April 3-4, 1974 was the most widespread tornado outbreak in the 20th century. 148 tornadoes spun across 13 states in under 24-hours with 30 of those tornadoes being rated at F4 or F5. The deadliest of that afternoon ravaged the southwestern Ohio community of Xenia just east of Dayton.

This silent Super 8mm movie film was made by Bruce Boyd, then a high school student, who documented the developmental stages of the tornado as it approached Xenia. Multiple and twin-suction vortices were revealed by the Boyd film, widely studied by the late Dr. Ted Fujita, which aided in proving his theory of multiple vortices within tornadoes.

The Xenia tornado audio that has been mixed in with this Boyd film was recorded by a separate source along the path of the Xenia, Ohio tornado. For situational ambiance and historical reference, a portion of that audio tape has been included here.

Film by Bruce Boyd. Audio tape copy courtesy of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, original source recorded by a former resident of Xenia, Ohio.

Info on the audio recording: [ Ссылка ]

Further information on the Xenia, Ohio tornado of April 3, 1974: [ Ссылка ]

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