We were watching Johnny Quest (I was 8) and heard the warnings so we went to the basement. We lived on Lake Minnetonka....our house was demolished, the basement moved, flooded.....it was terrifying and devastating.
NOAA Weather Radio *did* exist in 1965 (barely, it was started in 1964 and only had one frequency: 162.550 Mhz). In 1964 Radio Shack started selling the first radio with Weather Band capability (they *invented* the Weather Radio).
YES!!!! I have been searching for this WCCO audio where they play that alert sound that sounds like a swan getting choked 😂 When I was a kid in the late 70’s/80’s, WCCO seemed to only play this when a tornado was within the metro area. Whenever I heard that sound I knew S&&t was about to happen close by! Thanks for posting this.
@@paulsonj72 Yes and that is why it was used. Nowadays may radio stations do not even use the EAS except to test it. It does not sound like a choking swan to me but like a loud beep or a loud Horn.
I remember WHFB out of Benton Harbor, MI just broke in during our lunch at the farm about 1974. No drama, just go to your shelter NOW, a report of a tornado locally. It was summer. And a lot of kids at home alone. Just go to the basement or tornado shelter. It was sunny when we looked out the windows. We all grabbed our plates and went to the cellar. We noticed the darkness outside coming in. Then the wind hit. The radio kept blasting warning and the emergency warning We got out ok with just limbs in the yard. Some crops damage. No power, but the radio still going on battery power. AM live reporting and auto alerts save lives.
I have listened to all 3 broadcasts at least 10x to be able to hear the outcome of some of the incidents was fascinating. RIP Pastor Robert Clark who called in to say that the children were okay. I can probably say it's safe to assume he died a hero.
If you listen carefully, the announcer calls the caller "Mr. Clark." However, HE identifies himself as "Mr. PARK" (not Clark). Mr. Park is an instructor at the school, not a pastor. I haven't listened to the full broadcast for a couple of years, but the principal of the Fridley High School calls in and refers to how "Mr. Park" and other teachers tried to get a group of schoolchildren home, but were unsuccessful. The principal's call took place after the last tornado was over; Mr. Park was still alive at that point if he was driving schoolchildren around! I went to the MN Historical Society and read all the newspaper accounts of the event the following day. Yes, a Mr. Robert CLARK was killed. NOT a Mr. PARK. This is a myth that's been repeated frequently, but isn't true.
Radio was amazing then. They broke programing and covered it. AM saved our family more than once with live reporting. Thank you all you guys for reporting and saving lives.
This is eerily similar to the Oak Lawn, IL tornado of 1967 which was another major F4 tornado that hit a border suburb of a major city (Chicago) and also affected the City itself.
The man who reported the tornado at the Fridley High School was not killed in the storms later that evening. The callers last name was Park and the gentleman’s last name that died was Clarke.
Thank you for this information I have often wondered about that for men all these years I first heard this like over 10 years ago. The audio that I heard it was kind of hard to hear what the guys actual last name was the beginning sounds way too close in indistinguishable Park Clark. I listen to another recording of it recently and either somebody must’ve cleaned it up or something because the name distinction is much easier to hear
Part of the reason for the confusion is that the announcer introduces him as "Mr. Clark," not Mr. Park. But if you listen carefully, he definitely identifies himself as Park. I did some research at the MN Historical Society years ago (newspaper accounts), and "Robert Clark" was the fatality. Sadly, I also discovered that Gregory Magsan (sp?), the four-year-old boy they were searching for that night (mentioned in a later recording) was found dead the next day.
This sounds like tornado coverage when I was a child in Milwaukee, only the sound effect to get our attention was a discordant chord that buzzed for 10-20 seconds.
I live in Michigan. When there's a tornado you always make sure you have a radio with batteries in it. Because power can be out for days even 2 weeks. I was in F-3 in Michigan 10-24-2001
I've invested in a hand-cranked radio with AM/FM and NOAA frequencies. A couple minutes of cranking gives me at least 45 minutes of radio (depending on how high I turn up the volume). It also has a built-in flashlight and a small solar panel. No more worries about dead batteries!
