I had just turned 4 and I was in the backseat of my mom's car. Right after we drove past the fairgrounds, it dropped out of the sky. That is a day I will never forget.
I was four and I remember it like it was yesterday. I used to live on Klondike Lane right across from the elementary school. When I saw it it was ripping through Cherokee Park and the Cherokee Triangle area. It was much bigger than it looks on this video. To this day I've never seen another supercell have that dark green color or move as fast as this one did. The Weather Channel has shown some video of this that I've never seen before.
My mom always talks about this tornado. She says she ran outside with her father (who was the police chief) and they watched it as it made its way across town. After the storm was over she saw a piece of school paper that sliced its way inside a tree.
To the person who said we are too far inland to be affected by hurricanes: Where were you when Ike blew through?? It killed 4 people in the Ville, knocked power out for 60% of the city- that's hundreds of thousands of folks, and many had no power for a week. Schools were shut down for a week. UPS had to cancel a lot of flights. We got a lot more than rain that day.
@speedymar1e all i can say is, screw that week man, that was not fun, and i never thought that i would ever see the ville get hit by a hurricane, but it happend ... crazyness :/
Lived thru it -- almost lost friends to it/them. It was horrible. I watched one tornado fm several miles away as it tore thru the northeast end of town. Even at that distance, it was three to four fingers wide! To this day, I cannot fathom why storm chasers even consider following these evil events.
I had just gotten home from school we lived in eastwood ky and my parent's worked in Louisville My dad was on his way home and saw the sky was green and then black he turned into a race to get home and try to avoid the tornado he did make it home safe but all my parents friends and co workers lost everything they had leveled every house like they were building blocks and all the debrie flying around was horrible .
@judysharp40 I was in MIddletown and know EXACTLY what you mean. It was green, then a terrible black. We went to see abt my g'mother's home a few days afterward. It was in Crescent Hill and undamaged. But there were things jammed into trees that the storm has rammed into them. Mind boggling!
@ElenaGeorge1 I left school (Eastern High), and went to my piano lesson at the Univ of Louisville. As we were leaving we thought we saw a large rain storm off on the horizon, except it wasn't rain. Scary day .
I was12 years old and lived in Rolling Fields when this monster came. I will never forget the destruction it left behind. It just missed our house and flattened many of our neighbors homes. It looked like a nuclear bomb had went off. Still to this day extremely afraid of any type of super-cell type weather outbreaks.
Wow, I'm always amazed by how horrendous these super outbreak storms look. I've seen lots of footage of these, just the most ominous looking storms I've seen! Many years before my time, but that's some scary stuff there. This was the same outbreak that tore up a lot of Brandenburg. My older relatives tell me it was terrifying - I've been through an F4 that was scary enough. Sure hope we don't have anything like this ever again around here!
ok i wasnt born yet but y dont we have hurricanes or torndaos as much as the states close to us all we get is floods and ice storms and liek y not tornados?
I was 14 and was in the back seat of my parents car mom and dad in front seat dad driving,we had the radio on ,we were on 265 going west past the airport and the storm was at its peak the fairgrounds was very close to where we were maybe a mile when on the radio there were reporting the tornado was hitting freedom hall/the fairgrounds funny enough I wasnt as scared as i was fasinated and excited by all the awesome power of the storm it was dark as night .
This is the monster that hit the Fairgrounds, I think. I was but a mere pup then but the old folks still have their recollections of what one of my uncles called 'the day we thought the world was ending'. I'm sure the 4 dislikes cannot be refuted, as they could be first-hand witnesses to this horror. Frightening!
I was a kid living off Hikes Lane (the opposite side of the tornado as seen here) and stood on my front lawn, watching this thing for 10 minutes. It looked just like this. Massive, black, a boiling cauldron of fury. The crazy thing is, it seemed to be moving in slow motion. You could see pieces of debris swirling around now and then. I'll never forget it.
