Showing posts with label cass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cass. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Top 10 Tornadoes Since 1950
#1 - April 3, 1974 Monticello Tornado
This tornado had it all - considerable deaths, injuries, severe damage and very long track. The path length was originally thought to be 121 miles but after reanalysis it was chopped down to 109 miles. Although this tornado didn't hit any major cities, it caused about $100 million damage in 1974 dollars (over $400 million adjusted to present day!) and heavily damaged/destroyed a good chunk of Monticello. This tornado was rated F4 and killed 19 people, injured more than 400, and was up to a half mile wide.
For more on the Monticello tornado, visit this link
Friday, June 17, 2011
Biggest Summer Tornado Outbreaks Since 1950
Although tornadoes can and do occur here during Summer, they do not happen as frequently and tend to be weaker than those in Spring. This is mainly due to the fact that temperature gradients are less intense during Summer and thus the jet stream tends to be weaker and farther north. This lack of stronger winds aloft is detrimental to the production of strong tornadoes, but they can still occur when conditions come together just right.
I have scanned the tornado database back to 1950 in order to establish our biggest summertime tornado outbreaks. Here are some of the biggest outbreaks between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox (roughly June 21-September 22).
June 26, 1973: 10 tornadoes struck the state, 9 of which occurred in central/southern Indiana. The strongest was a F2 near Bloomington.
July 30, 1992: 6 tornadoes occurred, including an F2 in Morgan county and a F3 in Johnson county. The Johnson county tornado had a path length of about 7 miles and injured 25 people.
September 20, 2002: 6 tornadoes happened with 4 of them rated F2 or higher. The highlight of this event was the long track F3 tornado that started near Ellettsville and ended near Hartford City in Blackford county. This impressive tornado had a path length of 112 miles, injured over 100 people and caused more than $100 million damage. For more on this event, click here
June 23, 2010: 6 tornadoes occurred in northern Indiana, mostly in Elkhart county. These tornadoes were spawned from a quasi-linear convective system which moved across the area.
August 9, 1969: 5 tornadoes occurred, the most significant being an early morning F3 in Indianapolis which injured 6 people.
September 19, 1988: 5 weak tornadoes struck various parts of the state, injuring 3 people.
July 26, 2005: 5 tornadoes occurred, including a F2 in Cass and Miami counties. Nobody was injured.
June 27, 2008: 5 brief EF0 tornadoes occurred, one of which injured 2 people in Morgan county.
Special mention: On July 9, 1980, a F4 tornado struck Rush county, killing 2 people. Although there was only one other tornado on this date (a weak F0 near Crawfordsville), this event is significant because it is the only known F4 tornado to hit Indiana during the summer.
I have scanned the tornado database back to 1950 in order to establish our biggest summertime tornado outbreaks. Here are some of the biggest outbreaks between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox (roughly June 21-September 22).
June 26, 1973: 10 tornadoes struck the state, 9 of which occurred in central/southern Indiana. The strongest was a F2 near Bloomington.
July 30, 1992: 6 tornadoes occurred, including an F2 in Morgan county and a F3 in Johnson county. The Johnson county tornado had a path length of about 7 miles and injured 25 people.
September 20, 2002: 6 tornadoes happened with 4 of them rated F2 or higher. The highlight of this event was the long track F3 tornado that started near Ellettsville and ended near Hartford City in Blackford county. This impressive tornado had a path length of 112 miles, injured over 100 people and caused more than $100 million damage. For more on this event, click here
June 23, 2010: 6 tornadoes occurred in northern Indiana, mostly in Elkhart county. These tornadoes were spawned from a quasi-linear convective system which moved across the area.
August 9, 1969: 5 tornadoes occurred, the most significant being an early morning F3 in Indianapolis which injured 6 people.
September 19, 1988: 5 weak tornadoes struck various parts of the state, injuring 3 people.
July 26, 2005: 5 tornadoes occurred, including a F2 in Cass and Miami counties. Nobody was injured.
June 27, 2008: 5 brief EF0 tornadoes occurred, one of which injured 2 people in Morgan county.
