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1997 Jarrell tornado, and others


futureman

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My family had recently moved to Ohio when the Xenia tornado hit   I believe it’s still the single worst day of tornados in US history  

 

On April 3, 1974 an F-5 tornado tore through the heart of Xenia, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. It bulldozed a path more than a half-mile wide, destroying or damaging more than 1,400 buildings, including 1,200 homes, dozens of businesses, 10 churches, and several schools. By the time it lifted into the sky near Cedarville, it left behind more than $100 million of damage in Greene County.

The Xenia tornado was part of a super outbreak, when 148 twisters swept across several states, killing 335 people in a 16-hour period on April 3-4, 1974. It still ranks as one of the largest natural disasters in American history, with Xenia the hardest hit community.

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14 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

My family had recently moved to Ohio when the Xenia tornado hit   I believe it’s still the single worst day of tornados in US history  

Eclipsed by the April 27, 2011 outbreak - system produced over 360 tornadoes, 216 in a 24 hour period - Xenia system "only" had 148.  However the Xenia outbreak had more long-track higher Fujita ones.

Edited by phdhorn
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35 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:
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That one def gives me nightmares.  IIRC, the kids that died in the school actually drowned.  They had taken shelter in a basement or lower level of the building.  Water began pouring in and they were trapped.

^^Spoilered because very sad.

Yes, you are correct on that.

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That 2011 system was also pretty scary in my neck of the woods.  Once out of Alabama, the storms kept spawning tornadoes all the way up into Virginia.  A couple of confirmed tornadoes hit south of us (Knoxville).  What I remember about that night is that we had 6 different tornado warnings from about 8PM until 2 or 3 in the morning.  Even growing up in N TX, I had never experienced anything like that.  Granted, nothing touched down within 50 square miles; however, I still vividly remember how different the sky/storm/clouds looked than pretty much any other severe storm I had experienced.  Being at night, I couldn't see the color of the sky; however, it "felt" very weird and it appeared as if all hell was breaking out above me.

The house we lived in had a basement.  Problem was, you had to go out the front door and around to the back of the house to get there.  On one of the six occasions, I was pretty sure a tornado was dropping down.  Pretty scary when you're carrying your 4 year-old back and forth.

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Austin/TravCo isn't in it  - at least yet.  Most of the energy will be between DFW and Waco, some of it dropping down to our northern counties.  However, 1) doesn't mean the watch won't be extended, and 2) or that we won't get hail, strong winds, heavy rain during the squall push-through about 11 tonight.

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1 hour ago, VABuckeye said:

My family had recently moved to Ohio when the Xenia tornado hit   I believe it’s still the single worst day of tornados in US history  

 

On April 3, 1974 an F-5 tornado tore through the heart of Xenia, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. It bulldozed a path more than a half-mile wide, destroying or damaging more than 1,400 buildings, including 1,200 homes, dozens of businesses, 10 churches, and several schools. By the time it lifted into the sky near Cedarville, it left behind more than $100 million of damage in Greene County.

The Xenia tornado was part of a super outbreak, when 148 twisters swept across several states, killing 335 people in a 16-hour period on April 3-4, 1974. It still ranks as one of the largest natural disasters in American history, with Xenia the hardest hit community.

I just watched a show on that last week, on the Smithsonian Channel, called Lost Tapes, a series, they are really good, lots of local tv and radio reports you don't normally see.  The one about the 74 Super Outbreak was insane, surprised more people didn't die back then.

https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/videos/the-1974-double-twister-that-hit-alabama/64668

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20 minutes ago, Whatever said:

Pretty good storm coming right at us in Las Colinas right now.  Severe T-Storm Warning for Northern Ellis & Johnson Counties.  Pretty sure they'll extend it to include my office at George Bush & Macarthur.  Looks like nighttime outside my window right now.

Hope the drywall at the new McDonald's there makes it out okay.

