note the dates
5/15/2007
TORNADO
A terrible F5 tornado blew through Kansas a week ago and destroyed most of the city of Greensburg. It reminded me of April 3, 1974.
We had been in our house for two years and still felt that we lived way out in the country. I know my parents thought we did.
A tornado had gone through Cincinnati about five years previous to this date and my in-laws had lost a garage and a large tree. I remember that Saturday afternoon. We knew a storm came through but we didn't pay much attention to it. It hardly rained where we lived at that time; northwest of the city. Not 'til we got a phone call did we realize that a tornado had hit and that my wife's parents had property damage.
Because of this experience, when reports came of a possible tornado, we were more wary than we were the time before. We were taking tornadoes a more seriously now. That April 3rd, we were listening to the radio. There had been reports of tornadoes all over the Midwest. It was a weekday evening and I had been home from work for just a short time. When the tornado hit the Saylor Park area of Cincinnati, which is close to the river on the southwest side of the city, we were rightfully concerned. My pregnant wife and three young daughters went to the basement. I stayed at the front door watching to the south. There I saw a sight I will never forget. About three miles away, I could see a perfectly formed tornado funnel moving toward me. When I first saw it, it was crossing I-275. It hit a hill on the north side of the expressway and made a jump over a low area which is Fields Ertel Road. The funnel was perfect - white and almost beautiful. It was about two miles away when, all of a sudden, it turned black. At first, I didn't understand what I was seeing. My mind couldn't register why it had changed colors. Then I could plainly see that the change in color was caused by pieces of houses being sucked to the sky. Shingles, wood, furniture, floors and memories were flying high in the sky. A monstrous volcano was spewing hopes and dreams into the air. I went to the basement with my family.
The path went a mile to the east of our house. Close enough that we had to go through National Guard check points to get in or out of our neighborhood. There was no damage to my property. We only had to clean up some debris that had fallen in our yard. Of course, others weren't so lucky. Two were killed in our area. Many lost their homes. 34 people were killed in Xenia that day when this tornado touched down a half hour later to the North of us. I'll never underestimate the power of a storm.
We had been in our house for two years and still felt that we lived way out in the country. I know my parents thought we did.
A tornado had gone through Cincinnati about five years previous to this date and my in-laws had lost a garage and a large tree. I remember that Saturday afternoon. We knew a storm came through but we didn't pay much attention to it. It hardly rained where we lived at that time; northwest of the city. Not 'til we got a phone call did we realize that a tornado had hit and that my wife's parents had property damage.
Because of this experience, when reports came of a possible tornado, we were more wary than we were the time before. We were taking tornadoes a more seriously now. That April 3rd, we were listening to the radio. There had been reports of tornadoes all over the Midwest. It was a weekday evening and I had been home from work for just a short time. When the tornado hit the Saylor Park area of Cincinnati, which is close to the river on the southwest side of the city, we were rightfully concerned. My pregnant wife and three young daughters went to the basement. I stayed at the front door watching to the south. There I saw a sight I will never forget. About three miles away, I could see a perfectly formed tornado funnel moving toward me. When I first saw it, it was crossing I-275. It hit a hill on the north side of the expressway and made a jump over a low area which is Fields Ertel Road. The funnel was perfect - white and almost beautiful. It was about two miles away when, all of a sudden, it turned black. At first, I didn't understand what I was seeing. My mind couldn't register why it had changed colors. Then I could plainly see that the change in color was caused by pieces of houses being sucked to the sky. Shingles, wood, furniture, floors and memories were flying high in the sky. A monstrous volcano was spewing hopes and dreams into the air. I went to the basement with my family.
The path went a mile to the east of our house. Close enough that we had to go through National Guard check points to get in or out of our neighborhood. There was no damage to my property. We only had to clean up some debris that had fallen in our yard. Of course, others weren't so lucky. Two were killed in our area. Many lost their homes. 34 people were killed in Xenia that day when this tornado touched down a half hour later to the North of us. I'll never underestimate the power of a storm.
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