Special mention: On July 9, 1980, a F4 tornado struck Rush county, killing 2 people. Although there was only one other tornado on this date (a weak F0 near Crawfordsville), this event is significant because it is the only known F4 tornado to hit Indiana during the summer.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
June 5-6, 2010 Tornado Outbreak
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the June 5-6 tornado outbreak. Three tornadoes struck parts of White, Carroll, Cass and Miami counties, including an EF3 near Grissom Air Force Base. We are fortunate that nobody was killed since these tornadoes occurred at night.
I traveled to all 3 damage paths and took some pictures. Here are some of them.
I traveled to all 3 damage paths and took some pictures. Here are some of them.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Recalling The Nation's Biggest Tornado Outbreak On Record...The 1974 Super Outbreak
April 3, 1974 is a date that those in the weather community will always remember. It was an unseasonably warm day as a strong low pressure moved through the Corn Belt. This unseasonably warm air and a combination of several other factors would come together just right to produce a spectacular severe weather event, leaving hundreds dead, thousands wounded and an incredible amount of destruction across a number of states.
The first tornado in the state touched down in Boone county in the early morning. 21 of the 148 tornadoes occurred here, including 1 F5 and the devastating Monticello tornado. The thunderstorm cell which produced the Monticello tornado produced its first Indiana touchdown near the Illinois state line in rural Warren county. This tornado died out but was followed by another touchdown in Warren county. That tornado tracked northeastward into southeastern Benton county before dissipating near Otterbein. Another tornado followed almost immediately, moving quickly northeast through the northwestern part of Tippecanoe county and into White county. As the tornado passed northwest of Lafayette, the 2200z METAR from KLAF included a report of a tornado:
METAR KLAF 032200Z 16025G33KT 7SM TS SCT040 BKN070 OVC150 23/17 A2914 RMK TB44 W MOVG E LTGIC W-N PRESFRLAF3/16 STATE POLICE RPT AT 2151 5TORNADO SLP864 T02280172
The tornado continued through mostly rural areas of White county before taking aim on downtown Monticello. Heavy damage occurred in Monticello with several fatalities. But it was not done...
The tornado continued northeastward through Cass county and Fulton county, where it produced significant damage in Rochester. It proceeded through Kosciusko, Noble and LaGrange counties before finally ending its incredible 109 mile reign of terror near Oliver Lake. The same thunderstorm produced another weaker tornado near Plato, which would be the final tornado in Indiana from this particular thunderstorm.
In all, 47 Hoosiers died that tragic day with hundreds more injured.
The first tornado in the state touched down in Boone county in the early morning. 21 of the 148 tornadoes occurred here, including 1 F5 and the devastating Monticello tornado. The thunderstorm cell which produced the Monticello tornado produced its first Indiana touchdown near the Illinois state line in rural Warren county. This tornado died out but was followed by another touchdown in Warren county. That tornado tracked northeastward into southeastern Benton county before dissipating near Otterbein. Another tornado followed almost immediately, moving quickly northeast through the northwestern part of Tippecanoe county and into White county. As the tornado passed northwest of Lafayette, the 2200z METAR from KLAF included a report of a tornado:
METAR KLAF 032200Z 16025G33KT 7SM TS SCT040 BKN070 OVC150 23/17 A2914 RMK TB44 W MOVG E LTGIC W-N PRESFRLAF3/16 STATE POLICE RPT AT 2151 5TORNADO SLP864 T02280172
The tornado continued through mostly rural areas of White county before taking aim on downtown Monticello. Heavy damage occurred in Monticello with several fatalities. But it was not done...
The tornado continued northeastward through Cass county and Fulton county, where it produced significant damage in Rochester. It proceeded through Kosciusko, Noble and LaGrange counties before finally ending its incredible 109 mile reign of terror near Oliver Lake. The same thunderstorm produced another weaker tornado near Plato, which would be the final tornado in Indiana from this particular thunderstorm.
In all, 47 Hoosiers died that tragic day with hundreds more injured.
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| Approximate Tornado Tracks |
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