Xenia, Ohio Tornado Marks Its 34th Anniversary

For those that remember it, April 3, marks the 34th anniversary of the Xenia Tornado. It was the tornado that wreaked havoc on an innocent city. A category F5 tornado tore its way through town killing 32 people. It was just one of 148 tornadoes that spawned across 13 different states. The two mile wide tornado destroyed half the schools in the city and ripped almost every church from its foundation.

The tornado hit around 4:30 in the afternoon, a blessed hour after the schools were let out. My brother was in first grade at McKinley Elementary. It was one of the schools that were destroyed. My neighborhood, Arrowhead, was the hardest hit neighborhoods in the city.

It was an ordinary afternoon on my street. School had just ended and kids were riding their bikes back and forth. Laughter could be heard in the air. My father sat in the garage strumming his guitar; my brother was with him. I remember riding my tricycle in the driveway and looking at the "big kids" riding their bikes in the street. My mom was in the house packing for our annual trip to Texas. Everything seemed fine. It was a picture perfect day.

Our neighbor was weeding her flower bed across the street. She yelled across the street to my Dad that the storm seemed to be moving in quickly. My dad looked up and saw a huge black cloud. He didn't pay much attention, assuming that it was a late afternoon shower. He continued to play his guitar watching me ride in circles in the driveway. After a few moments, a commotion could be heard up the street. Neighbors were running frantically up and down the street screaming, "Tornado! Tornado!"

My dad jumped up and looked toward the sky. He grabbed me off my tricycle and took me inside. He called for my mom. They were looking out the back window and thought that whatever it was, it was too big to be a tornado.

Within seconds, a tree barreled over our house. I remember them standing there in disbelief for a second. Then he scooped me up in one motion, ran toward the hallway and set me down. I remember him looking at me with a look that I had never seen in his eyes before and telling me not to move. My mom got in the hallway with me as he ran outside to get my brother.