The Wrath of God - DVD

The Wrath of God - Super Outbreak Tornadoes (History Channel)

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Wednesday, April 3rd, 1974 -- A Bad-Weather Day That Will Never Be Forgotten! .... 148 Tornadoes Across 13 States! 5 out of 5 stars.
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I'm sure anyone who lived in the midwestern sections of the United States in the mid-1970s can probably recall the horrific day of Wednesday, April 3, 1974, a day when 148 tornadoes touched down in 13 U.S. states in the midwest and south, claiming more than 300 lives, injuring another 5,400+ people, and causing massive amounts of property damage. It was the single worst outbreak of twisters ever in North America. That day of windy weather became known thereafter as the "Super Tornado Outbreak".

This nearly hour-long "Wrath Of God" program, produced by The History Channel and A&E Home Video, probes that '74 "Super Outbreak" of deadly tornadoes, providing ample video footage of various twisters during the rampage, plus a close look at the damage left in their wake.

In 1974, there were no video camcorders. Therefore, all of the footage taken of the storms came from either private citizens who were using their home movie (film) cameras, or via local area television stations, who were able to film (or tape) some of the twisters with their TV station's commercial camera equipment. In either case, much of this original 1974 footage is quite remarkable -- and scary as heck (knowing the death and destruction that these devastating storms caused).

Many local weather agencies were so swamped with warnings that it became nearly impossible to keep up with them all. It was a weatherman's worst nightmare come true.

From Decatur, Illinois....to Plum Tree, Indiana....to Xenia, Ohio....to Nashville, Tennessee....to Louisville, Kentucky....to Shady Spring, West Virginia....to Roanoke, Virginia -- all of these communities (and tons of others) were hit by at least one twister during the funnel-cloud onslaught of April 3rd.

The Xenia, Ohio, storm turned out to be the most deadly of the tornadoes to strike that day. The fierce half-mile-wide Xenia funnel, which struck at 4:42 PM local time, killed 33 people, while injuring 1,150 more. Approximately half the town was either completely destroyed or badly damaged by the wrath of the incredible "F5" twister. ("F5" being the most powerful and potentially destructive on the "Fujita" tornado-measuring scale.)

The official "Fujita" definition of an F5 twister indicates the following --- "F5 Tornado: Wind Speed: 261-318 MPH; producing 'Incredible Damage'. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 yards; trees debarked; steel re-inforced concrete structures badly damaged. Incredible phenomena will occur. F5 Relative Frequency: Less than 1% of all recorded tornadoes."

In theory, it is believed that an "F6" category of tornado could exist, but no F6 storms have ever been officially recorded. Interestingly, the official Fujita description of a potential "F6" storm is classified in the "Inconceivable" category (with winds of 319-379 MPH).

Xenia is located 16 miles west of Dayton, Ohio, and has a population of about 25,000. There were nine churches, four schools, and 1,333 homes and businesses destroyed. The total cost of the damage sustained to the town was estimated to be approximately 100 million (circa 1974) dollars.

The F5 monster that annihilated Xenia stayed on the ground for 32 miles and lasted nine minutes, which is nearly twice as long as a normal tornado. The clean-up lasted three months.

The following link provides a terrifying image of the massive Xenia twister:

snrs.unl.edu/amet451/kozisek/xenia%20tornado.jpg

Having been located in the easternmost portion of Ohio's neighboring state of Indiana as Xenia was being pummelled by its hellish F5 vortex, I can vividly recall tuning in to Dayton television station WHIO-TV on 4/3/74 during the tornado outbreak and watching weatherman Gil Whitney as he provided the non-stop warnings to the public.

I can also remember watching Whitney's radar screen and seeing the distinctive "hook" echo pattern located directly over Xenia on the radar. I'll never forget that. Scary as hell.

At about 4:00 PM on April 3, Whitney broadcast an unofficial tornado warning for Xenia based upon images from the station's newly-installed radar. Technically, his action violated National Weather Service procedures, but the "unofficial" warning was widely credited with keeping the number of casualties lower than what they might have turned out to be otherwise.

The 32-mile duration of the Xenia funnel, however, did not establish the record-high for "consecutive length on the ground" that April day. A twister that tore through Monticello, Indiana, remained on the ground for an incredible 121 miles before finally dissipating. That "F4" tornado killed 19 people and injured more than 360 others.

What I, personally, remember the most about April 1974 is visiting the stricken town of Xenia, Ohio, a couple of weeks after the tornado. I recall seeing virtually nothing but devastation on every street we drove down. From local restaurants without their roofs, to houses ripped from their foundations. A sad sight indeed.

And as if the '74 storm wasn't bad enough, Xenia was, amazingly, struck a second time by a deadly twister, some years later. On September 20, 2000, one person was killed and 60 homes totally destroyed by yet another wicked funnel cloud that swept through the small town of Xenia. Talk about lightning striking twice.

