. Within seconds the wind started picking the car up , first on one side then slamming it down and then the other. It was the first time I ever heard my dad say the "F" word. He looked at my mom and back out the windshield and said "F this sh*t!" and jerked the car in drive and took off. He was guessing where the road was. Within 30 seconds we were out of it and then pulled in our driveway. Our house was fine but trees were uprooted and the barns had damage. There were boards literally sticking out of our car where the wind had shoved them. Scariest moment of my life and it took me years to get over being afraid of storms. Later we found out that it had been an F5 tornado that we survived. Truly a miracle. I believe that if my dad hadn't took off it would of sucked our car up because it was sure trying to.
I lived in northern Alabama at that point in History, thanks THG for this lesson. Twin tornados tore through my area, homes were completely demolished while the house across the street was unharmed. The community came together the next day, food from refrigerators without power was donated to food banks, families took in neighbors freshly homeless, entire neighborhoods had meat smoking parties to save meat without freezing. Clothes, tents, hygiene supplies and toys, yes toys for the children that lost everything were donated. I still look back on those days as a reminder that in the worst times, people come together to survive.
I was only 3 years old in Louisville, KY when the tornado ran through there, but it was such a part of the collective psyche of the City that anytime I hear April 1974, that tornado is the first thing that pops to mind. Massive trees that were uprooted by the storm lay in Cherokee Park for nearly a decade - a constant reminder of the storm, and why we needed to be scared whenever the sirens went off. I've been in other tornados since, but nothing that affected an entire city as much as that one, and that one was not nearly as serious as many others. Great episode.
I was 7 years old. Yes it did place a marker on Louisville. My uncle and aunt lived on Winter Ave then but they did well
I remember that outbreak pretty well. It happened (Apr 3-4) the same week that Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record (Apr 8). I was living in NE Ohio, so I wasn't affected by it, but it fascinated me and I kept watching the news about it. The film of the Xenia big one is still etched in my memory. It was the first week or so of the baseball season, and I always associate the outbreak with Aaron, may he rest in peace. I did see that live, along with millions of other people. Ironically, though I've lived almost all of my life in the Midwest, I've never seen a tornado. Some came close, but not close enough. And I did hunker down in an interior utility room on a few occasions. The pipes help reinforce the room.
The 1974 economy was in dire straits to say the least. My father owned a business in Cleveland, TN. Since he was connected to the building trade, the slowing of the economy was starting to be felt in our livelihood. The devasting tornado, although lives were lost, brought much needed commerce to the rebuilding of Bradley County, TN. Answers to our prayers. Thank you for posting.
I recall that part of TN got racked real bad. Did you know Robert Franklin Johnson? I think he was from there.
@@mikezylstra7514 I do not know him, however googling his name to see his picture and running across his obituary, I wish I had known him. Sounds like an awesome guy.
Seeing a Chevy Caprice(?) wrapped around a tree like it was no more than a paperclip, it's amazing how wild Mother Nature can be.
For quite some time after the one above I mentioned (Huntsville/Redstone Arsenal,Ala,same day(s)) there was a similar sight to this. A '69-ish Dodge about 20 ft up a large metal tower, almost as if you were to fold it in half in the middle, to where the front & rear almost,or may have actually been touching. Luckily no one was in it? (Had they been,they'd be dead....and they've been quicker to get it down to remove them??) Had to IIRC go 'up' with it to remove the car with a huge mobile crane. Really got stuck up there good!!! Also saw an almost new Impala/Caprice driven nose first thru a roof like a spear. Almost perfectly vertical.
and man does not have the power to change it.
Matthew VandenBerg 69 Impala😎
She's a bitch
@@babayaga1767 Uhhhh, man has been controlling the weather for awhile now, hoss. "They" steered their first hurricane in 1947 into Savannah, Ga.
There has been no natural weather for years, ever since that bitch lost the rigged in her favor election They are pulling all the stops.
I remember the Super Outbreak of 1974. I was at home after school when the warnings came on the TV and radio. It was the first time I remember that shows were interrupted to give warnings about tornadoes for most of the evening. It was a scary night as we had no idea where the next one would come.
Me too. I was in elementary school (1st grade) in Delaware Indiana, when it started. I remember coming home from school and seeing the sky and I hope I never see another sky like that again.
hearing it first hand paints a spooky picture, no doppler or sirens?? Im also form Indiana, no stranger to how quickly a forecast can change
Rodney Stephens I lived in MS from ‘93-‘96 and I remembered hearing a siren for the first time. Then when there was a tornado watch, the sky and the air was eerie. The air is perfectly still. They scare me.
