1974 Xenia tornado

The 1974 Xenia tornado was a large and extremely violent F5tornado that destroyed portions of Xenia and Wilberforce, Ohio, in Metro Dayton, during the afternoon of April 3, 1974. It was the deadliest individual tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, the 24-hour period between April 3 and April 4, 1974, during which 148 tornadoes touched down in 13 different U.S. states. The Xenia tornado is considered one of the worst tornadoes in American history and has been a major driving force behind improvements to warning systems, alarms, and safety protocols across the United States. Across the state, 2,000 individuals were injured, 7,000 homes were destroyed, and 39 people were killed during the 1974 Super Outbreak, 32 of these deaths being in Xenia. Despite Ohio being better equipped for a tornadic disaster than many other states, a survey team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found the lack of tornado sirens to be one of the leading causes of unpreparedness. This was one of two tornadoes to be assigned a preliminary F6 rating by Dr. Ted Fujita, the other being the 1970 Lubbock tornado; however, the rating was later downgraded to an F5, with maximum winds estimated at 305 MPH.