I think old footage is what makes it look more horrifying. I don't know if it would be the same if it were recorded today. Not to say that tornadic supercells are creepy in the first place.
I was taking baton lessons in a school right across the Ohio river when this thing hit. My dad was coming home from work from the Ford Truck plant in Louisville, on the bridge when it hit there. Only by the grace of God did he make it home safely that day. Said it was one of the scariest things in his life... this coming from a man who fought in Europe in WWII... I'd say it must have been awful.
I was taking baton lessons in a school right across the Ohio river when this thing hit. My dad was coming home from work from the Ford Truck plant in Louisville, on the bridge when it hit there. Only by the grace of God did he make it home safely that day. Said it was one of the scariest things in his life... this coming from a man who fought in Europe in WWII... I'd say it must have been awful.
I was in this Myself I lived near Seymour Ind, There it was it just brushed us and went to rockport ind I think that was the name of the town. I saw the tornado come down when i was in school. On the same day we had a mild earthquake too.
We were living on Old Henry Road in Anchorage, Kentucky back then and until the day I die I will never forget the sight of cattle being picked up and flung in the air like confetti on the ranch across the road from us.
@docwebstr I live in Louisville and never knew it hit Anchorage so hard.. Seeing cows like that would be scary! It hit my end of town pretty badly which was Crescent Hill.. I was around 14 and in some friend's basement. Martial law was imposed, so we couldn't leave. My Mom had no idea where I was for a day!
my hometown was destoyed by a twister on 3 april 74 as well. monticello in. it sucks nobody has any pics or footage of the twister that detstroyed are town.
I remember that like it was just yesterday! When I saw this clip, I thought I was back in 1974 all over again at age 5;again back to "the 'Ville" for one more round with a killer tornado outbreak. Why did my mother tell me to stop looking at the funnel? My response was which one?
You were really close up on that thing then, we lived in the Riverport area of the west end, but I schooled in the east end and was on the Watterson when this mess started to break out.
I was in an awful Tornado in West Virginia. That's exactly what I saw. Green, and pink. One of the most beautiful, and most terrifying things I've ever seen. Awesome what nature can do.
I lived in Southern Indiana at the time, and was in school when it hit. It tore the roof from one of our buildings. My mother has a book with a bunch of photographs from that day, also.
Ted Fujita, the great tornado expert here at the University of Chicago, said no one ever saw the Louisville tornado, that we are seeing is the dust and debris cloud the funnel raised. I could never figure out the difference. If the dust and debris are being raised in the funnel then we are seeing the funnel. My brother and his family lived there and said the noise was tremendous.
I agree; it's the funnel. My brother and his family lived at the Baptist Seminary and when they heard the sound of a train by then sister-in-law said, "If your brother were here he'd say it was a tornado." She peeked outside and said, "It is a tornado" and they hid at the bottom of a stairway, the only protection they had, which really was no protection. She told me she could not believe how large the funnel was or the tremendous roar. They said the destruction was absolutely unbelievable.
I was in that Tornado April 3, 1974 in Sayler Park Ohio the tornado picked yp the wter and fish as it crossed the Ohio river, there was a boat harbor just accross the river. The tornado dropped boats in the park at Gracely and Monitor Ave, it sistroyed a subdivsion in sayler park at Homecity Ave and Goodrich lane.
I grew up in Louisville and the tornado missed my house by two blocks. The devastation it left in a suburban city... was surreal. As far as nobody seeing the tornado, I have a book of many shots of it. And that video here is the tornado, so I have no idea what you are saying. If Big Ted would stand there with his whirly counter, he'd clock speeds and force of an F-5 tornado. So how invisible do you think this thing was, leaving up to a 1/4 mile wide swath?
thanks for posting this! i lived in louisville at the time. (i live across the river now). i was a kid, and we got the news at the oxmoor shopping center. we stayed there till things calmed down. what a day!