@@Survivor58 they should. Me too.
I know several people who went thru the one(s) in the Huntsville/Redstone Arsenal/Madison Co.,Ala area that day,(Huntsville P.D. shown rolling up 'hot' at about 11:04) and also one that went thru the one(s) in Xenia,Oh. The one(s) in Huntsville I saw the damage from first hand a little later. You could still see evidence of that one many years later. Even the last time I was there (2017) if you knew where to look,and what to look for,you could still see it?? (Trees on or near a certain part of a street not as large as the others nearby, houses/buildings that didn't look quite like all the others (obviously built mid '70s, instead of about 1958-60),etc?) The person I knew later who went thru the one in Ohio that same two days simply used one word to describe the town....'Gone'?
We lived on the eastern edge of the outbreak and had been listening to weather reports all day. My parents decided we’d sleep in the basement that night. The morning newspaper had horrible photos. We had no idea it would get worse. We were glued to the TV at every free moment throughout the day and then back in the basement that night. The news and photos from Xenia were unbelievable, and terrifying. Very effecting as a child. I moved out of the Midwest as soon as I could when I reached 18. Since then I’ve lived all over the world and survived multiple earthquakes, hurricanes, and even tsunamis. Still, even today at 60, nothing scares me quite like tornados.
A witch in Kansas was killed when a house flew up a mile in the sky and landed on her. A small dog survived the event.
And a young Kansas farm girl ended up with some sparkling red shoes.
@pfsif interesting response
Congrats for the dog surviving
No, no, no. Don't you remember? They weren't in Kansas anymore. The dog recalls the owner turning to him and saying, quote, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto" just after the event occurred. It took hours and even the help of a few good citizens, another witch, magic slippers and a wonderful wizard to find their way back to Kansas, the tornado threw them so far.
M Detlef that's alright, the storm chaser footage has since been colorized.
I lived near Xenia in 1974. I remember that night very clearly. You brought the subject of the 1974 tornadoes to life. Thank you!
was only 7 at the time, me and my family got caught just off of downtown Xenia by that tornado
i lived in dayton then went to help clean up arrowhead was a mess ..now i live in sugarcreek township .. now dayton area got hit with 14 tornadoes the 27 ,,at night ,,its worse than the 74 xenia one
I lived in Columbus and the day before a friend and I rode our motorcycles to a Xenia Suzuki shop to pick up a part. I had never
even heard of Xenia Ohio before that day. I do remember it was slap you around windy riding that day before.
In April of 1974, one month before my 19th birthday, a tornado hit my home town in NE Indiana, it skipped over a few houses, it hit and destroyed a barn built in the 1800's that was only 200 feet from Mom's & Dad's home. It caused a 150 foot Weeping Willow tree in our yard to come down onto the basement door. Mom & Dad was stuck in the basement with a kerosene lantern for several days, living on the vast can goods & Mom's Homemade Wine that were stored there, until several relatives came to cut up the tree and to get them out. They were happy to be alive or were they snookered on the wine.
When you said "Xenia" it triggered memories of that. I was only 18 at the time.
My father spent 4 days re establishing communication with Ohio Bell Co.
The flag pole at the town hall woven itself from the second floor up the third floor and out the window.
My future wife and I were at Morehead State Univ.
We lived near Xenia OH. You're absolutely right about storm detection and warning systems. My Mother was an elementary school teacher who was fascinated with Meteorology and taught it to her students in Science class back when teachers had more freedom to teach specialized subjects. She watched the weather that day, and called the Xenia radio stations to tell them to warn listeners of the coming weather - they had posted no warnings before her call. They put the warning out after her suggestion, which may have saved quite a few lives. We drove through the devastation the following day - many, many homes were completely flattened - save the bathroom. Residents had survived by sheltering in bathrooms and basements. The same day, my cousin was driving home as fast as she could - watching a tornado pursue her in her rear-view mirror.
3 dislikes? How does anyone not appreciate the simple facts of history?
