April 2004 Utica tornado outbreak

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April 2004 Utica tornado outbreak
Memorial crosses, Utica
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
2Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita Scale


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.

Contents

[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
F#
Location
County
Time (UTC)
Path length
Damage
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