Outbreak Of The Century: 1974 Super Outbreak-- most notable tornadoes and their lasting impacts

Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for being here today. As always, here are the several resources I discussed in today’s video. Honestly, there is no shortage of meteorological reanalysis of the 1974 Super Outbreak-these are just the ones that I found to be the most interesting or easy-to-digest.
NOAA Revisit of ‘74 Outbreak Meteorology; [www.spc.noaa.g...](www.spc.noaa.g...)
Dr. Ted Fujita ‘Jumbo Outbreak of April 3, 1979’ : [www.weather.go...](www.weather.go...)
‘New Evidence From April 3’ by Fujita: [swco-ir.tdl.or...](swco-ir.tdl.or...)
Here’s another channel I really love who did a great analysis of the event (MeteoTech): [ • 1974 SUPER OUTBREAK CA... ]( • 1974 SUPER OUTBREAK CA... )
MUSIC:
Harvester by Wicked Cinema: LBOOCWIZGBDM2Z2D
Rampant by CJ-0: RUEYVG6YFLIDILSC
Nuclear Conception by Alice In Winter: LQLOB6TAATBEY1L6
Illusion by Cody Martin: 41WSWBMBZRGWHRXN
Reason Beach by Soulplusmind: PXJ8KYEWKNBCEV6J
Gate of Alfheim by Cody Martin: HYQGR1KSLWSEXVZH
Leatherface by Wicked Cinema: Q7BVHXABNI2XVTJ2
Let Me Out by Cody Martin: ZYEAWMWMCF6QCYQM
Focuser by Neon Beach: RSTNTIUO4TROO34L
Spiraling Into Despair by Adam Saban: SHM0EKVDPIGG5QWT
Each Step by CJ-0: YAYOSS9TUJ2WXTR1
Insidious by Cody Martin : TOMJYPXMD5HYTKND
Things Stranger Than by Falls: B4BZ7EXYQALXBEJZ
Runner by Falls: IIVPULKIHKWWJMID
Dark Hour by Falls: ADGVGSXBSUL6A4QD
Seeking Answers by Cody Martin: 3UGXQAEHWBMZZOVB

[@tkearns4388]

About 15 years ago, I worked in Xenia for a couple months during the summer. A few times a week, after work I'd go to the bars for a beer or two. Being the tornado geek I am, I often started conversations with the locals bringing up the Xenia tornado and once they got going, they couldn't stop talking about it. Although it was about 32 years after the event, they described that day and what they went through with such clarity that you would've thought they went through the experience the prior week. Their stories were amazing to listen to. Also in the center of Xenia, there's a memorial with all the names of the people who were killed by the tornado.

[@shawnmcsorley6249]

Wow ... I was in Columbus .

[@razrv3lc]

The Xenia tornado is one of only two tornados to ever be rated as an F6. It (and the other one) were both eventually rated back down to F5 because the F system logically couldn’t go beyond an F5 because the damage at that point was already considered inconceivable and what would even be beyond that sort of damage? But the damage and violence of the Xenia tornado was so severe that it got the consideration to be worse than an F5. I hadn’t even realized that there were tornadoes that ever had been considered to be rated above F5 until a few days ago when I was looking at the Wikipedia page for the Fujita scale.

[@Skarfar90]

@@razrv3lc The other one was the 1997 Jarrell TX tornado. The damage seen in the aftermath of the Jarrell tornado was mind-boggling. There was some debate around the 1999 Moore tornado as well, since the wind speeds were incredible, and close to the treshold of a true F6

[@randallrhoads3271]

alright!!..i did the exact same thing in the early 90's..went to Xenia twice just to hang out and talk to the people that lived thru the storm...while of course tragic, the stories they told were just fascinating. You could just tell they were deeply affected by it all...i could tell it helped them to talk. I also did the same thing in Pass Christian , Mississippi..for the survivors of Hurricane Camille....yes. i am a weather geek to the max..

[@Zanenoth]

​@MagicPants Thats a lot of misinformation. Fujitas original scale went to F-12.

[@MontiiCat]

I like the way the newscasters back then weren’t so focused on the professionalism and used their true emotions to convey how dangerous the situation was, it really would help a lot of us today.

[@emmyswordhand2711]

I agree, though I will always argue James Span is perfect. That man can do no wrong. (I'm obviously joking, he's still a man, I just mean he's an incredible meteorologist.)

[@jennteal5265]

Fun fact: I was in middle school in 1992 and obsessed with weather. I remember the institution of the NEXRAD radar in northern Indiana (where I lived at the time). There were many retrospectives of the Palm Sunday and Super Outbreak tornados that went along with that. It was a huge deal. On another note, there was still so many misunderstandings about tornadoes in 1974. One of my most re-read books in elementary school was a book published in the early-mid 70s that told people to open all their windows before a tornado hits. We know now that might be one of the worse decisions one can make.

[@joshpeterson2203]

I remember my parents thinking this and also to go under a bridge for safety. What’s funny is both were totally wrong things to do. They meant the best but were miss informed by old news and bad info.

[@debclassyfied9723]

Yes former Xenian here. Going to the lowest level is the best advice. Also going into a small room like a bath room or closet in the center of your home is another spot. One one thing I remember running around Arrowhead subdivision as a kid is that there were many toilets left standing and bathrooms on the slabs left. So I suggest hugging your toilet tight if you don’t have a basement. Ever house I have lived in since then has a basement😘

[@nuggetwagon]

What fun…

[@ripwednesdayadams]

I remember being told to open the windows during a tornado in elementary school in the late 90s. Also we were told to shelter under an overpass if we were caught outside. Granted, I don’t live in tornado alley but we do occasionally get tornados- we just had an EF3 last year. So that misinformation is definitely still floating around.

[@dougbarkdull3469]

they thought tornadoes would cause homes to explode due to pressure gradient. I remember all the stupid stuff they used to believe

[@chvfd687]

I grew up in Athens, Alabama. Nearby to the community of Tanner where (by the original Fujita scale) two F5 tornadoes passed thru within 30 minutes of each other. My science teacher in school was the wife of the late Spencer Black who in 74 had just been director of EMA for only about 6 months. He overcame many obstacles that day to get warnings out and keep people safe. With his work he turned the area into a model of modern day severe weather preparedness. He talked to our class several times over the years and spurred my interest in the topic. He retired in 2010 and less than a month later was seriously injured in a freak accident working in his yard which led to his untimely passing. R.I.P. Spencer you're greatly missed.

[@jarrodwalker5186]

I grew up in the area also. I wasn't alive for that outbreak, but when I was a kid there were a few years that it seemed like every day after school there were tornadoes. To this day I have frequent tornado dreams. I really don't know how Alabamans haven't become a subterranean culture in tornado season(s), haha. Anywho, if you still live in the area, go have a Whitt's sandwich in my honor... can't get decent pulled pork where I'm at in Colorado 😂

[@modestyblaise1530]

I’ll put some extra vinegar sauce on my Whitt’s in your honor 🙌

[@drugfwpmed]

Miss those sandwiches!

[@amydavis4945]

You started out saying every generation has "their" storm. Xenia was mine. I actually saw the Xenia tornado as it was cutting through the countryside. I was 12 years old and my mother was driving my older sister and I down to Lebanon, Ohio from Columbus, OH. We were big into horses and we were going down there to look at a new horse we were thinking of buying for my sister. Mom was driving her Oldsmobile 98... my sister in the front seat; me in the back. We had just passed through Xenia when I saw my mom's terrified eyes in the rearview mirror. I turned around and threw my elbows up on the back dash (no one wore seatbelts back then) and I saw this big black turning twisting "noodle" with stuff flying all around it. I know my eyes must have been as big around as half-dollars because I'd never seen anything like it.... not even in movies (I wasn't allowed to watch Wizard of Oz until I was 13 - it was too "violent" according to my parents). I couldn't take my eyes off it. In the "background" I could hear my mother screaming and beginning to panic. She just kept screaming "where do I go? Where do I go?". I remember she kept turning the car one way, then the other down side streets and the sky was so angry. Black clouds hung everywhere and some were black wisps that were turning in circles and dipping down and going back up and swirling around. Not tornadoes, but just very very tumultuous clouds. I don't know how long we drove around; mom just literally freaking out. I think my mom really just wanted to go home (to Columbus), but I think she was afraid to drive back through Xenia. So she headed back toward Lebanon, and sure enough, there was a SECOND tornado. It wasn't as easy to see as the one in Xenia, but we saw it and that's all it took. Mom swung the car around and we headed back to Columbus. When we got back to Xenia, people were walking around everywhere, cars were being stopped and asked to help carry wounded. Don't judge... but my mom said she couldn't do that with her two children in the car. I guess whoever had asked understood and let her go through. Mom told my sister and I to get down on the floor (of the car) as she made her way through Xenia.... she didn't want us to see whatever horrors there were to see. Even as we got back into Columbus, there were such bad storms and I kept watch for any more tornadoes. That's when my "love" of weather was borne. I have never been afraid of any storm, though I have a great deal of respect for what they can do. I "studied" weather (at the library, on my own) for years and kept charts and graphs and essays that I'd written for no one by myself to look at. I chased tornadoes one "season" - well, I was the "map girl"... the team I was on never intercepted a single tornado. But it was fun and I'll remember those times forever because we DID see some really awesome storms. I'm now 60 years old and I still love thunderstorms as much as I ever have... and until I die I will always be looking for another tornado. I live in Oklahoma, and I've seen one since living here. It's only a matter of time before I see another.

