45 years ago on the afternoon of April 3, 1974, a F-5 tornado ripped a path of death and destruction through Xenia, Ohio, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others. The day has come to be known by meterologists as The Great Outbreak of 1974. 16-year-old Xenia resident Bruce Boyd captured 3 minutes and 21 seconds of footage with a "Super-8" 8mm movie camera, a pre-1973 model without sound recording capability. However, the tornado was recorded on tape by a Mr. Brokeshoulder from inside an apartment complex. Before the tornado hit the building, the resident left the tape recorder on, and it was found after the storm.The footage was later paired with this video. Boyd's film shows multiple vortices within the larger circulation as the storm swept through Xenia. That film was studied frame by frame by Ted Fujita, the scientist who originated the Fujita scale of damage. Fujita said if there could be an F-6, the Xenia tornado would certainly qualify. Boyd's video has become famous and has been viewed countless times across the span of many years.