@@Gail1Marie I have a few of those kind of weather radios too AM FM NOAA along with a light and either battery operated or hand cranked. Everybody needs at least a radio a shower radio made me aware of the loss of power from hurricane Ike in 2008 and our power was out for a week. Luckily it was September and not to hot or cold.
This may be the first or one of the earliest inceptions of Severe Weather coverage compared to what you see on TV or hear on the Radio today... As well as the use of the Alarm that has evolved from CONELRAD to EBS to EAS.
Can anyone explain why someone gave this a "thumbs down"? This is great. I love listening to old audio like this! Dick Chapman was amazing. I was able to chat with him for a few minutes in 1982 during the fishing opener on Lake Vermillion.
I have done it once before by accident. I immediately hit the up button. I have friends in Mound Mn. Have been there as well. So this is a riveting account. I agree with you.
Today when watches are issues they put in the expected maximum hail size as well as the maximum expected Thunderstorm Wind Gusts. Not sure when that was added to the watch message. In addition if it is expected to be a bad outbreak they can issue a PDS(Particularly Dangerous Situation) watch. Those started in 1982. Also this was the 1st time civil defense sirens were used for severe weather in the Twin Cities. Those are a relic of the Cold War.
I must say I remember the civil defense sirens were sounded 5/6/65 about 630 p.m. as l remember it. They made for an eerie, harmonic chorus, and the tornado coverage took over WCCO radio for the rest of the evening.
@@thomasblanchard6778 We lived about a mile from Hale Elementary School, which had an old Thunderbolt on it if I recall correctly. We had no problem hearing it.
They are still there in case of a nuclear war or nuclear attacks when the siren is wavering like a police car it should always be a steady tone on the sirens.
@@janetoconnor3636 Back in the day, we were told that a steady tone was a weather warning, and that a wavering tone was a warning of nuclear attack. Frankly, if it's a nuclear attack, don't wake me up because there's nothing I could do to save myself in the 20 minutes it would take for a missile to reach me.
Growing up in the Midwest, I well remember the local radio station reading that ominous line, "The tornado watch area is along and xx miles either side of a line from..." In 1965, you'd have several counties on alert, sometimes for over an hour, when an actual tornado was sighted! Thanks for posting this.
In 1967 on Black Sunday when the Albert Lea, Owatonna and Waseca areas were hit there was a Severe Thunderstorm Watch earlier in the day that was issued shortly after Noon to take effect at 2 PM. The area was upgraded to a Tornado Watch at about 4:30 PM.
@34.00 the last caller was cut off, however, on the original broadcast you can hear the entire call and it is a crank call.. You can hear him laugh when the broadcasters say " Must be the same funnel as the previous caller" Here is the original call ruclips.net/video/WUW3r5BlVrU/видео.html
Funny how they take about two minutes to actually get to the pertinent information, by that time the tornado has come and gone already! "...this just in..................................................................................................................................................world ends at 9!...full details at 10!..."
We were watching Johnny Quest (I was 8) and heard the warnings so we went to the basement. We lived on Lake Minnetonka....our house was demolished, the basement moved, flooded.....it was terrifying and devastating.
NOAA Weather Radio *did* exist in 1965 (barely, it was started in 1964 and only had one frequency: 162.550 Mhz). In 1964 Radio Shack started selling the first radio with Weather Band capability (they *invented* the Weather Radio).
That must be why KID77 in Kansas City, MO is on that frequency, they came on the air in 1965!
2:49 I want that Klaxon sound as a ringtone
YES!!!! I have been searching for this WCCO audio where they play that alert sound that sounds like a swan getting choked 😂
When I was a kid in the late 70’s/80’s, WCCO seemed to only play this when a tornado was within the metro area. Whenever I heard that sound I knew S&&t was about to happen close by! Thanks for posting this.
The Klaxon was designed to be annoying and grating so it would catch your attention.
@@paulsonj72 Yes and that is why it was used. Nowadays may radio stations do not even use the EAS except to test it. It does not sound like a choking swan to me but like a loud beep or a loud Horn.
Thanks for posting this. Interesting to hear how radio stations got severe storm/tornado warnings out pre-EBS.
I think the EBS started in 1963 after the ending of canelrad At least they did not go to commercial breaks back than.
Notice the lack of drama in the voices of men back then. Acting accordingly.
