Cincinnati Tornado of April 1999

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Cincinnati Tornado of April 1999
Date of tornado outbreak: April 8-9, 1999
Duration1: 30 hours
Maximum rated tornado2: F4 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 54 confirmed
Damages: $82 million
Fatalities: 6, including 4 in the Cincinnati Metro Area
Areas affected: Midwestern United States - Ohio River Valley

1Time from first tornado to last tornado
2Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita Scale


The Cincinnati Tornado of April 1999 struck in the early morning hours on April 9, 1999. It killed four people in the Blue Ash and Montgomery, Ohio areas, making it the deadliest tornado to hit the Tri-State since the 1974 Super Outbreak storm killed five in the Sayler Park area. The entire outbreak which started from Nebraska on April 8 produced at least 54 tornadoes across the Midwestern United States and Ohio Valley.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

The storms were spawned by a low pressure system and associated frontal boundaries which began moving eastward across the Midwestern United States the previous day.

The storms of April 9 originated over Illinois and Indiana. Around 4:15 a.m. EDT, what would later be known as the Blue Ash-Montgomery tornado first touched down in Rexville, Indiana. It moved northeast and by the time it reached Benham, Indiana, it was rated as an F3 on the Fujita Scale. At 4:45, an F0 rated tornado touched down near Aurora, Indiana.

At approximately 4:54 a.m., the storm crossed the Ohio border and entered the Addyston area of Cincinnati's West Side. The storm here was thought to be only a gustnado. At 5:10, it again started to rotate and touched down west of Interstate 71 causing one fatality. In the next five mintues, three more deaths occurred as the storm crossed northeastern Hamilton and southern Warren Counties, Ohio. The storm at this point was rated as an F4, the second highest intensity on the Fujita scale. Finally, as it crossed Clinton County, Ohio, it created a final burst of straightline winds before dying down.

[edit] Other tornadoes

Several strong tornadoes touched down in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri causing extensive damage to many structures on April 8. Two tornadoes in Iowa were rated F4. While the outbreak started in Nebraska at around 10:00 AM CST. The last tornado touched down on the afternoon of April 9 in Virginia.