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i used to know the KXAN cameraman who shot the closeups of the tornado in Jarrell at 3:00. 

https://www.kxan.com/weather/tornadoes-on-the-ground-remembering-a-deadly-day-as-it-happened_20180227105825277/994813553

somewhere around the house i have a video of the green boiling clouds in the sky that i filmed in my driveway in Oak Hill the day of the Jarrell tornado.  i've only seen a the sky look that way a few times in my life.  

 

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I vividly remember that day. I saw one of the non-Jarrel storms from the court I was shooting hoops at 620 & El Salido.

The initial death count was something like 33, later revised down to 27. The would find half a body one place and the other half another, and inadvertently double count. That's where that classic "every mutilated bifurcated corpse has a silver lining"central texas saying comes from.

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My newly formed concrete company was working on an apartment complex right across from the Albertson's .  There was shit all over the place and there were no port-o-potties to be found, anywhere.

Back in the spring of 1982, we were getting ready to perform in a UIL concert band competition in Taylor.  We had just gotten warmed up and were ready for our first downbeat when school administrators rushed in with news of a Tornado warning.  They ushered us out of the auditorium and sat us under the lockers in a huge hallway next to the auditorium.  I felt like a sitting suck but I guess it was the safest place on such short notice.  Although I do not remember seeing the administrators hanging out there, hmmm.  Storm passed crisis averted.

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  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, retsevlys said:

If I remember correctly, Bama Chick lives in North Alabama, but I may be mistaken though.  I live in Auburn.  The tornado passed about 10 miles southeast of me.  So far 23 fatalities and still a lot of people missing.

Glad to hear you're OK. I wasn't sure who all we had in Bama.

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1 hour ago, SuingToGetAMessageBoard? said:

My grandmother is one hundred and mother flippin two years old and this thing went right by her house.  If that is what took her out, it would be shit.

I mean if I make it to 102 it might be kinda cool to go out like that. 

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I spent summers on my grandparents' farm in N. Texas as a kid. I remember running to the storm cellar a couple of times. Ended up being false alarms most of the time, but once we came out and trees had been uprooted. Neighbors house a quarter mile up the road was destroyed. Nobody hurt I don't think because everybody was in their cellars. Lot of livestock killed or missing. This was around 1970 or so.

Somebody mentioned sounding like a train. That is exactly what I remember. Scary shit sitting in the dark and wet stifling heat while a train goes by. 

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The one that hit behind my house in 2011 sounded more like a high-pitched scream.  Granted it was only a 0 or 1 on the Fujita scale so that may have been a factor.

I was amazed by how much damage such a "minor" tornado could make.  I can't imagine what a 3, 4, or 5 would have done to the area.

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On 12/26/2018 at 10:07 PM, CleverNickname said:

I vividly remember that day. I saw one of the non-Jarrel storms from the court I was shooting hoops at 620 & El Salido.

The initial death count was something like 33, later revised down to 27. The would find half a body one place and the other half another, and inadvertently double count. That's where that classic "every mutilated bifurcated corpse has a silver lining"central texas saying comes from.

Ah yes, one of my favorite central texas sayings.  I use it in conversation at least once a week.

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I had one juuuust miss my house. It did send my wellhouse (that took 3 grown men to move into place) flying a quarter mile and downed a couple trees. I was sitting in my living room watching the ceiling moving up and down. I grabbed a bottle of Maker's Mark, sat in my recliner and waited for the show to start. Fortunately, it didn't.

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We were camping/fishing at Inks Lake in 1973 when the tornado hit Burnet, that’s the closest I have been to a tornado that did any damage. Had plenty close by that never got on the ground. Hate them fuckers and rattle snakes!

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There was a tornado that came real close to my mom's house in 2011.  It hit a farm a few miles to the east, where a 90 year old guy was still living on his own.  He was sleeping in his rocking chair, and the tornado picked his up off the foundation, and then dropped it right back on top of the foundation.

His kids got out there a few minutes later, and he was still sleeping.  He slept through the entire ordeal.  

Tough old fucker lived another 3-4 years.  Even after he went to the nursing home, you'd still see him out driving around town in a 2 door S10, going 10 MPH down the wide state highway that goes through town.

chester-damage-1.jpg

That's the house.  No idea how the glass didn't break.  This was only an F2.

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