KTKA

Climatology shows that Osage County is rather prone to tornadoes.

Large tornadoes as recent as 2003 have swept across the countryside, but it was a weaker storm that many long-time residents of Osage County will never forget.

Osage County has seen tornadoes come and go at a frequent pace over the last half century. Tornado frequency remains sixty percent above the state average. On May 8th, 2003, a large F-3 tornado touched down 13 miles southwest of Lyndon. The twister was on the ground for 25 miles before finally lifting six miles south of Overbrook.

Osage County has had its fair share of tornadoes, but the deadliest tornado in Osage County history wasn't a monsterous F-4 or F-5. It was a much weaker storm and took the lives of sixteen people right here on Pamona Lake.

It was June 17th, 1978, when the passengers on board the Whippoorwill Showboat headed out for an evening of fun and entertainment. The tornado formed at about 7:00 p.m. and moved east crossing Pamona Lake. The winds from the F-1 tornado capsized the Whippoorwill. Ken Stadel's father was a rescuer on that fateful day. He recalls his dad telling him about hearing victims trapped under the boat.

"After that boat turned over, I believe that some people were gathered from the water, and so on. And I think they heard tapping coming from inside there. My dad was able to go down and get two people out. They were trapped in air pockets underneath the boat," says Stadel.

The former showboat now sits south of the lake. Given a coat of paint and converted to a houseboat, it serves as an erie reminder that even the weakest tornadoes can be deadly.