[@jamesmartinomusic5969]

I was there too!..Bridgetown

[@kylehinch6321]

Awesome stories. I'm in lawton oklahoma

[@warrenmadden2586]

Nicely done. I lived in Dayton from 85 to 96, and worked at WHIO as one of their meteorologists from 93 to 96. I have a bunch of friends from Xenia, and whenever they would recall that day I could see "that look" in their eyes as they replayed the events in their minds. A terrifying experience to say the least. The town rebuilt, but the memory will live on forever.

[@sydneyb.267]

I remember you--hope you are weil!

[@randygalloway618]

Another note of interest for the 1974 Tanner tornadoes is that a local radio station's news director (Bob Dunnavant) had travelled from Athens (just north of Tanner and the county seat) to the Lawsons trailer court to report on the first tornado. He was doing a live radio remote, describing in compelling language what he was seeing. After a couple of minutes, you hear him pause and then he quickly figures out another tornado is coming. The primal fear and desparation you can hear in his voice as he hid (I think it was in a culvert) is something I will never forget. The station was WJOF, later WZYP. He used to play that audio every year on the anniversary of the tornado. They rebuilt the trailer court, but I believe it got hit again in 2011.

[@nileprimewastaken]

its so crazy that a town can get hit by 3 f5/ef5s in less than 40 years, tanner is my pick for top tornado magnet of all time

[@DuecePiece]

@nileprimegooglewontletmele1500 yeah I'd say it's between Tanner or Moore, Oklahoma. Both have suffered devastation multiple times unfortunately

[@waterparks116]

Thank you, Carly Anna! My birthday is April 2. On April 3, 1974, I was 5 years old. I lived on the east side of Cincinnati, Ohio. That day I didn't fully understand what was happening, however, I knew something was really wrong with the weather...I remember there was an Ozone smell in the air, and the sky was a greenish-purple color...I remember going into our basement, with my Mom, brother, and myself. Our neighbors also were with us. Everyone was scared. Tornado sirens were going off. We were farther East, and the bad storms missed us. Sayler Park is on the extreme west side of Cincinnati. The next day I kept hearing my Mom and Dad talking about a place called "Xenia". I didn't know exactly where Xenia was, but I knew it wasn't too far away. Now I know it is about 40 minutes up 1-71. Today, if you drive through the city of Xenia, there are arrows showing the path that the storm took through the city. Since that terrible day, I have always had a fascination with tornadoes...Your Channel often adds important details about individual tornado events that other KZbin tornado channels miss....thank you again for your diligence, and research, it's obvious you spend a lot of time and effort working on your craft. Keep up the good work.

[@janetoconnor3636]

I don't remember the sky changing color My older brother said he saw a funnel cloud move over our house. I was 12 years old and watching TV when the weather bulletin came on then the sirens. for the second time since it was the first Wednesday of the month when they were tested.

[@juliaha4934]

Robert live on the east side just outside of Cincinnati.I remember that day. It was Spring break for Amelia High school. I was a sophomore and 16 years old. That tornado hit Saylor Park on the west side of Cincinnati. I was at Alms Park hanging out with friends. We had a great view of the Ohio River and could see a lot of Cincinnati and Kentucky. I saw a tornado that was on top of a hill in Kentucky. That was when we cleared out. It was mid afternoon. We were on 125 heading home when the hail started falling. They were the size of softballs.I got in trouble because my parents didn't know where I was. They were frantic by the time I got home. But later that night the news of devastation started rolling in. I could see why my parents freaked.

[@mikezylstra7514]

We always pronounced it "egg-zeen-ee-ah" until it got famous and we heard it pronounced right. Same with xylophone. Hunkie background.

[@Itsthatoneguy371]

My wife was born on the 1st and I was born on the 3rd. I knew there were other tornadoes that hit different places, not just Xenia, but I didn’t know until a few years ago how many there were and how widespread this was. This is the third video I have listened to today about this outbreak, it just all came together the devastation this weather event had caused.

[@allysonkitchens5840]

Thank you for your excellent analysis of the ‘74 Super Outbreak. I grew up in Decatur AL and had family in Tanner. I saw the Catastrophic damage in Tanner the day after when we went to check on family and my grandmother’s house. My college roommate is from Guin. She had a audio recording of the tornado. It was horrifying. 49 years later, this event stays with me. Thank you for addressing the mental impact of such an event.

[@NostalgicWoodwind]

Thank you for talking about the 1974 Super Outbreak! It was one of the events that kickstarted my special interest/hyperfixation on tornadoes

[@Sj430]

I got interest in tornadoes when downtown Nashville got hit by a F3 on April 16th 1998.

[@sammischoko1676]

I too have an hyperfixation / special interest on tornadoes! But it has no logical explanation, as I don't live in an area with tornadoes (I'm not from the US, I'm a European)

[@waynenoll1967]

I remember that, it picked up a construction crane that they were using in building the Titans stadium and tossed it into the river like a toy. The same system devastated Clarksville

[@hauntedarchivess]

ayeee fellow nd tornado enjoyer !!!! i love ur pfp btw

[@thewook79]

Tanner, Alabama was also hit by the 2011 Hackleburg/Phil Campbell EF5 tornado.

[@SomeGuyOnTheInterweb]

I N T E R E S T I N G

[@tamarakelli687]

Yep, I was there at the time.

[@debbystardust]

That tornado caused my water heater to explode in South Huntsville when the power cut off… I don’t know how or why, but we had to leave town because we had no water for the toddlers

[@darrylclaxton2757]

People forgot that the sane path got hit through Harvest and Toney smashing Anderson Hills subdivision in 1995 crossing hwy 53. That part of the county is a serious tornado path. 1974, 1995, and 2011 same path. Wow

[@debbystardust]

@@darrylclaxton2757 an F0 tornado just went through Harvest and Toney about two weeks ago

[@basileusofstupidonia6462]

Holy crap! I never knew that Tanner, AL got hit by 2 F5 tornadoes! Usually when more than one tornado hits a town in outbreaks like this, the second one is a lot weaker, but a second F5 is the most insane thing I've ever heard of.

[@Sj430]

A town to get hit by 2 F5/EF5 tornadoes in a outbreak has never happened since. also with the 1974 tornado outbreak the nws put the whole state of Indiana under a tornado warning and that has not happened since.

[@basileusofstupidonia6462]

@@Sj430 I remember reading about the state wide tornado warning for Indiana, but I couldn't remember if it was this outbreak or another bad one that hit that state. Pure insanity all around!

[@Boceephus79]

I wasn't around for this one but I hear that the two tornadoes that hit Langtown/Tanner where only about a mile apart from each other.

[@nickpoff1739]

Check out the book F5 by Mark Levine. It's a chilling account of those two tornadoes from the perspective of the survivors.

[@thomasmbr]

The Moore, Oklahoma of Alabama!

[@metallikat05]

Your narration, diction, writing, editing, and humanity is just outstanding. You deserve 100 times the subscribers. Love your work. Please don’t stop.