They must be trolls....or a mistake. I cant see how anybody would thumbs down...if you don't like history(which is foolish) then just don't watch. Maybe they thumbs down because the storms were deadly and destructive not really about the quality of the video at all. Yeah....I don't get how you couldn't love these....my new favorite channel. Just awesome, awesome work. Couldnt be happier to have found this channel.
maybe they are those hard core climate change activists that don't want to believe that damaging severe weather happened in the past too and they find this video a threat to their self righteous views
@@tomme3913 I've always been confused by the people that hold up "severe storm patterns" as evidence of climate change. Severe weather has always happened and our documentation and identification of it has dramatically improved in recent decades. It is really impossible to tell if it is happening more now or just present bias.
danaphanous ....I would say bias. Uuppity yuppity dweebs are only interested in those folks and events in their own very insignificant and poorly developed circles. Yes, dweebs, and many if not all yuppies and yippies, combos of yuppy and hippy, do indeed suck. No respect for themselves or others they may encounter in their daily lives. 🕊🦅
Maybe tornadoes have internet now.
9:03, number 13 on the map, I remember it well. I may have only been 10yrs old, but it will forever be locked in my memory.
I was at #4 on the map. I was 6 at the time and it's definitely something one remembers.
When I was 6 there was doppler, Sattelite TV (for rural areas like mine) and a well placed basement, i was always still terrified, couldnt imagine what it was like in 74
I was at 41 in Hanover. I was 8. I can still see it.
i was also #13, remember being really hot and humid that day, unusual for that time of year, my mom said she remembers the sky turning green
@@timothyosborn7277 yes!! Green and just plain weird!
I was a meteorologist at the US Air Force's AFGWC, or Air Force Global Weather Central. This massive facility has over a thousand weather guys (and ladies) under one roof. During this outbreak, I worked in the severe weather section, and plotted weather radar using real time data. Our teletypewriters had ... crazy traffic. We were running 90 minutes behind real time. We never got the severe weather reports in enough time to warn our military installations. It got so bad...SO BAD, the the Governor of the state of Indiana had the ENTIRE STATE'S tornado warning sirens turned on, at once, for every location in the state. Remarkable. Our lead meteorologist was the finest severe weather forecaster in the world, at that time. For those REALLY interested in the science, try to find AWSTR TR-200. This is Air Weather Service Training Regulation 200, the severe weather "bible" used for decades. This was also my source document, while I was an Instructor at the Department of Defense Weather Training Division, teaching Convective Scale Dynamics. I was the SME, or Subject Matter Expert, on severe weather analysis and forecasting for the military technical training center, training all military weathermen worldwide...for over seven years. Good times, good times.
I lived in Louisville during this outbreak and was supposed to go to a picnic that afternoon but the weather was looking very ugly so decided to go home instead. Fortunately, #48 missed me by 10 minutes but was still quite scary. There are certain life events that occur that are as clear today as they were then and this was definitely one of them. Thanks for the video.
@@themeparkreconnoiter9787 I grew up in Minneapolis where we did have sirens. But most of the other places I've lived (outside of major cities) don't have warning sirens. If taxes are low and there isn't a lot of revenue coming in, a municipality can't afford to install sirens. Sirens also require a fair amount of maintenance to ensure they will work when needed. It's not that a municipality doesn't care, it's that other necessities take priority..
New Albany at the time. I remember a thunderstorm came through that night, and one of the stations interrupted programming to say this one was NOT severe.
In my 64 years, that is the only time I know of where they interrupted programming to say, essentially, don't worry.
I was in Fern Creek then - 7 years old. I remember it well.
I love your approach on history. I would like to see your take on the Columbus Day storm on October 12, 1962, and/or, the Alaskan earthquake of March 27, 1964, and the tsunami effects thereafter.
Thanks.
Joel Frederick I remember the 62 Columbus Day storm, we where in Central Oregon, (Oak Ridge) 100' + Douglas fir tree snapping and popping falling Every which Way, It look like the end of the world,3 ft of rain in 24 hrs I was 7 years old. I remember it like it happened yesterday.
The Alaska earthquake was even better for science at that time as plate tectonics science was really taking off then and this helped confirmed this science. (The uplift and downlift that occurred on the sides along the fault helped with this science.)
Friends of our family lived in Anchorage @ the time. Their house was totally destroyed
When I saw the title I knew what storm you were going to talk about. I still remember the coverage about the destruction in Xenia, while living in the Columbus area back then.
