memories from over 30 years ago

all this stuff about katrina has got me thinking about something that happened over 30 years ago.

i daresay that anybody who lived in ohio in 1974 (and for a good while after) has heard of the xenia tornado.

for those of you who don't know, april 3 and 4, 1974 are now known as the days the united states experienced a tornado "superoutbreak"

148 separate tornados were spawned, across 13 states.

but the worst, by far, was the one which hit xenia, ohio. rated an f5, with winds over 261 mph, the tornado caught the town completely by surprise.

you see, at that time, meteorological systems, particularly the warning systems, were nowhere near as advanced as they are today. back in those days, until there was visual confirmation, no warnings were really issued.

by the time xenia had visual confirmation, and the sirens began to sound, the tornado was already upon them.

here are some links to before and after pictures of the damage caused to local schools by the xenia tornado. notice also the damage to the surrounding areas.

mckinley elementary before
mckinley elementary after

xenia high school before
xenia high school after

finally, here's a page, maintained by a survivor of the xenia tornado, with a ton of links about the superoutbreak, and the xenia tornado in particular.