Tornado record · Original Fujita scale

Xenia tornado, April 3, 1974 (F5)

RatingF5

Deaths36

Injuries1,150

Length31.3 mi

Width533 yd

See tornadoes near here

The event

What happened

During the Super Outbreak of April 3, 1974, this F5 tornado touched down 5 miles southwest of Xenia, between Bellbrook and Xenia, then moved north-eastward through the city, destroying or damaging about one-half of it. In Greene County it stayed on the ground for 16 miles, lifting just north of Cedarville, with a path from a quarter to half a mile wide.

The National Weather Service treats a later touchdown near Cortsville, in Clark County, as a continuation of the same tornado. It counts 34 deaths, the most of any tornado in the outbreak, while NOAA's database record, shown at the top of this page, lists 36.

Sources: NWS Wilmington: The Super Outbreak of April 3-4, 1974; NWS Wilmington: 1974 Super Outbreak, Xenia F5 track map

Map

Path

The path

Drawn as a straight line from the recorded start point (39.63, -84.05) to the end point (39.92, -83.60), which is all NOAA's record holds. The real track may have curved.

The record

Date: April 3, 1974, 1:30 PM (as recorded, Central Standard Time)
Rating: F5
States: Ohio
Counties: Greene County, Clark County
Towns struck: Xenia, Cedarville (as named by the National Weather Service)
Path: 31.3 miles long, up to 533 yards wide
Casualties: 36 deaths, 1,150 injuries

Same day

Other tornadoes on April 3, 1974

Tornadoes, newest first
Date	Rating	State	Path length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
Apr 3, 1974	F5	Indiana	68 mi	10 yd	6	86
Apr 3, 1974	F5	Kentucky, Indiana	32 mi	440 yd	31	270
Apr 3, 1974	F5	Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio	20.8 mi	533 yd	3	210
Apr 3, 1974	F5	Alabama	52 mi	500 yd	28	267
Apr 3, 1974	F5	Alabama, Tennessee	83.3 mi	500 yd	16	190
Apr 3, 1974	F5	Alabama	79.5 mi	500 yd	28	272
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Indiana	18.9 mi	10 yd	0	17
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Indiana	35.6 mi	1,200 yd	4	17
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Indiana	35.6 mi	1,200 yd	11	190
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Indiana	18 mi	1,400 yd	1	12
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Indiana	27.1 mi	1,133 yd	0	104
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	14 mi	150 yd	0	2
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Ohio	19.8 mi	350 yd	2	39
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	18.5 mi	10 yd	3	225
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Indiana	108.7 mi	1,760 yd	18	285
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	37.9 mi	10 yd	3	81
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Georgia	29.5 mi	200 yd	9	67
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	20.2 mi	10 yd	0	56
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	79.4 mi	10 yd	4	122
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Alabama	110.6 mi	500 yd	3	178
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	38.4 mi	10 yd	10	113
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	31.9 mi	10 yd	7	28
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Georgia	17.7 mi	200 yd	6	30
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Tennessee	27.5 mi	800 yd	11	121
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Tennessee	28.4 mi	700 yd	10	51
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Georgia, North Carolina	24 mi	400 yd	4	26
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Tennessee, Kentucky	11 mi	300 yd	5	6
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Tennessee	18.8 mi	200 yd	7	150
Apr 3, 1974	F4	Kentucky	16.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	18.1 mi	350 yd	1	100
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Indiana	35.8 mi	177 yd	1	26
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Illinois	20.9 mi	350 yd	1	26
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Illinois	7.4 mi	350 yd	0	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Indiana	20.7 mi	440 yd	1	25
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Illinois	5.9 mi	70 yd	1	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Illinois	14.9 mi	350 yd	0	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Indiana	25.9 mi	700 yd	0	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	31.1 mi	10 yd	3	57
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Mississippi	12 mi	100 yd	0	1
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	21.2 mi	500 yd	3	50
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	15.9 mi	100 yd	0	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	21.1 mi	10 yd	1	98
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Indiana	36.2 mi	1,000 yd	5	53
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	19.3 mi	10 yd	0	27
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Ohio	15.5 mi	500 yd	1	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Alabama	20.9 mi	100 yd	0	9
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	18 mi	10 yd	0	5
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	14.6 mi	100 yd	1	23
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Ohio	8.7 mi	177 yd	0	1
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	22.3 mi	10 yd	7	40
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	4.9 mi	10 yd	0	2
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	13.9 mi	10 yd	2	45
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Michigan	0.3 mi	30 yd	0	3
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	7.1 mi	100 yd	0	1
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Alabama	46.5 mi	700 yd	2	7
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Kentucky	28.8 mi	10 yd	0	0
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	9.4 mi	400 yd	3	120
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	12.2 mi	350 yd	0	11
Apr 3, 1974	F3	Tennessee	13 mi	400 yd	0	21
Apr 3, 1974	F2	Indiana	0.1 mi	50 yd	0	0

Nearby

Tornado history nearby

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.