I'm an F5 tornado survivor, having been taken by my mother, along with my sister, to my mother's beauty shop appointment at Candlestick Park in Jackson, MS in March, 1966. The tornado that struck us that day was among the worst in Mississippi history. I think in Mississippi, or at least in Jackson's schools, tornado drills must have started soon after that, and possibly even sooner, such as perhaps after the F4 Vicksburg Tornado of about twelve years earlier. I say this because we moved almost every year, such that by the time I graduated high school, I had been enrolled in 13 different schools. The Candlestick Park tornado happened when I was in Kindergarten, and I can remember tornado drills at school for each of the next several years. I can remember that sometimes we would have more than one drill within a week or so, which I guess must have meant that either severe storm season was approaching, or that something had gone wrong in the first drill and we needed to test some sort of solution.
I think one of the most interesting tornadoes in American history happened here in Mississippi, on the big river at Natchez in 1840. It was the second deadliest tornado in US history, and definitely far deadlier than anyone knows because only the deaths of white people were recorded. The interesting thing about the Natchez twister is the way it approached the city from the southwest, with the funnel described as running right down the middle of the river, throwing small boats near the center of the river onto land and pulling docked boats and boats running closer to the banks into the river and sinking them. The local newspaper account from the time is harrowing, and conjures a most remarkable and unique image of destruction.
I remember the 1974 outbreak very well because we had a huge food and book drive at school. I can remember collecting canned goods and books in my neighborhood and taking them to school, to be delivered to Ohio.
Oh my, this is so dreadful. We get cyclones in Australia and famously Darwin in the northern territory was levelled. I would be pleased if you would cover this event in a program. 73-74 I think. It was so critical an event that no structures were permitted to be rebuilt until rigorous cyclone safe building codes were established. Homes in Darwin are 25% more expensive to build than any other place in Australia. Please look into this and your reportage skills will be rewarding.
I agree that this would be a fascinating video.
Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974.
"perfect 7's" sobering thought for those who live in the alleyway.
I wonder if there's any correlation between those odds and the prevalence of gambling addiction amongst the population that inhabits the same region... hmmm...
@@dopaminecircuit "Prevalence of gambling addiction"....This covered 13 states and province of Ontario. Got some links that show this supposed gambling addiction is more prevalent there than the rest of the US and Canada?
There is actually no 'Tornado Alley', as people like to claim, if you look at all of the tornadoes since 1950.
I had never heard of this, and it happened in my lifetime. This makes Cyclone Tracey (which devastated Darwin) seem like a rain squall.
Your channel keeps important history alive. Thanks again. You provide a fantastic service.👍
About 10 years before a swarm of Tornados ripped up Indiana on palm Sunday.
There are some video documentaries of this and the palm Sunday tornado on Facebook.
My parents lived in Cleveland Tennessee from 1967-1973 I was born in Lafayette, Indiana in may 1973.
I was in the 1974 outbreak. Not fun.
same
I was also in the 2011 outbreak, not fun either
Wow
Man of few words...
I lived on the east coast in VA and I recall an incredibly bad storm. I was visiting at a friends house, where we spent the night due to the weather. Multiple lightning strikes occurred within a 1/2 mile and a huge tree was split in twain across the street.
Same here in cincinnati
A great and timely episode given the recent Missouri tornadoes. I was a young boy when this happened, but my grandparents and uncle owned farms in Palmyra and we visited them fairly often. To my recollection none of their buildings sustained major damage, but the thing I remember seeing was how the heavy (and very old) gravestones from a local cemetery were picked up by the storm and pelted all over their fields. Seeing it for myself was the first time I really came to grips with how powerful tornadoes are (and made me leave the room during the intro to the "Wizard of Oz" for several years thereafter).
One minor correction, the small Indiana town Palmyra is pronounced pal-MY-ra. I am not trying to nitpick, but I know you're a stickler for accuracy! Thanks again for this excellent episode!
Modern alarmists will always assume that what happens now is unprecedented thanks History guy for perspective
Yeah, that included global warming and tornado outbreaks, and even now in my area people making wild claims about all the rain we have been having 🙄
And all the wildfires in deadwood south Dakota in the 1870s climate change my ass
@@jamespfitz lol, yup, that's about it 😂🤪
@@jamespfitz keep proclaiming truth friend
@kragseven however at that time it was the pending ice age that was going to do us all in the climate has always fluctuated you can study the agricultural history of different regions climate stability is a myth
Brilliant, as per usual. Thank you!
Psst! There is a market for reinforced homes in the whole of the USA midwest. Let's split the profits 50/50.
