Xenia Ohio Tornado Hook Echo

[Blb9556]

I always have a tingy feeling every time im near xenia

[SteveWard3928]

Gil Whitney was the best weather man ever around in Dayton. He was so accurate. Today's "weather" man on 7, 2, 22 or 45 cant predict the next 12 hours, let alone 5 days in advance.

[ppoobah]

SPOOKY WITH THE SILENCE! THANKS FOR PUTTING THAT UP! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTRUGUED BY THIS! :)

[skateboy159]

looks like a sea horse lol

[parkman35]

We had one of those radars in Marseilles Illinois...

[tritonrocks]

Gil Whitney did a great documentary on this some years back. He was one of the first to use hook echos to identify a tornado and his quick thinking to go on the air with it probably save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. I know the Xenia area well and whenever I drive through there and look at the path the tornado took through the city from its west side towards downtown Xenia. I'm still amazed to this day - you can still see remnants of the path it took.

[Legend813a]

@tritonrocks upload the path

[IwOuLdLiE]

Hello, I am participating in a contest called National History Day, ad my topic is Doppler Weather Radar, i was wondering if i had your permission to use this Xenia Ohio Tornado Hook Echo for my board? It would be VERY helpful if so, but i need your permission. Thank you.

[Legend813a]

@IwOuLdLiE go for it

[IwOuLdLiE]

@Legend813a THANK YOU!!!!!

[zeke0101]

I would say this is a X-band radar (3 cm wavelength) given its limited range, sweep time, and attenuation (or shadows) appearing in the video.

As for tornado placement, it is generally found at the end of the hook, resulting in a knob-like appearance. This is classic, historic clip -- Thanks for posting it.

[calimar28]

Am I right in saying that the "hole" in the middle of the hook, is the tornado?

[bruce64h]

this is a keeper.

[longlakeshore]

This is the hook echo broadcast by weatherman Gil Whitney of WHIO-TV channel 7 (CBS) in Dayton, Ohio as the tornado approached Xenia from the Bellbrook area at 435pm EDT 4/3/74. It gave many in Xenia a few minutes advance warning, saving countless lives. This old radar shows rain as it wraps around the vortex. The tornado itself is at the tip of the hook. I watched it pass by from beneath the left side of the hook, which was pouring rain and hail. The lines are 5 miles apart.

[longlakeshore]

BTW, this is the old WSR-57 (weather surveillance radar) which was developed after WWII from a military radar. Kudos to Gil: he made history by paying close attention on a bad weather day, then getting on air and saving hundreds if not thousands of lives on 3April74.  No one in Dayton or Wilmington was paying attention to all the fancy new doppler radars in 2000 when Xenia was hit without warning by an EF3. Luckily it was a much smaller tornado.

[hookecho80]

Actually that would be WHIO's own radar. The closest WSR-57 was at the Greater Cincinnati Airport, which also began showing a hook around 4:30 PM. The Cincinnati radar has five hook echoes on it from various storms at 4:51 PM that afternoon!

[longlakeshore]

According to WHIO, they were using WSR-57 in 1974.

[hookecho80]

Where did you read/see that?

Radars used by TV stations in those days were usually used for something else when they were manufactured (like aircraft detection). They were then modified for weather detection and sold to TV stations and the like. All the WSR-57s at that time resided at NWS or military installations, so they couldn't of had one at the TV station. The WSR-57 usually made a 360 degree sweep every 20 seconds...the antenna in the video is spinning much faster.

[longlakeshore]

I did a google search of wsr and found a page listing who had it when, and whio-tv was on the list. If I have time this week I'll try to find it again and send you the info.