[@benturner3458]

I'm sure she'll get there. Well close anyway. Her videos are amazing

[@brianguidry5246]

I had no idea Tanner was hit twice. How tragic indeed. 1974 was a year I will never forget. My hometown of Crowley, Louisiana was hitby an F3 tornado on October 24 of that year at 1:10 in the morning. My mom tells the story of tremendous lightning and opening front door and putting one foot on the porch. She realized something wasn't right because of the sound. She closed the door and woke up my dad. She told him it sounded like a train coming up the street. He responded "it's a tornado! Help me get the kids into the hall!" I remember being dragged into the hall and the sound of glass breaking and the roar of the tornado. We were fortunate that the path of the tornado was about a block and a half away. The next morning we walked through the neighborhood and I just couldn't believe the damage. This event sparked my fascination with severe weather. Thanks for another informative and outstanding video Carly!

[@kolorsoftherainbow4295]

Tanner was also hit by the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell EF5 (in the afternoon) during the outbreak of April 27, 2011. A nearby community, Harvest, was also hit by the two 1974 Tanner F5s and the 2011 Phil Campbell EF5, as well an F4 tornado in May of 1995, and an EF3 in March of 2012.

[@randygalloway618]

Great stuff. I lived in Limestone County AL in the 1984-2000 period. We had a house east of Athens on Pepper Road. That house was built the year the storms came through and a storm pit was added to the yard because of that. One of the 74 tornadoes hit my neighbors house (about 200 yards north west of my house) and destroyed it totally. The 74 event was etched on the consciousness of everyone that was there then. I got my ham radio license and became involved with the emergency management agency in Limestone County, which was still run by Spencer Black which can be heard on your video a couple of times. Subsequent to that, I was the ham radio spotter coordinator and served the Huntsville Weather Service office through the mid 90s until they were shut down (since thankfully restored). In that time, many tornadoes (mostly small) came through the area, but one was the F3 that destroyed the Anderson Hills subdivision in Madison County (the first time, it would be hit again 3 times since including the 2011 super outbreak). I moved away in 2000 to Florida and then to Mississippi (worked for NASA), but I still kept up with things up there. In 2011, I was at the Kennedy Space Center for one of the last Shuttle launches. I was at a function the night of April 27 and remember the looks on the faces of the folks from Huntsville as they tried to piece together what happened. Most folks were without power for a week or more because it took out many 500kV power distribution towers. I later found out that one of the 2011 tornadoes had gone about 150 yards to the Southeast of my old house. I think it was an EF4. Its clear that tornadoes have preferred paths in some parts of the country and that is certainly the case for Limestone and Madison Counties in Alabama.

[@sejma9376]

Pretty sure the 2011 tornado was an EF5...

[@RobMathMiller]

Thank you SO much for doing this. I was 3 years old when one of the EF 5s went through Saylor Park in Cincinnati. My mom and brothers saw the tornado and so did my late father when he was out in it as a fireman. 2 months before his passing my father was sharing with me his memories of the tornado. This tornado outbreak was infamous in my childhood and is still talked about by older,generations in Cincinnati today.

[@merhbass]

On one side of my family, with deep roots in Xenia, there was life before, and life after the "Xenia tornado". We lost our family's generational Victorian style home in the storm that day. With little warning, my aunt, no chance to make it to the cellar, grabbed the dog and held on under the old iron wall sink in the kitchen as the house came apart around her. Good spot, the old, stout construction and plumbing, as was about the only part of the substantially built house uneffected. The hundreds of photos that my family took the day of and following, utterly rocked me. I was just 8 years-old, and couldn't parse them with the house, the area that I knew and visited. The huge century old oak tree in front with tire swing entirely missing. Entire roof and top floor sheared off. Cars wrapped around trees, train cars blown around like leaves in the field. Some of her possessions were found up to 125 miles away. You'd think with such an impression, I'd run at all speed away from threatening weather, but we all know better. The Xenia tornado was my genesis, my early intro to lifelong weather and storm interest. Just the name Xenia itself, raises the hair on my neck, forever associated...as does that well made, period TV documentary - that narrator's tone and the 50s era radar screen always have me looking toward the basement door and wondering about flashlight batteries... My aunt, a dedicated elementary school teacher, all 'her kids' deeply affected; many residents of the Arrowood sub. A large extended family to her, of whom she never would forget. Been waiting for this one. Excellent work. I wish we still possessed those hundreds of photos taken on the ground the day after, up close, devastating yet hopeful. Remarkable to see the lot of family, friends, surrounding communities, government, humanitarians all, already on site to help. As remarkable as the destruction itself, that.

[@thecoatesfamilynet]

I grew up in Xenia and was in 11th grade when it hit. A classmate from school and a friend's mom were killed in the storm. To this day (I am 65 now) when the wind starts blowing hard I get uncomfortable. I was .5 miles from the storm and stood in the yard and watched it pass over downtown. My mother was in town at the store and my brother was at the high school football field. The storm passed through the area they were in but they escaped injury. My father worked for the local power company and worked for 2 weeks with little sleep trying to get things back online.

[@JohnSmith-fg6pt]

IWas also a 11th grader : it missed us at Northbrook ILL. I was running on track team sky was creepy 20-50 miles South on a 10km run , I ran the last 💯 meters to school in about 11 seconds FLAT; IT WAS CREEPY LOOKIN!!!

[@PeterMayer]

Wow

[@PD3a11]

April 3rd 1974 is my earliest childhood memory. I was 4 years old and we lived in Cherokee Park where the F4 hit Louisville.

[@MizMissiB]

I wasn’t too far from you in between Hanover and Madison Indiana

[@timnewman1172]

I was a kid when this happened and was both fascinated & freaked out by tornadoes... After the super outbreak, weather warnings were revolutionized and tornado awareness became much more important.

[@timnewman1172]

The May 6 1975 Omaha tornado was another vivid memory, we lived an hour away but had relatives nearby...

[@lawv804]

The Guin tornado was extremely powerful. It actually dislodged and swept away house slabs. I cant imagine how fast the wind speed wouldve been to do that, especially since the tornado moved through the town very quickly.

[@jeffreyrobinson6628]

It wiped out Yampertown and destroyed/shredded a lot of timber in Bankhead Forest 🌳🌳. Satellite 🛰 view showed it looked like an Interstate 🛣 afterward

[@mikezylstra7514]

You could see its path on the satellite photo. Yikes!

[@EliRicke-xl9mw]

Brandenburg and Tanner were arguably stronger.

[@DuecePiece]

Finally it's been done!! My favorite tornado KZbinr discussing the 74 Super Outbreak! And most notably the Xenia tornado, an event that makes everyone shutter in fear and awe to this day in my hometown of nearby Dayton. The stories I've heard from those there that day are the stuff of absolute tornado legend!

[@VinceWhitacre]

I was born less than a year after 4/3/74, and grew up in Springfield. That twister cast a long shadow.

[@cephalophorenameless422]

I'm a boomer, and very much remember the super cell outbreak. Indiana wasn't mentioned much, but Monticello, Indiana got hit hard by a F4. The courthouse was destroyed. A church van from Fort Wayne (where I live) was swept off a bridge. Six teenage girls died. It was horrible.

[@MiriaJiyuu]

Not that it is super important. But you shudder in fear, not shutter

[@howlinwulf]

I was in south Lebanon I'm that trailer park. It was on top of the hill at the edge of town. We my father bought a brand new one he was 23 I was 5 my sister was 1 mom was 23. We was the last one in the last line from the entrance my sister was in Mt mother's arms and we were watching out the window while most of the mobile homes just disappeared or were shook and collapsed right across the drive . Maybe 20 feet 30 at most. I've never been so freaked out since.

[@mikezylstra7514]

I still get the shakes driving down I-75 near Dayton. There, and near Coldwater Rd in Flint MI. Gives me the willies.

[@enormousbama3057]

I think it's kind of weird how the hackleburg Phil Campbell tornado had the same path as the two tornadoes in 1974 that hit Tanner

[@johnoliver9979]

It is similar to how the paths of may 1999 and may 2013 Moore Oklahoma tornado path follow and cross over each other

[@RuanAntunes7]

@@johnoliver9979history always tends to repeat itself even with Tornadoes

[@johnoliver9979]

@@RuanAntunes7 so true

[@KSparks80]

I was 11 years old when Xenia got hit. I grew up in the town that shows up in the radar pic at 20:10, just left of the center circle. To this day, it's still the weirdest and scariest weather I've ever seen, or been in. The clouds (mammatus clouds) were boiling for lack of a better word, and everything was a weird green color. Even the light coming in through the curtains had a green hue to it. Definitely a bad weather day!

