Omaha World-Herald staff writer Jordan Pascale and I were charged with creating an online companion to the Omaha World-Herald's 40th anniversary coverage of the 1975 tornado that flattened parts of Nebraska's largest city.. In an era before cell phone cameras, documentation of the twister was difficult to come by. Using Google Earth, we followed the tornado's path while 911 audio painted the picture of terrified Omahans describing the destruction firsthand. Historic photos, many corresponding with the audio, are interspersed through the narrative. My overall goal: make the tornado that tore through the heart of Omaha in 1975 real for those of us -- such as Jordan and me -- who weren't alive that fateful and historic year.
—Chris Machian