April 2004 Utica tornado outbreak
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Memorial crosses, Utica | |
Date of tornado outbreak: | April 20, 2004 |
Duration1: | Approximately 4 hours |
Maximum rated tornado2: | F3 tornado |
Tornadoes caused: | 30 |
Damages: | |
Fatalities: | 9 |
Areas affected: | Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, Eastern Iowa |
1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
The April 2004 Utica tornado outbreak was a tornado outbreak affecting parts of the Upper Midwest on April 20, 2004. Thirty tornadoes formed in eastern Iowa, extending into northern and central Illinois and Indiana, but a tornado that touched down in Utica was the only one to incur fatalities.
Utica was hit by a tornado rated F3 on the Fujita scale, causing the deaths of 9 people. This tornado touched down around La Salle, Illinois (in LaSalle County) around 6:09 p.m. (Central Daylight Time), and approached Utica 1 minute later. Sirens all around town signaled people to take cover. The tornado left shortly thereafter. A long-track wedge tornado immediately preceded the Utica tornado.
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[edit] Damage and Casualties
[edit] Utica tornado
The tornado destroyed over half of downtown Utica and over 100 homes. Eight people died instantly of accidental causes and six others were injured and trapped when the floor of a 100-year-old tavern, called Milestone, collapsed into the basement, where they had taken shelter. The collapse took place when a vehicle crashed into the tavern's main floor. Later the Village Clerk lost her unborn son. His death was listed as maternal stress due to the tornado and the work load afterward. He was added as the ninth victim.
[edit] Aftermath
The Utica tornado challenged previous perceptions about tornadoes in both the formative and mature stages. Among them were the following:
Tornadoes do not form in valleys. Because of the course of the Illinois River, the town of Utica is situated about 50 feet (15 meters) below the mean elevation of surrounding terrain. In a story written by the Chicago Tribune, residents related that they did not believe that a tornado would enter the Illinois River Valley. Indeed, the tornado had damaged Granville, a town 10 miles (5 km) to the west-southwest. It then crossed into the Illinois River Valley from the south, damaged Utica, and dissipated while exiting the valley to the north.
Atmospheric conditions required to form tornadoes on a small scale. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma had only issued a forecast for general thunderstorms at the time of the tornado, with a See Text message for isolated severe weather. Neither large-scale models nor local soundings by the Chicago office could predict the ultimately small-scale event that caused 6 supercellular storms to spawn 14 tornadoes.
Tornado safety. Tornado warnings were issued 15 minutes in advance, after the tornado had passed Granville. All of the town's residents had made it to storm shelters by the time the tornado hit; however, no one could predict that the Milestone would collapse due to the force of the tornado. Thus, despite the long lead time residents had in advance of the tornado, casualties due to the tornado were very high.
As of April 2005, the village of North Utica is still working towards recovery. It has hired planning and engineering consultants (TENG Engineering) to help strategize its recovery and rebuilding. The Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association held a Pro Bono Charrette to aid in this process on September 25, 2004.
Apart from plans to redevelop its destroyed downtown, the village is also planning a memorial for the victims of the tornado at the site of the tragedy.
On April 5, 2005, Chicago Tribune reporter Julia Keller won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The series, published December 5 through December 7 of 2004, was entitled Wicked Wind and detailed how the tornado affected some of the residents of Utica. In addition, The Weather Channel premiered an episode of the program Storm Stories in 2004 about the Utica Tornado Outbreak.
