Thirty-one people have died locally in tornadoes and severe storms since 1968. The worst and most widespread damage came on April 3, 1974, during the country's deadliest Super Tornado Outbreak. There were a record 30 F4-F5 tornadoes in six states in a 24-hour period (April 3-4). That included an F5 with 300-mph winds that practically destroyed the nearby town of Xenia, Ohio, and killed 33 people and injured 1,150 there. The same system that spawned the Xenia tornado first came through Greater Cincinnati. Ten tornadoes touched down in the Tri-State on the day before Reds Opening Day, starting around 4 p.m. and continuing into the night. At one point, the National Weather Service was tracking five funnel clouds on its local radar at the airport.