[@WindseekerWX]

As a Brandenburg resident I thank you for mentioning the tornado. Many others have gotten so caught up in the Xenia tornado that they completely forget to mention any of the other tornadoes that took place. Even to this day almost 50 years later there are still reminents of the tornado visible on Main St.

[@judywein3282]

Thank you for always addressing the psychological injuries (usually life long) with the utmost respect and dignity.

[@pellen101]

I used to live right next to Xenia in neighboring Beavercreek, and if you were to visit you can tell that there’s a huge part of the town where the buildings look newer, they are mostly 1 story and significantly lower to the ground in addition to younger trees compared to the rest of the town - the tornado legit decimated most of the city and you can still see it today. People who lived through it still talk about it and we don’t heck around when it comes to drills.

[@garrettkessler1895]

I noticed that too. Cities along state route 68 have mostly Victorian era homes....very nice ones. Xenia is an old town just like Urbana or Springfield but yet no victorian's no nothing. I hear they're gonna tear down the strip mall that Fulmers was in that was built after the 74 tornado. But I can't believe that one old house .....the one that looks roman to me... survived that tornado.

[@debclassyfied9723]

@@garrettkessler1895 yes most of the victorian homes were mowed down right down main st ( st rt 35). And detroit street. 1 street over north of there. North of Detroit Street is an area that has some of the victorian homes still left. But the best were destroyed. I miss those. Xenia will never be the same again

[@DaraS84]

​@@debclassyfied9723yep, still some over there on Second St. Not many though.

[@DistractedFirefly]

Wow, great job covering this, Carly. My coworker from Ohio has told me to look up the Xenia tornado because it's "a big deal to locals," but I had no idea it was considered for F6 damage. What a terrifying and mind-boggling disaster.

[@bobbyearl60]

I was 14 in 1974 living in central Georgia,and remember the outbreak. I can't hear the name Xenia without thinking of that tornado even after almost 50 years.

[@teenageapocalypseusa5368]

Guinn was too.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@teenageapocalypseusa5368 Guin was a TERRIBLE tornado. Imagine a tornado as violent, destructive, and ferocious as the Smithville tornado happening at night, while also moving at a rapid speed meaning that there was little to no time to take cover. Unfortunately, that's what the residents of Guin Alabama endured on April 3rd, 1974.

[@wolfgamingnetwork3542]

I heard from somewhere (cant remember where) that Xenia is the only tornado that pound for pound that can rival Moore 99

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@wolfgamingnetwork3542 this is the only twister to get a preliminary rating of F6. This tornado, Guin 74, Jarrell, smithville 2011, Phil-Campbell Hackleburg 2011, el-Reno 2011(yes 2011, not the 2013 twister. The 2011 EF5 that man handled a 5-9 million ton oil rig) all could have had equal to or greater than speeds than the 99 Moore tornado. Smithville ripped out plumbing from the ground and 74 guin ripped out concrete foundations. Also, all the tornadoes listed above minus Jarrell(not 100% sure how fast the el-Reno Piedmont EF5 was moving) we’re all traveling at 50-70 mph on the ground as well. Bruce Boyd’s video took major balls let me tell you, because as soon as the Xenia tornado finally spooled up, it instantly reached F5 intensity and moved into Xenia quickly at 50-60 mph.

[@gabep5570]

My uncle was in Brandenburg in a pickup truck when the tornado hit. He and my Aunt still live there today and he’s driven us through downtown and recounted his experience multiple times.

[@26michaeluk]

Brandenburg was actually the strongest tornado of that day.

[@dragunovbushcraft152]

You have an orange kitty. :^) I'm glad you covered this. I still say the Saylor Park/Xenia Ohio tornado was an F6. I remember this like it was yesterday. I still have nightmares about it. My grandparents lived in Saylor Park. They weren't injured, but there house was damaged.... TWO miles from the tornado. Also, I lost my Aunt in Moscow Ohio in a 2012 outbreak. Carol Forsee (RIP).

[@GR-bn3xj]

The Guin Alabama F5 is one of the more underrated tornadoes in terms of intensity. As Carly said, this one was different. Had it hit a bigger town, it would be remembered more. I traveled through Guin multiple times in the late 80's early 90's could still see the deforestation pattern in contrast to the foliage around the path. It was a very intense storm that doesn't get talked about a ton.

[@williamford9564]

I was a teenager in 1974 and remembered the news coverage of the Outbreak, especially of Xenia. I drove from Pennsylvania to the Cincinnati several times in the mid and late 1990s and I had a bit of chilling feeling whenever I passed to I-71 exit that said " Xenia".

[@leehuff2330]

For me, it was the outbreak of May 31, 1985. One actually lifted, passed directly over us as we rode it out in an RV, then settled on the ground again.

[@heatherkrebs6324]

I was in the tornado on April 1st, 1974 in Campbellsburg, ky. But no one ever talks about that. I remember that day like it was yesterday..the town was obliterated. My house took a direct hit. If we hadn't been at my grandparents house, we probably wouldn't be here anymore!

[@michaellovely6601]

Oof. I imagine that the residents of Campbellsburg, KY thought the tornado warning issued for their area was an April Fools prank because it was April Fool's Day.

[@JLukeHypernova]

I wonder exactly what Damage Indicators led Fujita to call Xenia an F6. I can't imagine what he saw. It must've been almost physics defying. If only they had mobile dopplers on that storm. That'd be some crazy data, I'm sure.

[@Skarfar90]

One of the images in the video showed a building foundation in Xenia that was ripped out of the ground. It takes an unimaginable amount of force to do that. The only other tornado that could have possibly achieved an F6 rating was the Jarrell TX tornado in 1997, which due to its slow forward momentum literally "sandblasted" an entire neighborhood in its path. It is the most extreme tornado damage ever witnessed, even though the houses in the Double Creek subdivision was of sub-par standard for withstanding tornadoes, I think that not even a well-built home could have sustained the sheer force of this tornado, as it had the strength to rip the plumbing out of foundations, and rip up asphalt from roads. Some people believe that these two events could have warranted a true F6 rating on the scale.

[@SGobuck]

All I can tell you is what I saw the next day: There were several places where houses used to be, but absolutely nothing remained in some places except slabs of concrete and maybe a toilet or bathtub. No standing walls, very few trees, but lots of bare concrete slabs with sometimes a toilet and bathtub, only one or the other, and sometimes nothing but a few inches of pipe sticking up from slabs.

[@26michaeluk]

There were none. That F6 rating is not true. Dr. Greg Forbes, who did the study with him, says it's ridiculous. They thought Tanner or Brandenburg were stronger.

[@26michaeluk]

​@@SGobuckso extreme F5 damage.

[@winnienguyen4420]

I believe he said the same about Guin as well. We now know that it was basically just high end EF5 damage.

[@lordaperion8142]

Carly, you do a fantastic job with your productions. I love your cat, your energy, your calm and soothing voice, and your historical and meterological knowledge of tornadoes. These videos remind me a lot of Storm Stories. I would love to see you cover a hurricane sometime and old photos and accounts of what happened back then.

[@jamessimms415]

The F3 that hit Huntsville went through Redstone Arsenal where it hit the Nuclear Weapons Publications warehouse. For months afterward, farmers from the surrounding area would return pages of Secret publications that had been scattered throughout the area.

[@terrib627]

There's a certain eeriness about the Brandenburg tornado. There are no photos or video of it (the video you showed while you were talking about this storm was from the Louisville tornado). All witnesses said it just looked like a wide wall of black clouds, so it was obviously a wedge, more than likely concealing multi-vortices. The downtown area of Brandenburg never recovered, as all new construction has been on the outskirts of the town. Another odd fact about this storm: there was a funeral home on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River and the town. The ambulance/hearse was never found after the storm. It's suspected that it's been at the bottom of the river all along. Another odd fact: One can dine at a pizza restaurant (Jailhouse Pizza) in the remnants of the Meade County Courthouse. It overlooks the foundations of all the buildings destroyed in the tornado. Every April 3rd, we are on edge, and every so often there's a minor tornado outbreak on the anniversary.

[@BeadstringingGenie]

I was at work on the Purdue campus in West Lafayette, IN when the sirens sounded. I went out with my coworkers to see what was happening and will never forget the color and movement of the clouds. We were probably watching the storm that destroyed the small town of Rainsville, IN.

