Untitled - Ohio Insurance Institute

AVERAGE PATH LENGTH IS 6 TO 9 MILES
5:04 p.m. 5:09 p.m. 5:12 p.m. 5:15 p.m.
1000 FEET
DEBRIS CLOUD
100–250 MPH
SPIRALING WINDS 30–40 MPH
AVERAGE WIDTH IS 420 FEET
5. A funnel cloud touches
the ground and becomes
a tornado.
6. The winds pick up dirt and
debris from the ground.
7. Path of damage is at its
widest.
8. The tornado is vertical and
moves from the southwest
to the northeast at 35
mph.
9. Funnel darkens with
debris.
10. The funnel narrows and
tilts away from its vertical
position.
11. The path of damage
becomes smaller.
12. The funnel weakens into
a rope-like shape then
disappears. The average
duration of a tornado is 15
minutes.
This is how the weather map looked as the worst of the
tornado outbreak was descending on the Ohio Valley.
Cold, dry air
4:50 p.m.
19 killed in Monticello, Ind.
Cool, humid air
BETWEEN 3 AND 5 P.M. APRIL 3, 1974
XENIA-OHIO’S WORST DISASTER
A “superoutbreak”
Sometimes tornadoes occur in multiple outbreaks. On April 3 and
4, 1974, tornadoes swarmed in greater numbers and across a wider
area than anytime in recent history. Some were among the strongest
ever recorded.
The tornadoes began in Indiana around 9:30 a.m. April 3. The last
tornado struck North Carolina 24 hours later. The hardest hit town
was Xenia, Ohio. The Arrowhead neighborhood was devastated.
Dry air
Storm
center
over
Iowa
3:40 p.m.
35 killed in
Columbus
Warm front has
cleared central
Ohio
Xenia, Ohio
4:10 p.m.
31 killed in Brandenburg, Ky.
The two-day toll
• 148 tornadoes struck 11 states from Michigan to Alabama.
• 315 people were killed and about 5,000 were injured. More than
27,590 families suffered some kind of loss.
• Total damage exceeded $600 million.
• The weather system produced at least six violent tornadoes,
including the one at Xenia. That’s about as many as are normally
recorded in a decade.
Warm, humid air
Cold
front
advancing
eastward
Source: Portions excerpted from Columbus Dispatch, March 20, 1996
Not all tornadoes are funnel-shaped.
The Xenia tornado was a half-mile
wide, whirling dark cloud. Top winds
were estimated at 250 mph. The path
of damage was as wide as eight football
fields.
Feb. 2007
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