[edit] Tornado table

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
54 14 25 8 4 3 0

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

[edit] April 8 event

F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Nebraska
F1 NW of Aurora Hamilton 1600 4 miles (6.4 km) A grain dryer was destroyed while several pivots and a few outbuildings were damaged
F1 NE of Clarks Merrick 1654 3 miles (4.8 km) Five sheds were destroyed and several pivots were damaged
F0 S of Belgrade Nance 1656 1 miles (1.6 km) A chemical applicator, a barn and fencing were damaged
F0 N of St. Edward Boone 1722 1 miles (1.6 km) Heavy damage to barns and outbuildings
F1 NW of Schuyler Colfax 1806 4 miles (6.4 km) Damage to ten farmsteads and a church
F1 W of Morse Bluff Saunders, Dodge 1807 1.5 miles (2.4 km) 10 buildings were damaged including one nearly destroyed business. 14 homes were also damaged
F0 W of Yutan Saunders 1812 3.5 miles (5.6 km) Damage to outbuildings, pivots and a grain bin
F0 SW of Orum Washington 1848 0.1 miles (0.16 km) 4 outbuildings were damaged
Iowa
F1 SE of Slater Story 1833 2 miles (3.2 km) 44 homes and businesses were damaged including one destroyed.
F0 E of Hamburg Fremont 1908 unknown Brief touchdown with no damage
F0 N of Honey Creek Pottawattamie 1918 0.3 miles (0.5 km) Brief touchdown with no damage
F1 Shenandoah area Page 1922 5 miles (8 km) Minimal damage was caused
F1 S of Clarinda Page 1936 8 miles (12.8 km) A workhorse was destroyed and several homes were damaged
F1 Red Oak area Montgomery 1938 8 miles (12.8 km) Several metal buildings at a pig farm were destroyed and an RV was overturned and tossed into a frame house destroying it
F1 NE of Clarinda Page 1948 9 miles (14.4 km) Minimal damage reported
F0 Villisca area Montgomery 1954 5 miles (8 km) Damage to trees and outbuildings
F4 NW of Guss to SE of Casey Taylor, Adams, Cass, Adair 1954 49 miles (78.4 km) A mile-wide wedge tornado. Farmsteads were swept clean by the tornado and checks and papers were thrown several dozen miles from the original location. One horse was thrown by a tornado and sustained significant injuries. 2 people were injured by the storm and damage amounts was pegged a $1 million in both Adair and Adams Counties.
F4 SE of Creston to NW of Granger Union, Madison, Dallas 2048 56 miles (89.6 km) Damage amounts in Union County was pegged at $2 million and $350 000 in Madison County. One person was injured by the tornado. One car with its occupant was thrown 250 feet away by the tornado but was uninjured. Five coal cars were also knocked off a track
F0 Des Moines area Polk 2200 0.2 miles (0.32 km) One house and several trees were damaged west of Downtown Des Moines.
F2 W of New Virginia to SE of Rising Sun Warren, Polk 2213 32 miles (51.2 km) Tornado traveled mostly through rural areas with minor property damage
F3 SW of Norwood to Colfax Lucas, Warren, Marion, Jasper 2218 39 miles (62.4 km) Three homes and a business were damaged or destroyed. 5 people were injured and damage was pegged at around $1 million in Jasper County.
F3 Bloomfield to NE of Eldon Davis, Wapello 2315 16 miles (25.6 km) 64 homes and businesses in the Bloomfield area were damaged. A farmstead and outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed. In total 178 homes and businesses were affected and 5 people were injured
F0 NW of Batavia Jefferson 2325 0.1 miles (0.16 km) Brief touchdown with no damage
F0 SW of Richland Jefferson 2325 0.1 miles (0.16 km) Brief touchdown with no damage
Missouri
F1 SW of Pumpkin Center Andrew, Nodaway 1930 13.5 miles (21.6 km) 6 homes were destroyed and two mobile homes, barns, outbuildings and a grain bin were damaged.
F2 W of Bosworth to W of Atlanta Carroll, Chariton, Macon 2120 53.5 miles (85.6 km) 14 homes and 9 mobile homes were destroyed and several outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed. Also, another 40 homes and five mobile homes were damaged. A total of 85 agricultural outbuildings were destroyed and another 37 damaged.
F1 N of Wheeling Livingston 2120 7 miles (11.2 km) A machine shed, a pole barn, a grain bin and a garage were destroyed
F2 S of Atlanta to SW of Novelty Macon, Knox 2225 17 miles (27.2 km) 5 homes, 4 barns, 2 grain bins and 3 mobile homes were destroyed with six other homes and several outbuildings being damaged - some of the outbuildings destroyed.
F1 NE of Billingsville Cooper 2230 4 miles (6.4 km) A church was damaged and three tractor trailers overturned
F2 N of Midway Boone 2255 4 miles (6.4 km) A mobile home, seven outbuildings, a farm and two pieces of farm equipment were destroyed while five homes were damaged.
F2 S of La Belle to W of Derrahs Lewis 2305 16 miles (25.6 km) A modular home, 3 regular homes, and several sheds, barns, outbuildings were destroyed. Three homes were also damaged.
F2 S of Hallsville Boone 2305 10 miles (16 km) A few farm equipment buildings, one barn, five grain bins and a garage were destroyed. 4 homes were damaged
F1 N of Mexico Audrain 2330 10 miles (16 km) Damage to an industrial complex including factory which lost its roofs and several sheet metal buildings destroyed. A barn, two equipment buildings and two grain bins were destroyed while a barn and two homes were damaged.
F1 S of Osage Bluff Cole 2330 12 miles (19.2 km) Two barns were destroyed and 28 homes were damaged
F1 NE of Linn Osage 0000 8 miles (12.8 km) One mobile home was destroyed while 79 homes and several businesses were damaged
F0 S of High Prairie Webster 0015 0.1 miles (0.16 km) A shed was destroyed
F2 Louisiana, MO to NW of Florence, IL Pike, MO, Pike, IL, Scott 0034 27.3 miles (43.7 km) There was minor roof damage in Missouri. In Illinois, five barns and a grain bin were destroyed while other farm buildings, two grain bins, an equipment building, two houses and a boat deck were damaged.
Illinois
F3 Warsaw area Hancock 2335 7.5 miles (12 km) 176 structures including homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed including two destroyed homes in Warsaw. KHQA-TV and KOKX towers were destroyed. 4 people were injured.
F0 E of Disco to NE of Berwick Hancock, Henderson, Warren 0035 20 miles (32 km) A farm shed lost parts of its roof.
F1 W of Exeter Scott 0110 4 miles (6.4 km) One barn and three grain bins was destroyed and several other barn were damaged as several silos. The roof of a trailer was also removed
F1 W of Joy Prairie Morgan 0127 9.5 miles (15.2 km) Several outbuildings and a barn were destroyed, while several homes, a barn, an airplane hangar and a garage were damaged. A boat was thrown off a trailer into a pond a quarter-mile away.
F1 Ashland area Morgan, Cass 0145 9.3 miles (14.9 km) 1 death One home, two outbuildings, 17 trailers, a shed, a barn, a hog shelter and a mobile home were destroyed. 17 houses, 20 trailers, a church, a laundromat, a city garage and birck buildings were also damaged
F1 SW of Tallula Sangamon, Menard 0153 9.3 miles (14.9 km) Helicopter survey confirmed a touchdown near the same area then the Ashland tornado. Unknown damage.
F1 SW of New Douglas Madison 0318 1 miles (1.6 km) 3 farms, outbuildings, one home and a garage were damaged
F1 S of Weldon Piatt 0335 3.5 miles (5.6 km) 1 death A mobile home was destroyed killing 1 and injuring 3 others. Two barns and a garage were destroyed while another barn had its second floor removed.
F0 N of Janesville Cumberland, Coles 0432 0.3 miles (0.5 km) Three homes were damaged with a front porch and a pool being destroyed.
Indiana
F3 E of Dupont to S of Olean Jefferson, Jennings, Ripley 0756 18 miles (28.8 km) Several homes and barns were damaged including one severely in Jefferson County. In Jennings County, 4 barns were destroyed and two homes damaged. 2 power line towers were toppled. In Ripley County, four mobile homes, one house, 21 barns, 17 outbuildings, 5 pieces of farm equipment were destroyed while 4 mobile homes, 28 houses, 20 barns, 15 outbuildings, 7 vehicles and 4 pieces of farm equipment were damaged. 2 livestock were killed.
Sources:

Tornado History Project Storm Data - April 8, 1999

[edit] April 9 event

F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Indiana
F0 NE of Wilmington Dearborn 0844 1 miles (1.6 km) A barn was destroyed while a silo and four homes were damaged.
Ohio
F1 Addyston area (SW Cincinnati) Hamilton 0855 0.8 miles (1.3 km) One house was destroyed and the roof of a garage was removed
F1 Tipp City area Miami 0900 3.5 miles (5.6 km) Several campers and RVs were destroyed while homes and storage buildings were damaged
F4 Montgomery/Blue Ash (NE Cincinnati) to NE of Loveland Hamilton, Warren 0912 10 miles (16 km) 4 deaths - In Hamilton County, 91 homes and apartments and 37 businesses were destroyed. 674 homes and apartments and 44 businesses were damaged. Two fatalities were from homes and two others from vehicles. Width of the tornado was a quarter-mile wide. Several homes, garages and barns were damaged in Warren County.
F2 S of South Lebanon Warren 0933 1.5 miles (2.4 km) Two homes and a barn were damaged including one structure been skewed from its foundation.
F1 S of Middletown Champaign 1000 0.5 miles (0.8 km) Damage to houses and mobile homes.
Virginia
F1 N of Porter Spotsylvania 2217 3.5 miles (5.6 km) Several sheds were destroyed and homes were damaged.
Sources:

Tornado History Project Storm Data - April 9, 1999

[edit] See also

[edit] External links