Check out on RUclips, the WHAS-AM (Louisville, KY) the 8+ hours of broadcast of the 1974 Super Outbreak
I remember WHFB out of Benton Harbor, MI just broke in during our lunch at the farm about 1974. No drama, just go to your shelter NOW, a report of a tornado locally. It was summer. And a lot of kids at home alone. Just go to the basement or tornado shelter. It was sunny when we looked out the windows. We all grabbed our plates and went to the cellar. We noticed the darkness outside coming in. Then the wind hit. The radio kept blasting warning and the emergency warning
We got out ok with just limbs in the yard. Some crops damage. No power, but the radio still going on battery power. AM live reporting and auto alerts save lives.
It’s amazing someone had the presence of mind to record this for prosperity.
I have listened to all 3 broadcasts at least 10x to be able to hear the outcome of some of the incidents was fascinating. RIP Pastor Robert Clark who called in to say that the children were okay. I can probably say it's safe to assume he died a hero.
If you listen carefully, the announcer calls the caller "Mr. Clark." However, HE identifies himself as "Mr. PARK" (not Clark). Mr. Park is an instructor at the school, not a pastor. I haven't listened to the full broadcast for a couple of years, but the principal of the Fridley High School calls in and refers to how "Mr. Park" and other teachers tried to get a group of schoolchildren home, but were unsuccessful. The principal's call took place after the last tornado was over; Mr. Park was still alive at that point if he was driving schoolchildren around!
I went to the MN Historical Society and read all the newspaper accounts of the event the following day. Yes, a Mr. Robert CLARK was killed. NOT a Mr. PARK. This is a myth that's been repeated frequently, but isn't true.
Radio was amazing then. They broke programing and covered it. AM saved our family more than once with live reporting. Thank you all you guys for reporting and saving lives.
This is eerily similar to the Oak Lawn, IL tornado of 1967 which was another major F4 tornado that hit a border suburb of a major city (Chicago) and also affected the City itself.
I have friends that remembered that.
I always love listening to these. My great Aunt and other family members were all huddled in the basement in Fridley. Their house got hit twice.
3:00 Was this an experimental Emergency Broadcast System activation for a tornado warning?
Yes, the EBS didn't fold in weather warnings until about 1980. Also the legendary dual-tone attention signal didn't come about until the mid 70s.
Tornado Forecast in 1965=Tornado Watch today. A Tornado Alert in 1965=Tornado Warning Today
The man who reported the tornado at the Fridley High School was not killed in the storms later that evening. The callers last name was Park and the gentleman’s last name that died was Clarke.
Thank you for this information I have often wondered about that for men all these years I first heard this like over 10 years ago. The audio that I heard it was kind of hard to hear what the guys actual last name was the beginning sounds way too close in indistinguishable Park Clark. I listen to another recording of it recently and either somebody must’ve cleaned it up or something because the name distinction is much easier to hear
Part of the reason for the confusion is that the announcer introduces him as "Mr. Clark," not Mr. Park. But if you listen carefully, he definitely identifies himself as Park. I did some research at the MN Historical Society years ago (newspaper accounts), and "Robert Clark" was the fatality. Sadly, I also discovered that Gregory Magsan (sp?), the four-year-old boy they were searching for that night (mentioned in a later recording) was found dead the next day.
That buzzer scared me when Wcco announced a tornado warning. I got scared. And pooped in my pants that buzzer scared me 🚨🚨
It did not scare me but I was amused by it I do not think it is that scary or scary at all just loud.
This sounds like tornado coverage when I was a child in Milwaukee, only the sound effect to get our attention was a discordant chord that buzzed for 10-20 seconds.
Thank you for posting this. I was 5 and this was my first storm outbreak and we listened to CCO. It was our station.
2:51 The Tornado Button.... Scared the sh** out of me when I was a kid in Mpls
It was designed to be annoying so it would catch your attention.
They used a Metal Tape Reel on a Bulk Eraser (for erasing whole tapes) to make that loud klaxon like noise, right?
@@jeremycardew1750 I believe so. Very annoying and grating sound but it caught your attention.
@@paulsonj72 BTW, does WCCO ever conduct tests of the klaxon, similar to the EBS/EAS tests heard today?