[@nyanbinary1717]

The way people talk about indigenous stories is weird. They say “Native American legend” as if it’s this myth or fable that’s meant as symbolism only. Native tribes have their own oral historical records and not just myths. Tornadoes have always existed and the “legends” are most likely recounting them. 🤷🏻‍♀️.

[@Losingsince]

I have a family friend who grew up in Louisville. He looked outside and saw the tornado and said it was the scariest thing he had ever seen. His most recent house in Louisville is right across the street from Cherokee Park, and you can still see tree damage from the storm to this very day

[@sharonbass6110]

I was 8 yrs old and living in Chattanooga, TN when this occurred. Nothing hit Chattanooga, but the warnings were nonstop and the reports were scary. Several tornados hit east of us. I spent most of the evening of the first night with my face stuffed in the back of the couch.

[@mooseman729]

While not devastating, however, there was absolute tornadic activity in Chattanooga in multiple areas on different days in April leading up to the 27th that would see straight line winds bend tree tops over to the ground snapping a few, despite the technology being evolved enough to collect more refined data. Most valley activity around there goes unreported, because storms move by at a very quick pace seemingly in the southeast. The EF0/1's were also strangley popping up in random areas to scatter light debris across a yard or parking lot and then be gone no less than a minute later. As fast as they show up, poof. Reminding us that we're not off limits. Most of it wasn't even noted by news sources except for when April 27th approached and they did have us warned for days in advance that the merging of systems were on the way. Apison got blasted alongside Ringgold.

[@sharonbass6110]

@@mooseman729 I briefly moved back to Chattanooga in the mid 90’s and was in Ooltewah when an F1/F2 hit E Brainerd and Apison. That one moved over my house before narrowly missing Hamilton Place Mall and Collegedale. That was the first tornado damage I’d seen in person.

[@tracyfrederick5606]

I was in that outbreak. To this day I'm traumatized. I don't even remember much. Neither does my sister. We lived in the Shelby county Alabama. It was bad there too. This was the event that pretty much got James Spann started. He was a teenager and a volunteer.

[@jameswhite8968]

James is our life line here. Dozier Alabama.

[@sarahstevens4457]

I grew up in the same county as Xenia (as did my mom) and she told me she could see the tornado from her sun room, she’s been terrified of storms ever since.

[@dixielandfarms8628]

I’ve lived in Limestone County my whole life, and my entire family on my moms side lived in Tanner during this outbreak. I’ve spoke to numerous people including family that have stories about that day, some that would give you chills. It was a very unusual day I’ve been told, the air felt and smelled different. My grandfather was good friends with Spencer Black and Bob Dunnavant. At the time of the first tornado hitting Tanner, in Elkmont where I live now, my grandfather and grandmother on dads side were having a cookout, when the power went out. Out of curiosity they turned on the radio in their station wagon and heard Bob and Bill Dunnavnt on the radio exclaiming for people to take cover. There were no sirens here at that time, really no early warning system, besides tone-alert radio receivers. There was no way to warn those unfortunate people. Shortly after April 3rd, a group of scientists conducted studies, observing topography data as well as recorded meteorological data, and concluded that if an event similar ever occurred again, the most violent tornadoes would take the same path as they did that day. Flash forward to 2011, and they were proven correct in their studies. The Hackleburg tornado took the same exact path through Limestone county, with no more than a 1 mile variation of the April 3rd path. I do personally believe that we will se a similar outbreak in the future, possibly even worse. Things that were unusual as noted by my grandfather are becoming more and more common in todays time when speaking with regard to meteorological phenomena. Excellent video, I thoroughly enjoyed watching!

[@hayden7432]

I live in Louisville and I've heard stories from some of my parents' friends about the day. Thank you for covering this event and all of the repercussions of it.

[@RikkiSpanish]

You may have already listened to it, but WHAS has their radio broadcast from the 1974 outbreak uploaded to KZbin. It's broken up into several parts, but it's absolutely chilling to listen to. It starts out like a normal afternoon commute broadcast and turns into mayhem, especially with the freak earthquake that happened.

[@jennifermalmquist2842]

"Alamaba" lol. Love the vid anyways, as always!

[@anarchistatheist1917]

In a few months the 1974 super tornado outbreak will be 50 years old. Rest in peace all the victims of the tornadoes and the survivors that have since then passed away. Gone but never forgotten.

[@samarssmallchickery3930]

Thank you so much for this excellent documentary Carly! My momma survived this tornado outbreak - back then everyone in the neighborhood lived in single wides and they all had to huddle in a hardware store that was built into the base of a hill for shelter. My pawpaw worked in limestone and Madison and saw all the devastation on his way to work the next day. It scared him into building a basement house and scared the other neighbors into building solid brick homes. Fast forward to 2011 and we went through the 2011 outbreak in that basement house. Luckily we were spared a direct hit. But where I went to nursing school in Phil Campbell as you know wasn't so lucky. Since then I've moved to East TN and been within 50 miles of the Chattanooga and Cookeville tornados. It never gets less scary on days like those. Thank you so much again for all the research you do! ❤️

[@bchambliss264]

I wasn't born yet, but my Mom told me the terror she felt for my 7 yr old brother who was home with my 84 yr old grandfather, they hid under the stairs while my mom drove home at 85 mph in a 35 to be there with them, the funnel bounced over the house thankfully. I'm thankful it did.

[@VinceWhitacre]

Wow, I know somebody who has the same story - I'd ask if it was your family, but honestly I forget which of my mom's friends at the bank it happened to. 😳 But she was at work, and her child was home with her elderly father while she raced home.

[@olaftheblack2012]

Anyone else think that Xenia footage looks eerily similar to the Jarrell, TX "Dead Man Walking" photo?

[@maritimehistorian2642]

I love the meteorological setup of this storm system. It is probably just as bad as 2011 and yet most people forget it. Thanks for covering this Carly

[@hawkeye454]

I live somewhat close to where the 1974 Xenia F5 tornado occurred, to this day it is chilling to visit the area and realize what incredible destruction it caused.

[@johngoguen361]

It was a full blown f5 that leveled xenia

[@PeterMayer]

I can't believe that Xenia didn't have any tornado sirens! We had one here outside of Cincinnati.

[@jerrycote659]

Thanks for this informative and detailed video on the ‘74 Super Outbreak. I was in elementary school when this Super Outbreak happened. My Aunt and Uncle lived in Xenia, Ohio in a brand new house they had moved into less than a year earlier. They lost their house to the F5 which tore through the city. My cousin was at the A & W in Xenia when the tornado tore through. There were quite a few fatalities at that A & W and my cousin ended up under the rubble. She was seriously injured but survived and recovered. I’m really amazed at how many people are not even aware of this historic event, particularly those with an interest in weather and tornado history. Just a small error I noticed at the beginning of your video regarding the Palm Sunday Outbreak. That outbreak occurred on Palm Sunday in 1965, not in 1964.

[@hotwax9376]

Glad somebody mentioned the correct date of the Palm Sunday outbreak. I was hoping that somebody would.

[@randallrhoads3271]

i read a great book on the Xenia tornado by a guy named Polk Laffoon...he went quite a bit in depth about the victims of the A&W root beer stand....incredibly sad...

[@demetriuspeoples6051]

Thank you for this nice documentary. I am from Tanner,AL. I lived off Stewart Rd, less than a mile from Lawson's Trailor Park. I know some of the families affected by the 1974 tornadoes. My family home was hit by the April 2011 tornado, which was the same similar track as '74 tornadoes. I eventually moved in 2012. The funny thing is I moved to Tuscaloosa, AL, which is like the back alley of Alabama tornado alley, lol. Again, you do nice work! Keep it up!

[@joshrf997]

I love hearing about tornadoes and outbreaks before my time. You're one of my favourite people to listen to about tornadoes. You should really open a podcast as you've got the perfect voice for it :)

[@baneverything5580]

The second deadliest tornado in American history happened in Natchez, Mississippi in 1840. Today it would instantly be blamed on "climate change" caused by Conservatives.

[@CherrrrBear]

Same. I wasn’t born til 86 and my mom was 9 months pregnant with my brother when this happened. My brother was born in May 1974.

[@huckstirred7112]

Thank you for putting this together

[@oceanasong]

Carly, congratulations on another fantastic video.

