monday's mulling: tornadoes

April 3, 1974 was a day that forever changed the lives of Xenia residents and the footprint of the city. The day started out just like any other day. No one would have anticipated that this town would soon be part of the 1974 Super Outbreak that had 148 tornadoes confirmed in 13 states that day. The 1974 Xenia tornado is considered to be one of the worst tornados in American history, and its destruction is the reason for improved warning systems, alarms, and safety protocols throughout the United States.

My memories of that day…I was a junior in high school and had gotten home a little after 3:00. The sky was full of heavy clouds turning an eerie shade of green gray. The rain came down in buckets. The wind picked up and the branches on the large trees started whipping around. My brothers, sister, and I stood by our large plate glass dining room window watching the weather conditions worsen when Mom said, “Get away from that window and get down to the basement!” We dawdled, curious about what was going on outside. “NOW!” Mom’s tone of voice scared us more than the foreboding weather.

The F5 tornado destroyed a large part of Xenia, including its high school, which was in the same athletic conference as my school. The next day our student council set up booths for monetary donations, school supply donations, clothing donations, along with a banner to sign to express our support and caring. In total, 34 people lost their lives in this horrible weather event.

A couple markers stand in town to memorialize the historical significance of the Xenia tornado and to remember the 34 who died. I took a stroll around Xenia's downtown to find these markers. It's a bustling little town, full of fun shops, restaurants, and a brewery called Devil Wind Brewing. There's a tip o' the hat to the tornado!

51 years later, late night April 3 and early, early morning April 4, storms once again blew through the Miami Valley, bad enough that the tornado warning sirens went off at 1:00 a.m. It was scary but no tornadoes touched down. April through June - 'tis the season...