There's an Internet website that features all kinds of interesting details, data, and photos surrounding the '74 "Super Outbreak". It's located at april31974.com.

That website includes some stunning photographs of many of the deadly twisters that touched down that spring day, and also contains a page of word-for-word text from the remarkable live as-it's-happening reports that were heard on radio station WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky, when helicopter traffic reporter Dick Gilbert tracked the F4 tornado that hit Louisville, reporting live over WHAS radio what he was witnessing.

This History Channel "Super Outbreak" DVD program contains very good narration and excellent picture and sound quality. The video is Full-Frame (1.33:1). Audio is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.

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More Tornado Talk..........

Nine years prior to the 1974 "Super Outbreak", the midwest U.S. experienced a precursor to the '74 storms when more than 50 tornadoes ripped through the middle U.S. states, killing better than 250 and injuring thousands more. That spate of twisters was known as the "Palm Sunday Outbreak", occurring on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965. Lots more information on the '65 outbreak can be found here:

wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palm_Sunday_Tornado_Outbreak

The all-time record for the deadliest single tornado in United States history belongs to the so-called "Tri-State Tornado", which killed an almost unbelievable 695 people in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, on Wednesday, March 18th, 1925.

That amazing twister kept the same heading (NE 63 degrees) for 183 miles of its 219-mile path. The tornado travelled at an average speed of 62 MPH, setting still more records for both speed and path length.

After the "Tri-State" twister moved into Illinois, the storm was at its worst. In Gorham, Illinois, 34 were killed as nearly 100% of the town was destroyed. Between Gorham and Murphysboro, the record for "fastest tornado ground speed" was broken as the relentless funnel cloud barrelled across the ground at 73 miles-per-hour!

The tornado arrived at Murphysboro, Illinois, at 2:34 P.M., killing a staggering 234 people, breaking yet another record (the most deaths in one U.S. city from a single tornado). Damage in Murphysboro exceeded 10-million (1925-era) dollars.

The incredible "Tri-State Tornado" was part of a larger tornado outbreak on that March day way back in 1925, an outbreak which included eight tornadoes that killed an absolutely-incredible total of 747 people, making it (to date) by far the deadliest multi-tornado outbreak on record. And it's a record that's not likely to ever be topped. God willing, it never shall.

A 140-page book, first published in March 1992, can be obtained here at Amazon that focuses solely on that 1925 monster twister ("The Tri-State Tornado: The Story Of America's Greatest Tornado Disaster"). Here's a link:

amazon.com/gp/product/0595311881/sr=1-14/qid=1156492225

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A final word about this History Channel/A&E DVD.......

Re-living the very windy day of April 3, 1974, by way of this 50-minute DVD program, is a tense and, frankly, rather frightening experience. The unpredictability and sheer raw power of Mother Nature at work can quickly make a person realize how helpless any human being truly is when brought face-to-face with what Mrs. Nature dished up during that one heart-pounding day of very bad weather in the spring of 1974.

Editorial Review:

Coils of terror twisting out of the heavens to lash earth, tornadoes hit the U.S. more than any other country. Always unrelenting, never have they struck with such frequency or ferocity as on April 3 and 4, 1974. In just under 18 hours, 148 tornadoes ravaged parts of the Midwest and South, killing 315 people across 13 states.

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The Wrath of God, Disasters in America - The Hurricanes: Deadly Wind, Deadly Rain (History Channel)

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Editorial Review:

They are storms that can reach 600 miles across dumping torrential rains and battering the landscape with winds that easily exceed 100 miles per hour. They can put islands underwater level cities and kill thousands of people.Only one or two hurricanes hit U.S. soil each year but when they do the repercussions are enormous. Widespread panic and staggering loss of life and property come with them often made worse when people foolishly think that the calm of the eye of the storm indicates that danger has passed. HURRICANES reveals how scientists have made great strides understanding and predicting these storms in the 20th century. But as the population in America's coastal areas increases their threat remains undiminished. By profiling three awesome storms the "big one" in Miami in 1926 the New England Hurricane of 1938 and Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992 a chilling portrait of nature's destructive power emerges.System Requirements:Running Time 50 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 733961747409 Manufacturer No: AAE-74740

The Wrath Of God - Buffalo Blizzard (History Channel)

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Editorial Review:

Once in a while, a winter storm attacks with such intensity that it can paralyze a city. Buffalo, New York, receives on average 93 inches of snow each year, but by mid-January 1977, the city had already received 126. Nature would soon deliver a blow beyond anyone's imagination. Join us as we relive the six-day blizzard that wreaked havoc across the region and caused President Carter to declare nine counties in New York a federal disaster area--the first time the designation was made due to snow!