Even that 12-14 minute warning assumes the public is listening for it. While many cell phones can react to a tornado warning signal, this assumes a person has cell coverage.
I absolutely love you and your channel. I was born and raised in south central Ohio and I've heard of the Xenia tornado my entire life, by word of mouth.
And here you are, giving voice to it on the internet. It really is history that deserves to be remembered.
Love you, History Guy, and I love the History Gal wife you have there. You're a lucky man.
Brilliant and very timely. We need to remember events like this so we don't become complacent in our relatively short human memory!
wraithnet spot on👍
I was in Hanover, indiana on April 3rd, 1974. I can still see that tornado to this day. it devastated half the town and then headed toward Madison. horrible damage.
I was in Hanover too! I remember crawling out from the hallway where we took cover, house gone (but someones boat where the living room once was). Thankfully didn't have time to go to the neighbors that had a basement because the house and EVERYTHING was gone.
it just occurred to me that You Tube is a wonderful teaching platform. i'm 63 years old, and i learn things every day. mostly from fine teachers, like you. Thank you, and please keep up the good work. on a personal note, i like your tie.
I remember that day a tornado took part of the roof off of Freedom Hall and tore up Cherokee Park which still hasn't completely recovered.
WHAS-AM has 8 to 10 hours of radio broadcasts on CZcams from that day. Dick Gilbert was a hero
My grandfather, along with his family, helped people immediately after the Xenia tornado. It deeply affected our family for years, and came up repeatedly over the years. Trees with straw embedded horizontally like a comb, buses on top of barns, bodies in tree branches, all these things are surreal. When the wind gets angry, very bad things can happen...
I wonder if we’re related because my family helped clean up immediately after the tornado and I have heard the same stories of straw embedded in trees and a bus on barn. :)
I was 8 and living in Etowah, Tn. I remember it well, particularly how the sky changed color.
I was 10 years old, living in Etowah, TN. I lived in Circle Drive at that time.
It is difficult to comprehend how it must feel to be in the path of a tornado.
Could you do a video about the 1990 Plainfield, IL F5 tornado? Here in Chicago it is a big part of local history. Tons of people still remember this storm, and I think it would be fitting considering it is storm season here in IL!
Wasn't there an episode of "Roseanne" that was about that tornado?
The massive advances in weather prediction and forecasting in my lifetime has been amazing. (I turned 50 in January.)
Anecdotally, I've been on the edge of two tornados:
*The First Tornado* was back in the late 1970's and we were on the spot just ahead of where the tornado lifted. No one was killed or injured, we lost one tree in our yard and a few shingles. Our neighbors behind us had more extreme damage, but they were otherwise okay. The most damage done was in the one spot in the entire town where nobody lived (literally)... the graveyard. The worst of the damage was to two GIANT oak trees that had been toppled over. They were so big that, when we climbed up onto the trunk of either of them, we were more than 10 feet off the ground. It was a tragic loss, due to their beauty... but, if you were going to pick a spot that would risk the fewest people, you couldn't have picked a better one.
*The Second Tornado* was, almost identical to the first -- in that our house was on the spot where the tornado lifted -- except, about 1/4 mile later, it came back down (I seem to remember that two or three people were killed and a few dozen injured in the area where it came back down - it struck a flea market). Our street, which was one of the oldest and most beautiful in town (but I'm biased towards it) was decimated. Our house had minor damage and we only lost a few shingles (almost exactly like the first). However... the house directly next door had a cedar tree jammed through the front wall (it penetrated all the way into their living room). Not a branch... the whole damned tree, trunk first. The damage got worse the farther down the street we went. After five or six houses... there were mostly no more houses. It had decimated a section of town (our neighborhood) about half a mile wide, encompassing at least 100 homes.
The absolute miracle was the storm's timing and where it decided to touch down. The elementary school was at the end of that street where all those houses were destroyed between my house and the school (my daughter was in the first grade). The tornado had set down just in front of that school... the school was virtually undamaged, but the houses across the street were not so lucky. All the kids were inside hunkered down and completely uninjured. In addition to this, most of the people, whose homes were destroyed, were at work. No one was killed in our section of town and there were only about three or four minor injuries. Had the storm set down just one hour later, hundreds would have been killed, comprising mostly school children and those parents arriving home to meet their kids. I worked second shift at that time, and had only just woken in anticipation of my daughter arriving home from school.