I had just turned 4 and I was in the backseat of my mom's car. Right after we drove past the fairgrounds, it dropped out of the sky. That is a day I will never forget.
christisunshine 1 month ago
I was four and I remember it like it was yesterday. I used to live on Klondike Lane right across from the elementary school. When I saw it it was ripping through Cherokee Park and the Cherokee Triangle area. It was much bigger than it looks on this video. To this day I've never seen another supercell have that dark green color or move as fast as this one did. The Weather Channel has shown some video of this that I've never seen before.
komradkolonel 4 months ago
beautiful
35ilikepie 4 months ago
My mom always talks about this tornado. She says she ran outside with her father (who was the police chief) and they watched it as it made its way across town. After the storm was over she saw a piece of school paper that sliced its way inside a tree.
Jenckles 8 months ago
To the person who said we are too far inland to be affected by hurricanes: Where were you when Ike blew through?? It killed 4 people in the Ville, knocked power out for 60% of the city- that's hundreds of thousands of folks, and many had no power for a week. Schools were shut down for a week. UPS had to cancel a lot of flights. We got a lot more than rain that day.
speedymar1e 8 months ago
@speedymar1e all i can say is, screw that week man, that was not fun, and i never thought that i would ever see the ville get hit by a hurricane, but it happend ... crazyness :/
4evaFiregod 1 month ago
NewAlbanylsFun I agree it was badass it was so bad its been 20 years sice that and i still se commercials!!
thepathtoepicness 9 months ago
@thepathtoepicness i know for cn2
Mrplaystation1251 8 months ago
i live in louisville and i live 2 miles from the tornato... to bad im 9 and born in 2002 but my dad lived it and told me ALL about it
thepathtoepicness 9 months ago
Lived thru it -- almost lost friends to it/them. It was horrible. I watched one tornado fm several miles away as it tore thru the northeast end of town. Even at that distance, it was three to four fingers wide! To this day, I cannot fathom why storm chasers even consider following these evil events.
ElenaGeorge1 10 months ago
@ElenaGeorge1 They do it to try to save lives. Some of the bravest people I know. <3
P.S. I am glad we rarely get tornadoes in my area =)
andyjalc 9 months ago
That is a scary tornado. The 1970's was very scary when it comes to tornadoes.
NewAlbanyIsFun 10 months ago
I had just gotten home from school we lived in eastwood ky and my parent's worked in Louisville My dad was on his way home and saw the sky was green and then black he turned into a race to get home and try to avoid the tornado he did make it home safe but all my parents friends and co workers lost everything they had leveled every house like they were building blocks and all the debrie flying around was horrible .
judysharp40 10 months ago
@judysharp40 I was in MIddletown and know EXACTLY what you mean. It was green, then a terrible black. We went to see abt my g'mother's home a few days afterward. It was in Crescent Hill and undamaged. But there were things jammed into trees that the storm has rammed into them. Mind boggling!
ElenaGeorge1 10 months ago
@ElenaGeorge1 I left school (Eastern High), and went to my piano lesson at the Univ of Louisville. As we were leaving we thought we saw a large rain storm off on the horizon, except it wasn't rain. Scary day .
TheMerriamLookout 9 months ago
I know I remember this thing I was 8 years old leveled a house in louisville my mom and dads boss
judysharp40 10 months ago
I LIVE THERE!! Though this was way before i was born
carlzson299 10 months ago
I was12 years old and lived in Rolling Fields when this monster came. I will never forget the destruction it left behind. It just missed our house and flattened many of our neighbors homes. It looked like a nuclear bomb had went off. Still to this day extremely afraid of any type of super-cell type weather outbreaks.
omegagavin 10 months ago
@omegagavin we might all know each other we seem like we were all young at that time
judysharp40 10 months ago
Wow, I'm always amazed by how horrendous these super outbreak storms look. I've seen lots of footage of these, just the most ominous looking storms I've seen! Many years before my time, but that's some scary stuff there. This was the same outbreak that tore up a lot of Brandenburg. My older relatives tell me it was terrifying - I've been through an F4 that was scary enough. Sure hope we don't have anything like this ever again around here!