[@saschaross5749]

What a nice Job. Both of my Parents and one of my uncles survived this day with the highest amount of luck one can imagine. Dad Was sent tumbling down a ditch along Highway 31 during the two Tanner F5's and He came away with only some scratches. My mom and my uncle lived in Guin back in 74 and they where sucked out of their Shelter when the F5 struck. They still tell These Stories everytime we have a family meeting.

[@bigbizz3503]

There's nothing else to say. You do a damn good job, Carly. You never disappoint.

[@nickpoff1739]

I live in NE Indiana, and was around for both Palm Sunday '65 and the Super Outbreak. Tornadoes passed just to the south of where I lived on both of those nights. I was very young in '65 and remember little about it except the sirens and the power failure, and being afraid to go to sleep that night. I was in seventh grade in 1974, and remember that quite well. I stood in our yard and watched the storm that produced a tornado that touched down to the east. The interruptions on the TV (they only interrupted the regular programming for about a minute back then) were so continuous you couldn't follow the plot on whatever show you were watching, and the constant interruptions just made the anxiety worse. Again, I was afraid to go to sleep that night. I remember falling asleep on the couch and finally going to bed after 2am when the last Tornado Watch for our area expired. My brother worked for a train wreck clean up company at the time, and was working just north of Xenia. They were called in to deal with that derailed train in downtown Xenia. So yeah --- TWO "once in a generation" outbreaks for folks my age in northern Indiana.

[@douglasgriffiths3534]

The Palm Sunday outbreak was in 1965, 8 days before my late husband was born (4/11/ 1965---hubby was born 4/19/1965). I was 8 years old, and lived in Dearborn Heights, MI at the time. The weather was bad, and we did have tornado watches, but thankfully no tornadoes. I was living in Mesa, AZ when the Super Outbreak of 1974 occurred. I remember seeing the damage on the news, and reading about it in the paper. Great video, as always. (Jan Griffiths).

[@AlphaDoggy]

This is my favorite series on KZbin. You do such an amazing job editing, explain, and showing footage of these events! Thank you for everything Carly!

[@sunscythe]

Finally! My dad and his sister has some traumatic memories of this day; He talks about it often. I'm curious to see what one of my favorite wx KZbinrs have to say about this event. I've sent it to him as well. Thank you for covering it!! Update: My aunt witnessed the Richmond, Madison Co, Ky tornado while she was a student at EKU herself. The image of a car in Louisville wrapped around a tree was seared into my brain when my dad showed it to me talking about the damage. Very well done!!

[@tomshiba51]

I have watched many documentaries many times each about this outbreak. I was looking forward to watching your presentation of this terrible day. I always enjoy the smaller details you add to each story, not only that, you've included photos I've never seen before. Thank you.

[@MMKMoore1]

I was a 5yo living in west side of Cincinnati during the 1974 outbreak. I remember my mom insisting we sleep on cots in the basement that first night (and several other times over the next few years). She was an immigrant and never really experienced tornadoes before, much less an outbreak like this, so it shook her to the core. I know it's at the root of my tornado anxiety to this day. My uncle and several others I've known over the years watched as it moved across the horizon. I've spent a lot of time looking through the materials collected on the Wilmington, OH NWS page about the Super Outbreak. In the document of Fujita's stats, I especially find his comment on the Windsor tornado amusing. The house I currently live in is less than a mile from the path of Sayler Park F5. Some trivia for you - the piece of land that was used to collect the debris from the destroyed homes in the area is now a lovely public park. FYI - The Delhi neighborhood is pronounced "dell-high", not "deli". Just one of those regional quirks. :)

[@Josh3B]

I would bet that with the modern radars, spotter network, and chaser army, there would have been a lot more F0 and F1 tornadoes that were brief or didn't impact much.

[@Avorous13]

I live in the Cincinnati area. We still to this day talk about the Xenia tornado and the more recent Dayton tornado. They don't happen incredibly often around here, but it does seem when they do, mother nature shows her teeth.

[@lunar_tunes]

I live in the area as well. The tornado that hit Goshen back in July was pretty gnarly, too, even though it was only a high-end EF2. It's hard to think about how much worse it could have been.

[@juliaross1667]

I grew up in Brandenburg, KY. My dad was the mayor ( newly elected) at the time. I was 6, and had just gotten home from school. One thing not mentioned here is that although the death toll in Xenia and Brandenburg was similar, Brandenburg had a population of only about 2,000 people. Xenia, OH had a population of nearly 30,000. Everyone in B-burg knew, personally, someone who died.

[@jankrygier1607]

Great video! I know you put a lot of time and effort into each one. I'll never forget Xenia. I remember 60 Monutes or some show like that examining the psychological impacts a year or so later. Somebody asked a school kid what he remembered about that day and he drew a black tornado on a sheet of paper. For some reason that kid's drawing really said it all.

[@jankrygier1607]

Sorry about the typo. That would be "60 Minutes."

[@kipsansal]

Criminally underrated channel. Clear, concise information even for those not in the WX community (like me, just some nerd who enjoys extreme weather despite living in California). Hope you continue to grow and stay safe

[@charlesgrove9894]

Idk, there's a lot of typos in the text of this.

[@KieraCameron514]

I feel all kinds of sorry for the "grieving father" mentioned around 11:13.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

The Xenia twister looks like a more ominous version of the 91 Andover twister and the 2011 Tuscaloosa twister. It's amazing how quickly that tornado started producing extreme damage. It's almost like an approximation of what the 2011 Smithville tornado would've done if it hit a suburban area in the sense that they both reached catastrophic F5/EF5 intensity pretty much instantly. That quote where they stated that Xenia looked like Hiroshima is bone-chilling. Catastrophic storms such as F5/EF5 tornadoes are one of the few things that can rival some nuclear weapons in ferocity, minus the radioactive fallout and firestorms. Hell, you even seek shelter for both of them more or less the same way.

[@iceresistance]

Asel Jerrell 1997 on how fast it intensified from a waek tornado to an extremely destructive tornado

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@iceresistance Jarrell did so EXTREMELY fast. Jarrell was also a relatively short-lived tornado too which makes it even crazier. Joplin also intensified suddenly.

[@iceresistance]

@@dannyllerenatv8635 Smithville was one of those instant EF-5 tornadoes, there is a video of it from Tornado Forensics.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@iceresistance Yes, it wedged out very quickly. It started off as dancing whispy little funnels that were moving very fast per eyewitnesses to a massive wedge with a tight 3/4 wide ground base.

[@iceresistance]

@@dannyllerenatv8635 Smithville WAS the Dead Man walking in Mississippi!

[@TanNerD2121]

Ooo I love Alamaba

[@hearmeout9138]

I lived through the 1974 and 2011 outbreaks and it was a world of difference. In 1974, we took shelter in a basement for about 3 hours because we had only sparse reports on the radio for information. There was no TV radar or warning maps. I believe that at some point, out of desperation, the NWS put all of north Alabama under a tornado warning because they couldn’t keep pace with all the reports coming in. A warning map would have just been completely activated so we’d have been sheltered anyway. In 2011, I knew exactly where tornadoes were, actually saw video of tornadoes that were coming in our direction, and only sheltered for about 15 minutes when we were under direct warning and the storm was within a few miles of our home. I probably won’t be alive when the next outbreak comes but I can’t imagine how different the warning system will be by then.

