Spring Means Tornadoes Are in Bloom
For today’s post, I have several tornadoes caught on camera and the aftermath of one of those tornados. They are all part of a tornado outbreak that happened at the end of April 2024.
Growing up in Northern Ohio, just on the outside edge of “tornado alley”, I was accustomed to tornados interrupting life as a child. Not only did we have monthly tornado drills at school, but I recall several times hunkering down in the hall of the school in the turtle position for what seemed like hours, during real tornados. At home, the sperm donor that was my father had a thorough process of we would get into the family car and outrunning the storm, but in reality, we all hunkered down in the basement and rode the storm out. I remember several times seeing the damage firsthand from these violent storms. I remember seeing the aftermath of an April 1980 tornado that hit east Toledo and Oregon. I remember hearing the stories as well.
I remember hearing about the April 1974 Xenia F5 tornado that destroyed a large part of the City of Xenia.
Remembering the 1974 Xenia tornado that killed 32 and leveled half the city
And the Palm Sunday 1965 tornado that hit Lenawee County in Michigan. It was part of a large 55 tornado outbreak that killed more than 250 and injured 3,000. Lenawee County shares the Michigan/Ohio border with all the communities to the west of Toledo. The outbreak hit six midwestern states, including Ohio where I was raised. 40 people were killed in northern, Ohio.
Weather History: The 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak
Marietta, Oklahoma
The first tornado I want to talk about is the one that hit the Dollar Tree distribution center in Marietta, Oklahoma, when a tornado ripped through a million-square-foot warehouse on April 28th, 2024. The video shows the absolute destruction of parts of the warehouse and the loading dock area where tractor-trailers were tossed around like they were Hot Wheels cars. Thankfully none of the 456 associates at the Dollar Tree distribution center were injured during the storm. The company has agreed to pay all employees for at least the next 30 days, who are out of work as a result of the damage.
The EF4 tornado shut down parts of I-35 for nine hours so damage to the area could be cleaned up. The tornado, also destroyed Homeland Grocery, the only grocery store in town, the Dollar General store, a house, Lake Country Nursing Center, and the Mercy Health Love County Medical Center in Marietta. A driver of a tractor-trailer was killed when his truck was tossed onto its side by the storm. This tornado was just one of a series of tornados generated from this storm system.
Marietta, Oklahoma - Tornado Damage to Dollar Tree Warehouse
Tornado Destroys Dollar Tree Million-Square-Foot Warehouse
Warehouse Automation AI video
Next up is an EF3 Tornado that destroys a warehouse in Lincoln, Nebraska
Tornado in Lincoln Nebraska on 04-26-2024. Dash-cam in parking lot
Video courtesy of Tri Tran – Dashcam video captures a powerful tornado wiping out a building in Nebraska in late April.
The above incredible video is of an EF3 tornado hitting a building owned by Garner Industries in Lincoln, Nebraska. The 115,000-square-foot facility was destroyed in the April 26th, 2024, storm. The Garner facility is where they do plastic injection molding and had 70 workers inside when the tornado hit trapping dozens of employees and injuring three, with no other serious injuries. Garner Industries is near N 98th Street and Cornhusker Highway between Lincoln and Waverly and was hit around 3 p.m. This facility primarily made plastic parts for BinMaster. Sadly Garner laid off 62 employees after the tornado destroyed the facility.
The dashcam video shows how quick and destructive a tornado can be.
My last tornado is again in Lincoln, Nebraska and a tornado hits a train head-on.
Train conductor gets trapped by a terrifying tornado
The last video is shot by a train conductor in Lincoln, Nebraska, as a tornado approaches and then directly hits the train engine. April 26th, 2024, a BNSF train was derailed when it was hit by a tornado, between Waverly and Lincoln, Nebraska. This is the same EF3 tornado that hit Garner Industries minutes prior. The two conductors were in engine #9084 when the tornado hit.
The original video was filmed by Eric Carlisle onboard the BNSF engine #9084, he and the engineer escaped without major injuries.
Trains being hit by tornados isn’t all that uncommon actually, however, it normally isn’t being filmed and shared with the public like this incident was. Here is one that was filmed in 2008, the carnage starts at the 1-minute mark.
Damage to the train engine and the five follow-on engines can be seen in the following video. Engines #5634, #3846, #9024, #9069, and #9053 all received minor damage during the storm. Some 31 rail cars derailed as a result of this tornado hitting the BNSF train, which was stopped for a signal at the time.
Tornado vs. Train Rescue Train at Lincoln (04/27/2024)
That same tornado that hit Garner and the train can be seen from a different angle captured by Dan Robinson.
At 1:10 into the video the debris you see is Garner and then seconds later it hits the train, across the road from Garner. That video was shot from about here (see below)
The Lincoln, Nebraska tornado lasted less than 12 minutes, and was on the ground for 8.6 miles and thankfully did not kill anyone.
50 years later | Remembering the 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak (20min)
Palm Sunday 1965 – The Forgotten Super Outbreak (21 min)
Tornado Aftermath at N 98th Street!
Awesome still photo take by a Nebraska Department of Transportation traffic camera on I-80
VIOLENT tornado just crossed the interstate 80 Lincoln, NE @RadarOmega #newx pic.twitter.com/bQM5UVLyrJ
— Aaron Jayjack (@aaronjayjack) April 26, 2024