[edit] Tornado table
Source: [1]
Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
29 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
List of confirmed tornadoes - April 20, 2004 | ||||||
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Illinois | ||||||
F0 | SE of Altona | Knox | 2216 | unknown | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
F1 | S of Camp Grove | Stark County | 2213 | 1.8 miles | Damaged barn and uprooted a tree. | |
F3 | Granville, North Utica | Putnam, LaSalle | 2273 | 15.8 miles | 9 Fatalities: 8 people died when a tavern collapsed in North Utica, Illinois. One person died from injuries later. | |
F2 | N of North Utica | LaSalle | 2316 | 9 miles | Damage to some structures and trees. | |
F1 | W of Wedron | LaSalle | 2355 | unknown | Produced F0 damage. | |
F0 | S of Sheridan | LaSalle | 2383 | 2 miles | Unknown Damage. | |
F0 | SW of Minooka | Grundy County | 0016 | unknown | Damaged an Industrial Complex SW of Minooka. | |
F1 | Joliet | Will County | 0075 | 1.6 miles | Caused 5,000,000 USD in damage. | |
F1 | NW of Chebanse | Kankakee | 0056 | unknown | Damaged Barn and Trees. | |
F0 | N of Piper City | Ford | 2386 | unknown | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
F0 | W of Ashkum | Iroquois | 2398 | 5 miles | No major damage. | |
F2 | NW of Hopkins Park | Kankakee | 0030 | 3 miles | F2 damage. | |
F0 | SW of Grant Park | Kankakee | 0105 | 3 miles | Minor damages to structures in Grant Park. | |
F0 | SE of Beecher | Will County | 0130 | 1.5 miles | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
F1 | NW of Tuscola | Douglas County | 1900 | unknown | Caused 70,000 USD worth of damage. | |
F0 | NW of Sidney | Champaign | 1953 | unknown | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
Iowa | ||||||
F1 | NW of Welton | Clinton County | 0013 | 1.3 miles | Caused 30,000 USD in damage. | |
Indiana | ||||||
F1 | Jamestown | Hendricks County | 2266 | 2 miles | Injured 8 people. | |
F0 | SW of Lebanon | Boone | 2275 | unknown | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
F1 | E of Frankfort | Clinton | 2225 | 3.8 miles | Caused 250,000 USD worth of damage. | |
F0 | SE of Russiaville | Howard County | 2275 | unknown | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
F1 | Kokomo | Howard County | 2300 | .7 miles | Caused 1 injury and damaged structures. | |
F0 | W of Amboy | Miami | 2340 | 1 miles | Brief touchdown over open fields. | |
F1 | SW of Lincolnville | Wabash | 0013 | 2 miles | Caused 70,000 USD worth of damage. | |
F0 | N of Harlansburg | Huntington County | 0041 | 3.5 miles | Caused 30,000 USD worth of damage. | |
F0 | E of Huntington | Huntington County | 0066 | 6 miles | No major damage | |
F0 | Point Isabel | Grant County | 0051 | unknown | No major damage. | |
F0 | N of Elwood | Madison | 0040 | unknown | Caused 180,000 USD worth of damage. | |
F0 | E of Fairmount | Grant County | 0043 | 4 miles | No major damage. | |
Sources: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/events/apr202004/apr20tor.php http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornadomap.php?yr=2004&mo=4&day=20&st=%25&fu=%25&co=&l=100&submit=Search&format=basic&p=1&s=1http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornadomap.php?yr=2004&mo=4&day=20&st=%25&fu=%25&co=&l=100&submit=Search&format=basic&p=1&s=1 http://www.stormeyes.org/pietrycha/040420/summary.html |
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Chicago Tribune Special Report: Wicked Wind (Chicago Tribune)
- Severe Weather Outbreak of April 20, 2004 (NWS Central Illinois)
- Preliminary Storm Survey Results for the April 20, 2004 Clinton County Iowa Tornadoes (NWS Quad Cities, IA/IL)
- Preliminary Storm Survey Results for the April 20, 2004 Putnam & Bureau County Tornadoes (NWS Quad Cities, IA/IL)
- Tornadoes in a Deceptively Small CAPE Environment: The 4/20/04 Outbreak in Illinois and Indiana (Albert E. Pietrycha, Jonathan M. Davies, Mark Ratzer, and Paul Merzlock)
- Storm Survey Results for the April 20, 2004 Clinton County Tornadoes (NWS Quad Cities, IA/IL)
- Storm Survey Results for the April 20, 2004 Putnam & Bureau County Tornadoes (NWS Quad Cities, IA/IL)
- Storm Prediction Center 1630Z (11:30 a.m. CDT) Day 1 Convective Outlook for 20 April, 2004
- Federal Disaster Declaration (FEMA)