Oh you would bring that up as I sit here under a tornado watch with thunder cracking in the background. : )
I remember that storm better than I care to. My sister was going to college in Springfield, OH which is just to the north of Xenia. I remember the panic when we heard how hard SW Ohio was getting hit. We were getting hit too, but not with the tornados. The next day when pictures started rolling in of the devastation, it was astonishing. If memory serves, it was an F5 tornado which Ohio rarely gets, and it cut a 3 mile-wide swath through the town. I think it was and still is the worst tornado to ever hit Ohio with regard to deaths, injuries and destruction of property.
There was another storm, though, that I remember even better. It was the night of July 4th, 1969 (as coincidence would have it). We were nailed by another horrendous storm during which a small tornado touched down at the end of our street in the park. I won't go into all the gory details, but it traumatized me for life. I was absolutely petrified of bad weather as a result, and to this day, still have dreams of being chased by tornados.
Strangely enough, though, I really enjoy a good thunderstorm now and even chased a dust devil last year. Go figure.
<edit> Wow, I just Googled "July 4, 1969 storm" and found this page. I've never even heard of one of these things!
spc.noaa.gov |