On a side note about that second tornado. As I said, it set down just beyond the school and then traveled up our street, and it began to lift only about three or four houses between where we lived and the school. I could not help being tickled by the fact that, directly behind our house... was a Methodist church. My house and that church were the only two structures that were virtually undamaged by the tornado, I lost about 100 shingles, the church only lost about 10 or 20... and that's it! Not another piece of damage to our house or that entire church.
So, if you were wanting to know *which denomination God considers the correct one...* a serious argument can be made for Methodist. Just sayin'!
Wow, thanks for recounting your experiences. Also, the last part of your comment gave me a good chuckle.
I've been following tornado outbreaks since first seeing one live in the 1960s. I had somehow never heard of the Tanner, Alabama, twin tornados, though, until this video. This was fascinating, thanks for sharing!
27 April 2011, Cordova, AL was hit by an EF-2/3 in the morning, then hit by an EF-4 that afternoon. Morning storms took out massive amounts of power lines, cell towers, weather radio transmitters; such that 250,000+ didn’t have any warning of the afternoon killer storms.
I remember studying this while in forecasting school in the Navy.
Best channel on CZcams....I wish there was an "auto-like" button. I listen at work and have to come over to the phone to like the videos and sometimes I don't make it in time....otherwise every single one would be a like. So interesting and informative with awesome, obscure quotes and references from eye witnesses on the ground. Love, Love, love this channel. Thank you for making and sharing all of these...I just discovered you a week ago so I am very happy to have your entire catalogue to watch. Woo hoo. Thanks history guy.
When you hear a guy in a random youtube video mention your little tiny county in north GA two minutes into the video.
I would love to see you discuss the Tri-State Tornado from 1925. That was the deadliest in US history. The deadliest in world history was in Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. Both topics are worth the research.
Have you thought about doing the Tri State Tornado?
It is a VERY interesting story.
I REALLY enjoy your posts.
Thanks
What is that?
Correct, I believe it was the most powerful tornado in history. It dug up the ground over a foot deep and the track is still visible today.
@@Survivor58 March 18th 1925- ran 219 miles through 3 States (Missouri, Illinois and Indiana) and was on the ground for over 3 1/2 hours. 2,027 killed.
@@darrinrasberryph.d.1458 Incredible. Thanks for the information. I am going on a weather history dive. ✌😺
I still believe it was multiple, high powered tornadoes. Not one single entity.. With the last onw being the only one on record that could truly qualify to be an F6 if there was such a thing. That tornado was the ever saugbt after but never documented "inverted wedge". (the tornado was considerably wider at the ground than at the base, think if a wedge tornado. But upside down.) It is a dream for all chasers to see one. But there never was one, that we know of. After 1925.
here in western ky, we fear the night tornados most, because you cannot see them coming & when you hear, what sounds like a train it is past time to to hunker down as best you can. Thank you good Sir for this video =D
Same here in mid TN, we get some bad straight-line winds during Spring storm season and in the dark you'd swear a tornado was right on top of us. It seems like we lose a couple more trees every year.
As always, another brilliant video History Guy...
You do a fantastic job giving out more detailed information on every topic you pick than any other source.
I lived through that in North Alabama and it was terrifying, to say the least!
I only recall evening news coverage of this.
same, I lost friends in both the 1974 and the 2011 outbreaks
Huntsville/Redstone Arsenal one???
@@DrOlds7298 Pinson and Tuscaloosa
Midnight here in Australia. I left america in 1974....in the middle of a tornado.
Have you ever thought of returning to the US?
Trust me, meteorologists will never forget this outbreak. As far as those perfect conditions, they spawned on April 27th, 2011, but not as widespread as April 3-4th, 1974, only centralized in Alabama and Mississippi in the 2011 outbreak. Also, WSR stands for Weather Surveillance Radar, not Weather Service Radar.
I wonder if the footage in 3:21 is of the DuPaw F5 since I've never seen footage of that? Would be neat. Also was neat to get those radar sketches.
I remember it very well. Where I live, it started in the late afternoon/early evening hours and lasted all night and into the next day. The sky was alive with motion - howling winds, swirling clouds etc.. Tornadoes were dropping like apples from a tree. Needless to say, nobody got any sleep that night. The next day we went in my parents' car to survey all the local damage. It was a sight I will never forget. There were different trails of tornado damage all around the area. 15 years later I was actually hit by a category 4 twister while in my truck and on the way home from work.
