AP Was There: A 1974 tornado in Xenia, Ohio, kills 32 and levels half the city
EDITOR'S NOTE — On April 3, 1974, a fierce tornado barreled through Xenia, Ohio, without warning, killing 32 people, injuring hundreds and leveling half the city of 25,000. Hundreds were left homeless. Nearby Wilberforce, home to Central State University, was also hit with deadly force. Afterward, President Richard Nixon made an unannounced visit to Xenia as the Watergate scandal unfolded in Washington.
The Xenia tornado was the deadliest and most powerful of what was later labeled the 1974 Super Outbreak, a series of 148 tornadoes that touched down across 13 states over 24 hours between April 3 and April 4. It was considered the worst such outbreak in U.S. history for nearly 40 years. It's now second behind a 2011