@@MikeTeaveeJr To be honest I am not sure
I live in Michigan.
When there's a tornado you always make sure you have a radio with batteries in it. Because power can be out for days even 2 weeks.
I was in F-3 in Michigan 10-24-2001
I've invested in a hand-cranked radio with AM/FM and NOAA frequencies. A couple minutes of cranking gives me at least 45 minutes of radio (depending on how high I turn up the volume). It also has a built-in flashlight and a small solar panel. No more worries about dead batteries!
@@Gail1Marie I have a few of those kind of weather radios too AM FM NOAA along with a light and either battery operated or hand cranked. Everybody needs at least a radio a shower radio made me aware of the loss of power from hurricane Ike in 2008 and our power was out for a week. Luckily it was September and not to hot or cold.
E1 - Reminisce Hurts So Much
This may be the first or one of the earliest inceptions of Severe Weather coverage compared to what you see on TV or hear on the Radio today... As well as the use of the Alarm that has evolved from CONELRAD to EBS to EAS.
I heard that Conelrad was used until 1963 and than it was the EBS from 1963 to 1996 when they used the EAS that we have today.
Had completely forgotten this storm. Lots of excitement that night.
Woah dude, it has the original tones and everything.
Can anyone explain why someone gave this a "thumbs down"? This is great. I love listening to old audio like this! Dick Chapman was amazing. I was able to chat with him for a few minutes in 1982 during the fishing opener on Lake Vermillion.
It's a Republican reflex!
Leave political views out. Nobody cares about your ignorant democratic opinions.
I have done it once before by accident. I immediately hit the up button. I have friends in Mound Mn. Have been there as well. So this is a riveting account. I agree with you.
Today when watches are issues they put in the expected maximum hail size as well as the maximum expected Thunderstorm Wind Gusts. Not sure when that was added to the watch message. In addition if it is expected to be a bad outbreak they can issue a PDS(Particularly Dangerous Situation) watch. Those started in 1982. Also this was the 1st time civil defense sirens were used for severe weather in the Twin Cities. Those are a relic of the Cold War.
I must say I remember the civil defense sirens were sounded 5/6/65 about 630 p.m. as l remember it. They made for an eerie, harmonic chorus, and the tornado coverage took over WCCO radio for the rest of the evening.
@@thomasblanchard6778 We lived about a mile from Hale Elementary School, which had an old Thunderbolt on it if I recall correctly. We had no problem hearing it.
They are still there in case of a nuclear war or nuclear attacks when the siren is wavering like a police car it should always be a steady tone on the sirens.
@@janetoconnor3636 Back in the day, we were told that a steady tone was a weather warning, and that a wavering tone was a warning of nuclear attack. Frankly, if it's a nuclear attack, don't wake me up because there's nothing I could do to save myself in the 20 minutes it would take for a missile to reach me.
Growing up in the Midwest, I well remember the local radio station reading that ominous line, "The tornado watch area is along and xx miles either side of a line from..." In 1965, you'd have several counties on alert, sometimes for over an hour, when an actual tornado was sighted! Thanks for posting this.
In 1967 on Black Sunday when the Albert Lea, Owatonna and Waseca areas were hit there was a Severe Thunderstorm Watch earlier in the day that was issued shortly after Noon to take effect at 2 PM. The area was upgraded to a Tornado Watch at about 4:30 PM.
And I thought the tornado warning nowadays sound scary and ominous, lol.
@34.00 the last caller was cut off, however, on the original broadcast you can hear the entire call and it is a crank call.. You can hear him laugh when the broadcasters say " Must be the same funnel as the previous caller" Here is the original call ruclips.net/video/WUW3r5BlVrU/видео.html
Sounds to me like someone shrieking, not laughing.
The woman 29:16 sounds like Rocky from Rocky and Bullwinkle
“Now here's something we hope you really like!”
I was 6 years old.. My Dad bought a old farmhouse near Dayton Minn
Funny how they take about two minutes to actually get to the pertinent information, by that time the tornado has come and gone already!
"...this just in..................................................................................................................................................world ends at 9!...full details at 10!..."
love the beep beeps beeps delicious
Very Good