Tracking a beast – the May 6, 1975, Omaha tornado, a packed feature anniversary story

The F4/EF4 that struck Omaha May 6, 1975, caused the equivalent of $1.1 billion in damage, which, 40 years later still ranks as one of the costliest in U.S. history. This photo was taken near 70th and Leavenworth Streets. THE WORLD-HERALD

http://dataomaha.com/bigstory/weather/tracking-a-beast

As a powerful tornado made its way through the Omaha area, the gutsy tornado tracking of Police Officer David Campbell, among others, helped keep the death toll to three.

By Nancy Gaarder / World-Herald staff writer

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Police Officer David Campbell had one thing on his mind the afternoon of May 6, 1975, as he joined the chase for the tornado approaching Omaha: Find it, follow it and radio his updates to 911 so that other police and firefighters wouldn’t rush into harm’s way.

What the 23-year-old Campbell didn’t realize was that the chase would lure him into the center of one of the costliest and most damaging tornadoes in U.S. history.

Nor could he know — in an era when weather radar was primitive and communications limited — how crucial his dispatches would become to Omahans’ safety. Some 30,000 people were estimated to have been in the path of the monster.

Luck, circumstance and the determination of numerous people like Campbell were why Omaha survived with only three dead and 157 seeking help at hospitals.


Although 30,000 people were in the tornado's path, only three died. Above, the Lindsay family tearfully unites; Tom Lindsay embraces his 17-year-old son, Tom, while wife Delores and daughter, Roseann, 13, look on. Scroll through dozens of photos of the tornado and its aftermath. http://www.omaha.com/tornado-of/collection_38c93e5e-e789-11e4-b590-3342317d657e.html

FULL story at link.

Also read: 'Out of tragedy there was a rebirth': http://dataomaha.com/bigstory/weather/1975-tornado-out-of-tragedy-there-was-a-rebirth