Shintsu2 10 months ago
ok i wasnt born yet but y dont we have hurricanes or torndaos as much as the states close to us all we get is floods and ice storms and liek y not tornados?
ILUVVYUHDEVON 10 months ago
@ILUVVYUHDEVON
Kentucky's too far inland to be affected by hurricanes. We mainly just get some of the heavy rain from it.
UofLCardFan08 10 months ago
I was almost 6. House was hit while i was in the basement hiding with family Still have occasional nightmares of that.....
plourde 11 months ago
2 days before my 8th birthday! I lived in the highlands- remember it like it was yesterday
crazysniper433 11 months ago
I live here:D
iRinSekine 1 year ago
I was 14 and was in the back seat of my parents car mom and dad in front seat dad driving,we had the radio on ,we were on 265 going west past the airport and the storm was at its peak the fairgrounds was very close to where we were maybe a mile when on the radio there were reporting the tornado was hitting freedom hall/the fairgrounds funny enough I wasnt as scared as i was fasinated and excited by all the awesome power of the storm it was dark as night .
kypoppa 1 year ago
AUNTIE EM! AUNTIE EM!
Charizard321 1 year ago
This is the monster that hit the Fairgrounds, I think. I was but a mere pup then but the old folks still have their recollections of what one of my uncles called 'the day we thought the world was ending'. I'm sure the 4 dislikes cannot be refuted, as they could be first-hand witnesses to this horror. Frightening!
watda74 1 year ago
I was a kid living off Hikes Lane (the opposite side of the tornado as seen here) and stood on my front lawn, watching this thing for 10 minutes. It looked just like this. Massive, black, a boiling cauldron of fury. The crazy thing is, it seemed to be moving in slow motion. You could see pieces of debris swirling around now and then. I'll never forget it.
cbob7 1 year ago
I was born on April 5th, 1974 in louisville. Cant believe what happened right before my birth...wow!!!!
kentuckygirl4574 1 year ago 3
I think old footage is what makes it look more horrifying. I don't know if it would be the same if it were recorded today. Not to say that tornadic supercells are creepy in the first place.
tudssquadbuisness 1 year ago
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I was taking baton lessons in a school right across the Ohio river when this thing hit. My dad was coming home from work from the Ford Truck plant in Louisville, on the bridge when it hit there. Only by the grace of God did he make it home safely that day. Said it was one of the scariest things in his life... this coming from a man who fought in Europe in WWII... I'd say it must have been awful.
BethersJR 1 year ago
I was taking baton lessons in a school right across the Ohio river when this thing hit. My dad was coming home from work from the Ford Truck plant in Louisville, on the bridge when it hit there. Only by the grace of God did he make it home safely that day. Said it was one of the scariest things in his life... this coming from a man who fought in Europe in WWII... I'd say it must have been awful.
BethersJR 1 year ago
I was in this Myself I lived near Seymour Ind, There it was it just brushed us and went to rockport ind I think that was the name of the town. I saw the tornado come down when i was in school. On the same day we had a mild earthquake too.
eville62 1 year ago
Gosh that looks scaryD':
ghostgunner2222 2 years ago
gosh i kinda wish i was there to see it happen... even though tornadoes are my biggest fear in the world
loryr405 2 years ago
We were living on Old Henry Road in Anchorage, Kentucky back then and until the day I die I will never forget the sight of cattle being picked up and flung in the air like confetti on the ranch across the road from us.
docwebstr 2 years ago
@docwebstr I live in Louisville and never knew it hit Anchorage so hard.. Seeing cows like that would be scary! It hit my end of town pretty badly which was Crescent Hill.. I was around 14 and in some friend's basement. Martial law was imposed, so we couldn't leave. My Mom had no idea where I was for a day!