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The Wrath of God, Disasters in America - Tsunami: Killer Wave (History Channel)

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Editorial Review:

There are no obvious warning signs. They are as awe-inspiring as they are deadly. But since the end of World War II more people in the United States have been killed by tsunamis than hurricanes.It can be a beautiful day and within minutes the ocean can rise to an astonishing height bringing towers of water crashing into the shore and sweeping clean everything in its way. TSUNAMI: KILLER WAVE is a gripping look at these natural disasters spawned by undersea earthquakes. Extensive photos and footage document the disastrous results of lethal waves that struck Hawaii in 1946 and 1960 killing hundreds of people and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Hear from survivors of these disasters and examine the latest attempts to identify and diminish the threat they pose to this island paradise.System Requirements:Running Time 50 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 733961747430 Manufacturer No: AAE-74743

The Wrath Of God - Tornado Alley (History Channel)

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Great Documentary 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I grew up in Southern Indiana, and my grandparents were in this tornado, near Griffin, Indiana which was wiped out. So I grew up hearing the stories and watching their faces everytime the sky took on that greenish tint. I really appreciated the interviews with the folks that were there. Many of them are getting up in years, so its important to record their stories about what happened. This documentary also does a nice job of following the track of the is monster tornado, which was on the ground for a long time in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, and supposes that instead of one big tornado, it was more likely a series of multiple vortex tornadoes dropped from one big storm system. I would have given the content five stars, but it gets four because the quality of the burn was a little iffy. The DVD played fine on the computer, but had a couple of sticky spots on my portable DVD player. Highly recommended!

Editorial Review:

Their 300 mile-per-hour winds can reduce a building to kindling, and launch cars into the sky like leaves. When and where they will strike remains a mystery, and every year they cause billions of dollars of damage. Venture into the eye of the storm to examine nature's most destructive force. Learn about the twisters that literally scarred America, from the Natchez tornado of 1840 to the Plainfield disaster of 1990. Interviews with survivors, period accounts, and astonishing footage brings the savage brunt of these epic storms to life. Learn the incredible tale of the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, which killed 700 people. And experts reveal the latest advances in Tornado detection, and explain how they may help limit the stunning losses from these meteorological terrors.

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The Wrath Of God - Fire In The Hole: Mining Disasters (History Channel)

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A moving tribute to miners 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and in this moving DVD by the History Channel, the anguish and misery of the hard mining life is poignantly portrayed.

Very Good 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Very well produced History Channel DVD. I ordered this for my husband, who has ties to underground mining. This is WV, after all, with lots of underground mine tragedies. The beginning covers the Monongah WV disaster one hundred years ago--the most devastating in history. I will buy more History Channel DVDs this way.

Editorial Review:

Miners have always had it rough. They work in one of history's most dangerous jobs--confined underground, hundreds may die when a single spark ignites a conflagration from trapped methane gas. We'll examine several major mining disasters from around the world, including tragedies in West Virginia, Illinois, and South Africa.

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The Wrath Of God - Landslides! (History Channel)

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The Wrath Of God - Mount Vesuvius (History Channel)

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Editorial Review:

Rising 4,000 feet above Italy's Campania region, Mount Vesuvius is one of the world's most active volcanoes, unleashing its lethal fire time and again. We examine the 79 A.D. eruption that destroyed the city of Pompeii, sealing the volcano's place in history; a 1631 eruption, at the height of the Black Plague, when the fiery mountain killed around 18,000; and a 1944 eruption that killed 26 as WWII raged across Southern Italy. Is Vesuvius in a resting period or gearing up for another explosion?

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The Wrath Of God - Fire Under The Big Top (History Channel)

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Exceptional fire video 5 out of 5 stars.
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I show this to my students every semester and they have all enjoyed it and came away with the proper perspective of the tragedy. Not a "gore" flick but an accurate accounting of an American tragedy.

Editorial Review:

When Ringling Brothers traveled to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1944, patrons were unaware that the circus tent had been waterproofed with a highly flammable substance. We'll review rare footage that captured the pandemonium that ensued when the tent erupted in flames, killing 168 people, including an unidentified young girl.

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The Wrath Of God - Snowbound: Curse Of The Sierra (History Channel)

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Two Impressive Stories 5 out of 5 stars.
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The first story tells of the "City of San Francisco" train that became stuck in the Donner Pass area of the Sierras due to several avalanches. While the 120+ passengers never were seriously in danger, it was only due to the hard work of others over about three days that they were rescued before their situation became much worse. The second involves avalanches at a ski resort near Lake Tahoe - the employee building was almost demolished and a worker trapped inside. Again, thanks to hard work by rescuers over several days and the talent of a rescue dog that identified the sole survivor's location, the story ends with her rescue. The best part was learning that the dog was so excited at her rescue that she ran over and licked the woman's face (just before she was taken to the hospital), and went home to a steak dinner.

Editorial Review:

The mountains called the Sierra Nevada are among the most picturesque in the U.S.--tourists marvel at the snow-capped peaks while skiing at Lake Tahoe. But the Snowy Mountains have also produced disasters, including the 1846 Donner Party tragedy that led to cannibalism and the 1982 avalanche that buried Anna Conrad alive for five days.

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