TOLONO, Ill. (WCIA) – 47 years ago, a historic tornado outbreak began right here in Central Illinois. It was a warm and humid day on April 3rd, 1974. The air was ripe for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms with ample instability, wind shear and moisture needed for violent tornadoes. The first tornado of the day touched…
Xenia tornado remembered 46 years later
XENIA — The Shawnee Indians weren’t wrong. The tribe the occupied many states in the Ohio River Valley — including Ohio — long ago referred to the area that would become Xenia as the land of the devil wind. Or land of the crazy wind, depending on which source you trust. But nonetheless, the Shawnee…
Cincinnati is no stranger to deadly April tornadoes. Could an outbreak happen again?
Every April, Greater Cincinnati remembers two deadly anniversaries. The tornado outbreaks in April 1974 that hit Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and the Blue Ash and Montgomery tornado in April 1999 killed hundreds and destroyed huge swathes of our communities. The two storm systems are etched in the minds of the community, but April is only…
One county in Alabama has been struck by a violent tornado three times. Two were hours apart.
A major tornado can change a community forever. When two occur in the exact same place — such as the monster twisters that ravaged Moore, Okla., in 1999 and 2013 — it feels like more than an eerie coincidence. But when three have whirled within a couple miles of the same spot, you can be…
Super Outbreak ’74: The Monticello F4 Tornado
MONTICELLO, Ind.–Forty five years ago this week, an F4 tornado hit Monticello. It was part of the April 3, 1974, Super Outbreak. Though the damage in Indiana was not limited to White County, the twister that struck at 5:17 p.m., was the longest tracked tornado of that day. The church van It stayed on the…
Tornadoes of 1974 in Green Country
Quick Facts The storm system came in two waves 22 tornadoes were produced in Oklahoma, leaving more than a dozen dead At the time, this tornado outbreak was considered the costliest natural disaster to strike Tulsa June 8, 1974 – the day that Green Country was hit with 10 tornadoes leaving more than a dozen…