Shimmeringsmiley 1 year ago
I saw it come over Cherokee Park that afternoon. It went over my house on Saunders Ln and then tore up the Crescent Hill area. It was very scary.
OLDKENTUCKYBOY1947 2 years ago
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I was there and I ended up in kansas on a yellow brick road with a midgit girl blowing me
180204 2 years ago
my birthday is on april 3rd
darktigerblader54321 2 years ago
my hometown was destoyed by a twister on 3 april 74 as well. monticello in. it sucks nobody has any pics or footage of the twister that detstroyed are town.
davidallenroth 2 years ago
I remember that like it was just yesterday! When I saw this clip, I thought I was back in 1974 all over again at age 5;again back to "the 'Ville" for one more round with a killer tornado outbreak. Why did my mother tell me to stop looking at the funnel? My response was which one?
DurtyDee39 3 years ago
OH MY GOD THAT THINGS HORRIFYING
watuit 3 years ago 8
I saw it, I was driving north on Bardstown Road at Hikes Lane. The sky was green and pink.
starlaner 4 years ago
You were really close up on that thing then, we lived in the Riverport area of the west end, but I schooled in the east end and was on the Watterson when this mess started to break out.
DurtyDee39 3 years ago
I was in an awful Tornado in West Virginia. That's exactly what I saw. Green, and pink. One of the most beautiful, and most terrifying things I've ever seen. Awesome what nature can do.
ricowv 3 years ago
I lived in Southern Indiana at the time, and was in school when it hit. It tore the roof from one of our buildings. My mother has a book with a bunch of photographs from that day, also.
angiesimon 4 years ago
wow thats neat...i live in louisville now, but i am wayyyy to young and wasnt even around when this happened
flipflops610 4 years ago
wow, i could not imagine that i have never seen a tornado and i never want 2!
lotsapetsgurl 4 years ago
Ted Fujita, the great tornado expert here at the University of Chicago, said no one ever saw the Louisville tornado, that we are seeing is the dust and debris cloud the funnel raised. I could never figure out the difference. If the dust and debris are being raised in the funnel then we are seeing the funnel. My brother and his family lived there and said the noise was tremendous.
waynebrasler 4 years ago
Bull! That is the funnel at the end. It is very large!
QuadTornado 4 years ago
I agree; it's the funnel. My brother and his family lived at the Baptist Seminary and when they heard the sound of a train by then sister-in-law said, "If your brother were here he'd say it was a tornado." She peeked outside and said, "It is a tornado" and they hid at the bottom of a stairway, the only protection they had, which really was no protection. She told me she could not believe how large the funnel was or the tremendous roar. They said the destruction was absolutely unbelievable.
waynebrasler 4 years ago
I was in that Tornado April 3, 1974 in Sayler Park Ohio the tornado picked yp the wter and fish as it crossed the Ohio river, there was a boat harbor just accross the river. The tornado dropped boats in the park at Gracely and Monitor Ave, it sistroyed a subdivsion in sayler park at Homecity Ave and Goodrich lane.
jrkelley212 4 years ago
I grew up in Louisville and the tornado missed my house by two blocks. The devastation it left in a suburban city... was surreal. As far as nobody seeing the tornado, I have a book of many shots of it. And that video here is the tornado, so I have no idea what you are saying. If Big Ted would stand there with his whirly counter, he'd clock speeds and force of an F-5 tornado. So how invisible do you think this thing was, leaving up to a 1/4 mile wide swath?
chelobes 4 years ago
thanks for posting this! i lived in louisville at the time. (i live across the river now). i was a kid, and we got the news at the oxmoor shopping center. we stayed there till things calmed down. what a day!
WhiteHorseInn 4 years ago
WOW... you were right by it then. It came within about two-three miles of Oxmoor / St. Matthews mall. Wow!
iMovieFreak3891 4 years ago