I grew up in southern Indiana and the April 3rd Tornadoes is something that still haunts me to this day. One of those tornadoes came through the area I lived in and, as we were running to the cellar house for safety, I looked up and saw one as it jumped our farm landing in field just an acre away. Tornadoes are my nightmares.
Definitely a new fave from THG. I love History and I love tornadoes so, a History Guy short about these incredible storms is going to rank very high on my entertainment scale! I'm currently involved in an augmented reality application that uses live drone feed to anticipate where emergency services will be needed and direct response to casualties after a severe weather event. I hope you never need it. Keep up the great work.
Great Presentation, Thanks. I actually remember that day/night very well. I was 8 yrs old and lived/live not to far from where the first TN. tornado touched down in Cleveland TN. just north of Chattanooga. I remember my parents gathering me and my brother and taking us to a central hallway in the house and covering us with blankets. That night has left an indelible memory that has followed me my entire life. We made it through without any damage but their was a lot of damage around us. I now watch the weather and have passed on to my kids to watch and be weather aware. When you live in Tennessee you never know whats around the corner weather wise.
Keep 'em coming, History Guy! We're spreading the word. You have a great product.
I was 15 in 74. Lived outside of Cincinnati.
We also get tornadoes in the UK but for the most part it just rips a few tiles of some roofs or uproots a few small trees. I think if something like the super-outbreak came through there would be a lot more devastation because our towns and cities are much closer together.
Don't worry, there is only one Tornado alley on earth and it is in the US. I can't imagine Europe would even have a risk of this kind of an outbreak whereas in the US it is only a matter of time until it happens again as History Guy said.
I live in Missouri. After this past week, I pray, we're not re-living history.
Me too. Well, kind of. I hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to more severe storms, but hope no-one gets hit. I love storm watching. I just posted a bit of my tornado history if you look up at newer posts.
Holy Cow, History Guy! You have really NAILED this episode!!! Such an engrossing experience! Well done!
I just watched a couple of documentary videos about the 1974 🌪 outbreak. My Gosh! Absolutely sombering and heart-wrenching.
Thank you for this presentation.
Would love to see a video about the Tri-State Tornado!
My dad constantly talks about the tornado he saw around Hustonville, Kentucky on the 3rd. Even my mom experienced the same tornado in Danville, Kentucky.
Indiana remembers the 1965 Palm Sunday outbreak too- it was really bad
Ten years after this event, I was on a Land Navigation exercise in North Carolina, also in April (1984) when another Super Cell dropped all around us. "Thunderbolts and Lightning, very very frightening' to say the least. Was in the area again in April 2011, just in time to get hit by that Super Cell too. No longer living in or visiting Tornado Country in April
Tornadoes don't scare me like earthquakes do. But I grew up in Oklahoma.
@@albertschroeder3306 I grew up on the San Adrais fault in central coastal Ca.we thought the earthquakes were fun as kids I'm glad that I don't live there anymore. About 100 miles south in the Salinas valley there is a dried up riverbed that just stops. About 100 feet away it starts again. One day it going to hit.
Your a Queen
@@albertschroeder3306 they both scare the crap out of me, I've been through the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the Oakland firestorm, the 1974 AND the 2011 tornado outbreaks AND Hurricanes Katrina, Ivan and Ike
but I travel a lot
Then dont ever come in May. Lol
Mother Nature always wins. Great video. ..Thank you.
Not always, but I get it.
Whenever I watch this guys videos, all I can do is shake my head and wonder why some network hasn't offered him a TV series. This man is a natural talent. If that so called "History Channel" aired a show with him as the host I would never miss an episode.
I remember when this happened.
Afterwards my Parents drove from Michigan down to Xenia Ohio to help out where they could.
Thank You for this content, you've produced one of the greatest channel on CZcams.
Woodward, Oklahoma 1947 tornado killed 116 in Oklahoma and killed 67 in Texas where it started. Was on the ground for 100 miles.
Wow! Reading this now is scary enough.
We always get the best tornados. OKLAHOMA
Do More Weather history i love this ! i love this channel ! its fun and informative. thank you for all you do!