[@Baldevi]

Excellent work you've done about the 1974 Outbreak, Carly Anna, thank you for bringing this to us with more detail. As for "How are you doing," well, when you explained that Tanner was hit with two back-to-back F5's, I literally and surprisingly burst into tears of horror for that community. It is not the first time of hearing about back to back tornadoes sticking some town or area either, but that this was two F5 tornadoes was somehow too horrible to grasp. I still feel a self-protective distance about it, as if I cannot think too much on it or start crying again. So yes, this video has had a powerful emotionalimact on me personally. Which is fine, I always appreciate videos and communications that can stir my emotions. I have "Day of the Killer Tornadoes" on my watchlist too, so I suppose I should watch it, with kleenex closeby. That is another fascinating aspect to videos and documentaries about tornadoes that reach back more than say 15 years; how very different everything looks, the quality of photos and film, the way newscasters spoke is so different. It is almost as if it's a movie about another planet, I'd bet, for those who did not happen to be alive or old enough to remember growing up with this style and seeing this equipment being used, etc. I was 4 going on to 5 [June 30 that year] when this outbreak occurred. I remember very little about it since my family tended to shelter me from disasters, maybe mentioning that they had occurred but not what really happened, no details or numbers were given to me. I was in kindergarten anyway, so... And I am sohappy that you've helped me connect the dots better for how technological advancements in the Weather Enterprise came about, since we do have amazing tools now, the NEXRAD towers and new/weather stations having back up power available, etc. This also makes me need to focus on getting my personal weather station set up here at my home. I am about halfway between two larger prominent towns, but we have no sirens for any sort of warnings that we can hear here. We did have a tornado warning [which did have a tornado on the ground tho there is no info on that tornado anywhere] on May 6, 2022. We got warnings through our phones so were able to shelter, and the twister did not come that close, maybe 2-3 miles to the south, yet the outer bands did cause some damage for us and our two neighbors in our little valley. So, I do believe that having a weather station to connect to Radar Omega and maybe Cyclone Port could be a helpful service for our scattered community here near Abingdon & Lebanon Virginia. Plus I'd have Omega up all the time and thus be more aware if another strm was to come through. It is important and a way to support my community, yes? Keep it up Carly, you offer geat content and your compassion and concern for the communities affected by the storms you're discussing is obvious. Never mind that the event was almost 50 years ago... you feel for those harmed and killed by them, and remind us all to remember them, to learn from their tragic moments, and to try to help those affected in the future. Well done.

[@svurskasvurska8019]

I was in Huntsville at Redstone Arsenal a full six years beyond those storms in Tanner. In spite of disaster relief being available, damage was still apparent. I noticed the same in areas outside Miami almost eight years after Andrew went through south Florida. These storms really are disastrous to poorer communities.

[@butterflytigress1985]

And to think, Tanner was also hit in the 2011 outbreak. It's a wonder that town is even still on the map.

[@Baldevi]

@@butterflytigress1985 Did not know that about Tanner, that is simply horrible for them. I noted in a different comment that we keep talking about Storm of the Century... But if you reach back to the Tristate Tornado, then 1974, THEN 2011, the US has had THREE in 100 years of each other. I think a study of these outbreaks will reveal a 50 +/- year cycle for this sort of Outbreak being set up with F5/EF5 Tornadoes being likely, even expected, meaning we could have another such outbreak around 2039-2045. If this is seen as possible, we could start to prepare, get the radar Holes filled and have sirens set up in all communities of say 1,000+ people, and fund at least Community Shelters if not find a way to have shelters made available and built for every home. Yes, EVERY home that has no Basement or ability to dig one out. Jarrell TX is an area that underground shelters are not very possible, thus they have above ground ones for almost every home and business now. I am pleased that Tanner is hanging in there after so much focus from tornadoes tho. They are a tough and resilient community!

[@butterflytigress1985]

@@Baldevi Agreed on all points. My hometown of Idabel OK was just hit hard, and while I haven't lived there in a number of years it was still horrifying to watch as a tornado emergency was declared for an area that I was intimately familiar with for the formative years of my life. I went to school there and some of my old school friends still live there. My brother got married in the church that was completely destroyed. His dad and my SIL's mother still live there. Even there, most of the survivors' stories involved riding the storm out in a bathtub or a closet rather than an underground shelter or a tornado-rated above ground saferoom. Idabel hadn't been hit this bad in my lifetime, if at all, so everyone was complacent. Tornadoes and severe weather are so common there that no one stops to think 'what if' because 'what if' never happens. Until it does. Tragically it usually takes an event like this or the 2011 and 1974 outbreaks or the Tristate for people to learn, and even then it's a case of 'once burned, twice shy'. In many cases, shelters are added in the rebuilding process after the fact rather than a preventative measure beforehand.

[@roberthess3939]

Carly, wonderful job! Seeing the huge scope of this weather system and the outbreak reminds me how severe weather can rapidly affect distant portions of our nation, many hours apart. Suffering knows no barriers. Thankfully, help and recovery is not limited either. Great research, videos and pictures. Best,

[@noelleelizabeth9991]

My aunt was stationed at Fr. Benjamin Harrison for basic training in 1974. One night she decided to tag along with a few of her friends who were going out for a drive, they didn't tell her they were going storm chasing. So basically my aunt inadvertently storm chanted during this outbreak. I only learned this recently!

[@lindseytaylor3793]

imagine if this outbreak happened with todays technology. not only would we surely have some incredible and unmatched footage, but imagine the data we could have collected if we had the modern meteorological equipment that we use every day. the meteorology geek in me would go nuts to be able to see data from an event like this, but at the same time, from a strictly human perspective, i hope we NEVER get another opportunity like this. the horror this day must have brought is something i never want to see in my lifetime

[@timnewman1172]

And many lives would undoubtedly not been lost!

[@WarmVoice]

Brilliant work yet again Carly (and Blaze 🐱).

[@173jaSon371]

REALLY well done video Carly. I've been binge-watching videos of historic outbreaks and this is one of the best I've sat through

[@richarpadilla1891]

I survived the 12-10-2021 Quad State Tornado Outbreak working at the Mayfield KY, candle factory, we had 2 warnings before it arrives but many people including myself didn't take it into consideration,i got trapped under the rubble for more than 3 hours, 8 workers die at the factory and one at the hospital ,even today i can't believe i am alive !

[@marybears5533]

I was 18 in April 1974 when this happened and we lived in Nebraska and also had storms that night, when the news came out the next morning I can remember being so frightened it could happen to us. I still fear tornadoes all these years later and when I go home to visit I’m always alert today!

[@jennyfurr]

Once again Carly knocks it outta the park! Love the video. I’d never even heard of this outbreak, I was born in ‘77. I love your remodeled workspace, btw! ❤

[@heatherpratt3245]

Love this one too ❤. You are my absolute favorite to watch, & your kitty ❤️.

[@ellenbryn]

Really excellent, thoughtful, and in depth discussion of a complicated and terrible day. And you're right. My mom still talks about an F3 that tore through a good chunk of Tyler, Tezas in 1957, and I still remember the incredible damage of my school torn apart thge day before I graduated by a piddling F2... or the massive damage Hurricane Gloria did to our woods when it was just a tropical depression. The trauma and lifelong memories from a high level tornado or hurricane would be magnitudes greater.

[@jennyfurr]

Your level of dedication to insuring high quality content just keeps skyrocketing! 🎉 you’re my favorite tornado guru.

[@jaydingiesler5280]

You really do have the most complete tornado coverage videos on YT. Everything including the science. Down bursts & micro bursts are important and that’s kinda cool to find when where and why they were discovered.

[@tamarakelli687]

ALABAMA. You misspelled the word on the screen but pronounced it great! We love you anyway! 😍 And you are 1000% correct. The 2011 outbreak was sad that Phil Campbell and Hackleburg tornado victims didn't receive 1/20th of help that Tuscaloosa received. I know. My family was a part of that, and we still haven't recovered to before those storms hit. That's why I try to go and help those who don't receive the help

[@BadDreamFucker]

Alamaba should become the 51st state. Lol

[@Shadow_Starblades]

This is an excellent video going over the 1974 Super Outbreak. Well done my fellow tornado enthusiast. ❤

[@theironherder]

I believe that your videos, by reminding us of the power of tornadoes, provides a wonderful and useful public service. As a life-long resident of Nebraska, I had become inured to the tornado sirens and to the threat that tornadoes pose. Thank you for the wake up call.

