By John Kiesewetter
The Cincinnati Enquirer

IT'S A TWISTER

• Natural disasters overcome • Xenia educator remembers '74 tornado • How tornadoes work(PDF file, 390k) • Sign up for severe weather alerts • Relive the 1999 tornado

XENIA - Thirty years ago today, one of the deadliest tornadoes in Ohio history ripped through this Greene County town southeast of Dayton, killing 33 and injuring 1,150 others.

It was the most violent tornado day in U.S. history, with 148 tornadoes ravaging 2,500 miles over 13 states, including Sayler Park. The twisters killed 330 and injured 5,484 in l6 hours.

Xenia's F5 tornado (peak winds of 261 to 318 mph) destroyed 1,200 homes, 10 churches, three elementary schools, the high school and junior high.

The city has been hit twice since - in 1989 and 2000.

"We spent a lot of time on drills. Tornado safety is paramount," says Reggie Baxter, Xenia High School dean of boys, who witnessed the 1974 tornado.

Baxter, then 14, was at track practice at Cox Field when the twisters approached. The team took shelter in a locker room.

"We could see the tornado coming our way, with what looked like birds flying around it. When it got closer, we realized it was rooftops, and trees, and sheds," Baxter said.

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E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com