Good coverage once again History Guy! I live in Xenia still and at that time they were actually considering making a rating higher than f-5 for the Xenia tornado because it exceeded f-5 damage here in town. Pretty impressive and SO much was lost in our town that never came back. Since then we are nothing special to visit unlike the time prior to April of 1974. Old buildings can not be replicated and businesses here did not come back for the most part. Post tornado environment I suppose is similar to a raping .....never the same again and not forgotten. Thank you again for such a good and informative video! Greg
A total of 30 violent tornadoes hit (23 of F4 strength, and 7 F5's!). The seven F5's hit DePauw in Indiana. In Ohio the Cincinnati Metro and Xenia were swept clean. Obviously Kentucky saw Brandenburg reduced into splinters. After sunset, the other three F5's all occurred in Alabama with Tanner getting hit twice, and a few hours later Guin was hit by the third and lifted outside of Huntsville after being on the ground for 105 miles. The Guin tornado is considered to be one of the most violent tornadoes to occur and the most violent tornado in Alabama history. Not only were homes swept away, some homes had their entire foundations swept away and cracked!
Haha, nice placement; congratulations on the silver play button ▶
When Jim Cantori from the Weather Channel comes into town you know your going to lose your house.
Several years back he was in our town I saw the weather channel truck. I was like oh s*it!
He came to Tucson, when a strong tropical storm was coming through expected to drop torrential rains, it only sprinkled! 😂😂
Wait till you see the Dominator in the local convenience store parking lot!
Ya know one thing that I love about your videos is that you talk about the aftermath. What changed as a result of some seldom known event or person, and how their small actions could have made a big change to history
The History Guy : The REAL History Channel !
Absolutely, YES!
Living in Memphis TN, at the time, I remember the reports of this terrible outbreak. Xenia Ohio's devastation was forever in my mind. About a week later, I was listening to radio news and they mention a terrible tornado in Xenia, Ohio. Since we didn't have the internet to check, I called the radio station to suggest that this couldn't be accurate. I was told they got it from AP. The next round of news didn't include the report. The thought of adding another 7 to Xenia's pull of the handle was heartbreaking.
Wow, a HG event that I witnessed! I remember the weird feeling in the air, and the worry my dad had. That night, I remember my parents came home early from an event so that my dad could drive the babysitter home because she didn’t want to be stuck at our house. I don’t know why, but I rode along. Ironically, dad dropped her off at a trailer park!! Thank God nothing happened to her family’s trailer or he would never have forgiven himself.
I can’t thank you enough for the videos that you produce. I had completely forgotten about the tornadoes that hit Cleveland Tennessee back in ‘74. I had been home in Knoxville, back from the military for just a few months. We here in East Tennessee are sheltered from most bad weather as we are in the Tennessee Valley, shielded between the Cumberland and Appalachian mountains.
That was a real wake up call. Thank you again for these most informative videos, I click on them as soon as I see a new one and hit the like button before the video begins.
I lived just north of Cincinnati, was 12 years old. My older brother was a paramedic, they were called up to Xenia while the storms raged. My dad had a pilot friend, (Cessna) and he and his wife barely got the cellar door open, the wind blew them down the stairs then took the house off the foundation. It was truly terrifying.
I remember the Xenia Tornado. I lived in Dayton at the time. I remember it being a mile wide, but fact-checking was only 1/2 that. I also remember one of the organizations I was in, I can't remember which, we put together gift boxes for elementary age kids.
There may be no small tornado, but the hearts of people are bigger.
I had always believed the Morris, Illinois tornado was the first to spawn on April 3rd but my hat is off to The History Guy. I went to look it up and, backed up by many sources including old reports direct from Georgia, I found I was wrong. Somehow, way off from all the other action and in an area that would not see more tornadoes until about four hours later, that Gilmer/Fannin Counties tornado spawned ten minutes before Morris. I now ask myself the question, being that far away and generally knowing how the major portions of the outbreak unfolded, was this early Georgia tornado even part of the overall conditions we think of as what caused the Super Outbreak or was it sort of a coincidental "lone wolf"?
My great great grandmother was a victim in this outbreak. She was caregiving for a friend named mrs Mae. She was on the front porch when the tornado took a turn at her. She was sucked up and thrown miles away from the house. Her family members in Alabama did not get injured. Although she was the only one in that area who got hurt.. many others in Huntsville got hurt. My family and I will always remember her. She was 89 years of age. I hope and pray that no other tornadoes will occur in that area. She was a great mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother. I am a Descendent of her. She will be missed greatly.
Just discovered your channel History Guy. Love it so far. I'm from AL, just a few miles west of Tanner AL. The 1974 Tornadoes are the stuff of legend around here.