[@davidcubero2137]

I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but we were not stereotypical Puerto Ricans. For one thing, We were Jewish Israeli Citizens & as such, We spoke both Spanish and Hebrew, which I grew up speaking. Secondly, both of my parents came from Show Business Families. My Dad's Dad was a Very Famous Singer-Songwriter, who was a Pioneer in The Recording Industry, but He & His Band Recorded Their first Record in Thomas Edison's Own Studio in New Jersey. My Granddad was born in Puerto Rico, but He'd moved up to New York, because that was the place to go to succeed in The Performing Arts. When the first Radio Station Went On The Air in New York, My Grandfather landed a Show with His Band. Later He became An Announcer & A Radio Actor. Then When Television came, He Had a Television Show. Back in those days, Records, Radio & Television were considered by most to be passing fads. My Mother's Mother was a Well- Known Organist. My Mother was a born Musical Prodigy. Although She'd suffered from Polio, or perhaps because of that fact, She was a Concert Pianist at the age of 4 & 5, without ever having a Piano Lesson. She was also Puerto Rican & Jewish by birth, but they too had moved to New York. My Dad was Educated at NYU with a Degree in Math. After The U.S. entered World War Two, My Dad Went To An Army Recruiter's Office & said Send Me to Flight School & Send Me To Europe. He had heard what The Nazis Were Doing To Fellow Jews from a Man that had Managed To Escape & had ended up at my Dad's Synagogue & told what was happening when he got out of Europe & made it to New York. When I was 10 Months Old, just by chance My Picture was seen by The Man Who's job it was to Cast "The U.S. National Beechnut Baby Food Television Commercials" & Wanted Me To Appear In Their New Television Commercial. They flew us to New York where I Shot My First Role. After my Commercial Aired, my Parents were inundated by calls from other Corporations wanting to cast me in Their Commercials. I was 10 months old when I did my Baby Food Spot, they never dreamed that I'd be sought after for more Television Commercials. They found An Agent for me. I had Starred in Three Latin American "Telenovelas," (Soap Operas.) When I was 10 YEARS Old, my Parents decided that We'd Move To New York. My Dad had become an Accountant after The War & My Mother, who'd Graduated from Julliard had an Offer to Play With The New York Symphony. She was ready to get back to Performing Herself. They told me that I couldn't do anymore Acting Jobs until I learned to Speak Fluent English like an American. Well, my Agent found a Role For Me in New York on A Bilingual Educational Television Show that Aired on PBS on Saturday Morning. They were offering to pay me so well that My Parents couldn't refuse to allow me to Book The Show. So I was acting again. The Show lasted about a Year. My Mother was Offered To Play First Clarinet with The L.A. Philharmonics, & My Father was offered A Great Job with even a larger Accounting Firm. So we were L.A. Bound. Soon after my Dad was tapped to go to Xenia Ohio to Audit The Books Of Some National Chain of Offices. We decided that We'd all go, rent a house for The Two Or Three Months that it was believed that it would take for my Dad to complete the dreadful task & Return to The Beautiful Home We'd bought in L.A. Upon Arriving in Xenia I knew that I'd be just as unhappy there as in New York, because when we got there it was cold & snowy. I didn't like cold Weather being raised in The Subtropical Warmth of Puerto Rico. When April had arrived & there was a Warm, but Strong Wind Blowing, I was thrilled. Well, Summer was finally on it's way. If I'd only known what was REALLY On It's Way. I'd Stayed Home From School & My Dad had Stayed at home from work because it was A Jewish Holy Day for Us. We'd heard that Bad Weather was coming. From that moment on, I was sure That The Older House that We'd Rented in Xenia was doomed, & so were we. I begged my Parents that we should go elsewhere where we could get underground. But they didn't heed. I remember having gone to The Front Foyer of The House that was just on The Southern Edge Of Town. It almost looked like night to me. It was so dark. My Mother was in her Music Room & Suddenly I felt a Strong Hand On My Shoulder, pushing down hard, I went down to my knees then The Hand Pushed hard against my back and I went forward onto my stomach as I felt someone laying on top of me. Then the lights flickered off & I felt Winds hitting me So Hard that I can't begin to describe them. The noise was deafening. I heard my Mother's Voice Cry Out My Dad's Name & My Name. I thought that She'd been blown away! Time seemed to be standing still as The Wind was Tearing Through The Old Home & Disassembling it from around us! Suddenly, it stopped & by The Time that My Dad & I could get to Our feet, my Mother was entering What was left of The Foyer. My Mother was standing when The Tornado Hit. The Wind blew her down & slid her along the Hardwood Floor to underneath Her Baby Grand Piano that brought her such joy likely saved her life from falling debris that was piled all over the Piano as the second story of the house was being torn away. As we stood and looked toward Town, We could see that ugly, black, Real Life Monster Chewing Through The Buildings & Tossing Things Into The Air. I wanted to Understand everything that I could about Tornadoes so I made up my mind that instead of being an Actor all of my life that I wanted to become a Meteorologist. Well, I found that I could do both. I began to help People that had gone through Disasters, I joined The Red Cross Disaster Relief Team & Offered Comfort, Food, Help & Blankets. Neither my Parents Nor I Received A Scratch which was miraculous. But I was wounded on The Inside where Cuts & Bruises Don't Show. As I went into disaster areas & Helped Others that helped me. I studied & became a Meteorologist & in recent years I've begun to Chase Tornadoes once in a while. But, When I see a tornado, part of me feels the same terror that I felt as a 12 year old Victim & another part of me feels like I'm slaying The Dragon. One final note, after a little time while we tried to locate some of our most treasured belongings, we were free to return home to L.A. because the Office In Which My Dad was Auditing & All of Their Records were blown away, probably to The North Pole!!!

[@ChadFreeman-uw4lv]

Ok I have asked meteorologist, stormchasers, and a chaser that is a legend in own mind and truly believes the complexities of his mind is the key to decipher the violent tornadoes. That being said, I feel you are the most qualified person to give the most accurate answer that is always backed up by your research and data so here goes. What F/EF5 spent the highest percentage of its lifespan at f5 ef5 intensity. Let's keep it 74 outbreak till present. THANK YOU

[@amyquibble920]

Another super amazing video! The Xenia OH tornado, impacted my life from early on. My dad had been going there for pilot training, and one of those small air strips in the pictures was where he went. He was in the area that day, but my memory is foggy to know if he went to help at the time or not. But then after I got old enough, I spent lots of time in Xenia. I used to go for plane rides, and if I wish I could remember more. That stuck with me, my whole life. I always remember my dad talking about how bad it was. But, alas, that was before I was afraid of storms. And before I started to take interest in meteorology. Nowadays, I wish I could go back just to take in the scope of things. Thank you so much for a great, entertaining and informational video. I'm such a huge fan, and really love them! Last video you put out, we had a tornado go right by here in WI. We had a little hook and it buzzed over us but didn't touch down here. However, its nice and cool now, so now I can enjoy your vids with some coffee instead of storms. :D

[@larrygoes]

I was in my high school at an after school sports practice in Franklin Ohio when the system that produced the Xenia tornado passed directly over us. It began as ridiculous lightning, followed by a few minutes of 4 inch hail that shredded the convertible top of a car in the school lot, shattered windshields, and pummeled the roofs and hoods of other cars. Wind gusts ripped branches from trees, then it was eerily calm, green, and dark. It was so ominous that we went out in the parking lot to watch this storm rotating and lowering right over our heads. It dropped a tornado moments later, just a couple of miles northeast of us near Centerville. This tornado would soon grow into the monster multi vortex f4/5 that would wipe much of Xenia off the map. Enjoyed going back to this vivid memory through your video. PS, you have a typo on your video title at the Alabama section...Alamaba.

[@gscott32]

Thank you Carly for this video! Excellent job, many tornadoes to cover besides the famed Xenia tornado in the outbreak. What makes Xenia noteworthy for me was having an uncle there and surviving. My family traveled to Xenia after the rebuild to visit him, hearing the first-hand accounts from his friends got me interested in Meteorology (I have a college Minor in it). Growing up in Western NY taught me plenty about winter weather, but I respect what a tornado can do. Take care.

[@DarkFaery-]

I had no idea the the original scale had been tweaked so much. I never knew the the F scale was actually 6 levels. Thats insane. I have friends who have had family who have went through tornados. I thankfully have not been through one. I had a close call though when i was young. I can only imagine how life changing that type of experience. Great job covering this carly!

[@galdutro]

You are a great storyteller. Thank you for the amazing content!

[@mike.elimelech]

When I saw that you were uploading a new video it totally made my Friday! Seriously Carly, today has been a rough day for me so much so when I got home I was dead silent (Not a good sign) but after remembering earlier that a new video of yours was waiting for me to be watched, it cheered me up a lot and here I am in your comments section eating some teriyaki chicken happy as a dog who got a bone! Way to go Carly, your talent is genuinely unparalleled, I appreciate your hard work in creating these informative and with all due respect (Edge of the seat entertaining) videos. Marvelous job!!! Keep doing your thing!

[@NaughtyAelf]

I finally got to watch this episode, stellar work as always! This event was one of my earliest memories - it changed me forever. If you get the chance to do a dive into the 2004 Roanoke tornado, that would be cool. One of my friends was at work in Parsons Manufacturing and Fabrication.