MatthewCarman
I never really studied the Jordan, Iowa tornado before today and found little information on it but I thought it was a very interesting tornado because of it's "U" shaped damage path. I also found another tornado on the same day that hit Lemont, Illinoise and had a "J" shaped damage path. The tornado even went back over it's path for awhile. Both tornadoes had anticyclonic satellite tornadoes. I was wondering if anyone else found these tornadoes interesting and could explain why the tornadoes had unique damage paths. Here is the information I could find on the tornadoes and none of it is copied/pasted.
June 13, 1976: This was a very tragic day for the town of Jordan Iowa. As Dr. Fujita described the Jordan,
Iowa tornado he said it was the most intense and destructive tornado he had ever studied. The tornado hit the town of Jordan in Boone County, Iowa and destroyed every single building in the town. Thankfully nobody was killed. The tornado touched down 3 miles southwest of Luther and tracked northeast. The tornado turned to the north as it moved north of Luther and moved through the town of Jordan. The tornado then turned to the northwest creating a “U” shaped damage path. After that is turned again and moved east over the county line and may have continued all the way to Sioux City. While a damage path is evident this could also be from microburst’s and it is unknown if the tornado made it to Sioux City where F0-F1 wind damage occurred to most of the city. Four tornadoes touched down in Boone County on this day rated as 1 F5tornado, 2 F3 tornadoes and 1 F2 tornado. The Jordan tornado was on the ground for at least 30 minutes and had an anti cyclonic satellite tornado rated as an F3 tornado.
On the same day Lemont in Cook County, Illinois was struck by a violent F4 tornado that also had two anti cyclonic satellite tornadoes. Lemont Illinois took a direct hit at 5:18 PM. The tornado destroyed 87 houses and damaged 82 more houses. The tornado injured 23 people and killed 3 more people. Three people took shelter in a ditch and only two of them survived the tornado. Houses were picked up and then exploded and imploded according to witnesses. What is interesting about this tornado is the “J” shape damage path. After the tornado passed through Lemont witnesses said the tornado started moving back towards the town before turning and missing the town. The tornado ended 5 miles from where it started. The tornado had a speed of 10 MPH and a damage path of 10 miles. At one point of the tornadoes life time it was nearly stationary. The tornado affected Dupage and Cook County in Illinois.
Another F4 tornado struck Cook County on April 21, 1967 striking the towns of Oak Lawn and Belvidere and Chicago. Chicago’s south side was hit before the tornado moved over Lake Michigan. Five F4 tornadoes occurred on this day with 3 of them in Illinois, 1 in Michigan and 1 in Missouri.
June 13, 1976: This was a very tragic day for the town of Jordan Iowa. As Dr. Fujita described the Jordan,
Iowa tornado he said it was the most intense and destructive tornado he had ever studied. The tornado hit the town of Jordan in Boone County, Iowa and destroyed every single building in the town. Thankfully nobody was killed. The tornado touched down 3 miles southwest of Luther and tracked northeast. The tornado turned to the north as it moved north of Luther and moved through the town of Jordan. The tornado then turned to the northwest creating a “U” shaped damage path. After that is turned again and moved east over the county line and may have continued all the way to Sioux City. While a damage path is evident this could also be from microburst’s and it is unknown if the tornado made it to Sioux City where F0-F1 wind damage occurred to most of the city. Four tornadoes touched down in Boone County on this day rated as 1 F5tornado, 2 F3 tornadoes and 1 F2 tornado. The Jordan tornado was on the ground for at least 30 minutes and had an anti cyclonic satellite tornado rated as an F3 tornado.
On the same day Lemont in Cook County, Illinois was struck by a violent F4 tornado that also had two anti cyclonic satellite tornadoes. Lemont Illinois took a direct hit at 5:18 PM. The tornado destroyed 87 houses and damaged 82 more houses. The tornado injured 23 people and killed 3 more people. Three people took shelter in a ditch and only two of them survived the tornado. Houses were picked up and then exploded and imploded according to witnesses. What is interesting about this tornado is the “J” shape damage path. After the tornado passed through Lemont witnesses said the tornado started moving back towards the town before turning and missing the town. The tornado ended 5 miles from where it started. The tornado had a speed of 10 MPH and a damage path of 10 miles. At one point of the tornadoes life time it was nearly stationary. The tornado affected Dupage and Cook County in Illinois.
Another F4 tornado struck Cook County on April 21, 1967 striking the towns of Oak Lawn and Belvidere and Chicago. Chicago’s south side was hit before the tornado moved over Lake Michigan. Five F4 tornadoes occurred on this day with 3 of them in Illinois, 1 in Michigan and 1 in Missouri.
