Tony Lyza
EF3
Today marks a tragic anniversary in Northern IL/IN history. Two years ago on this date, a tragic tornado outbreak, completely unexpected and unlike anything most of the area had seen in nearly a decade, took shape in the afternoon hours on a dreary Tuesday afternoon. I remember that day all too well. The eerieness was horrific. The whole day was cool, clammy, and wet. Stratoform clouds and rain blanketed the area. As the afternoon wore on and tornado warnings were coming out from what appeared to be the backside of the rain shield were coming out, it became clear that something was quite wrong with the forecasts. The afternoon continued to grow more and more dangerous. A line of mini-supercells, with a classic supercell and the western end of the line, formed across north-central and NE IL.
As it would turn out, that classic supercell would strike populated areas, with tragic results. The most severe tornado of the evening would touchdown in Putnam County just SW of Granville. It moved into Granville, producing severe strong-F2 damage. It continued off to the NE, producing multiple-vortex trails in the farmland. The tornado continued into the valley, where an odd path would take it into a small (but now famous) town called Utica, population 1000. Strengthening to F3 and widening to about 1/8 mile, the tornado slammed into town. Eight people would die, and seven would be injured when a 120-year-old building, the Milestone Tap, collapsed, trapping the victims in the basement.
Any tornado death is tragic; they are especially tragic when they occur in the matter of the Utica deaths. What makes the Utica deaths so tragic is that many of the people that died did so in a place that was suppose to be safer than where they were, in mobile homes. It gets even worse. Those mobile homes from which most of the people evacuted were left standing, narrowly missed by the tornado.
That tornado would lift just north of Utica rather abruptly on the bluff at the north end of town. This meso was nowhere near done. Right before reaching I-80, it seemed as though the whole mesocyclone just hit the ground in the form of a massive 1/2-mile-wide multiple-vortex tornado. Luckily, this tornado would miss any substantial structures in its 8-mile-long path; thus, it was rated F2. However, in personal discussion with NWS LOT officials and examening the aerial survey video, it became clear to me that it had F4/F5 potential, as indicated by the rather incredible structure on radar and the incredible set of swirls in the ground.
The tornado terror continued through the evening. A strong F1 tornado struck Joliet, Will County, IL, doing extensive damage. Another strong F1/very-near F2 struck the south side of Kankakee, IL, with a compact path of fairly intense damage. A strong F2 tornado leveled a church in Hopkins Park in the extremely impoverished Pembroke Township in SE Kankakee County, IL. In all, a total of 31 tornadoes would touchdown, with 8 deaths and 7 injuries, all in Utica at the Milestone Tap.
Now, with such devastation, you would think that the nearby Chicago area would have received a wakeup call. Nope. Not at all. In fact, just a couple months ago, my own high school was putting students in the gym for a tornado warning with a confirmed funnel cloud! This area will suffer incredible casualties the next time a tornado outbreak occurs.
Some useful links:
1. NWS LOT report (with additions by Al Pietrycha)
2. NWS IND report
3. NWS DVN report (Clinton County)
4. NWS DVN report (Putnam County)
5. NWS IWX report
6. NWS ILX report
7. CBS 2 Chicago stories (GREAT VIDEO)
8. Part I of a PULITZER-PRIZE-WINNING Chicago Tribune Series on the Utica tornado (with links to parts II and III)
9. Tornado/damage photos
As it would turn out, that classic supercell would strike populated areas, with tragic results. The most severe tornado of the evening would touchdown in Putnam County just SW of Granville. It moved into Granville, producing severe strong-F2 damage. It continued off to the NE, producing multiple-vortex trails in the farmland. The tornado continued into the valley, where an odd path would take it into a small (but now famous) town called Utica, population 1000. Strengthening to F3 and widening to about 1/8 mile, the tornado slammed into town. Eight people would die, and seven would be injured when a 120-year-old building, the Milestone Tap, collapsed, trapping the victims in the basement.
Any tornado death is tragic; they are especially tragic when they occur in the matter of the Utica deaths. What makes the Utica deaths so tragic is that many of the people that died did so in a place that was suppose to be safer than where they were, in mobile homes. It gets even worse. Those mobile homes from which most of the people evacuted were left standing, narrowly missed by the tornado.
That tornado would lift just north of Utica rather abruptly on the bluff at the north end of town. This meso was nowhere near done. Right before reaching I-80, it seemed as though the whole mesocyclone just hit the ground in the form of a massive 1/2-mile-wide multiple-vortex tornado. Luckily, this tornado would miss any substantial structures in its 8-mile-long path; thus, it was rated F2. However, in personal discussion with NWS LOT officials and examening the aerial survey video, it became clear to me that it had F4/F5 potential, as indicated by the rather incredible structure on radar and the incredible set of swirls in the ground.
The tornado terror continued through the evening. A strong F1 tornado struck Joliet, Will County, IL, doing extensive damage. Another strong F1/very-near F2 struck the south side of Kankakee, IL, with a compact path of fairly intense damage. A strong F2 tornado leveled a church in Hopkins Park in the extremely impoverished Pembroke Township in SE Kankakee County, IL. In all, a total of 31 tornadoes would touchdown, with 8 deaths and 7 injuries, all in Utica at the Milestone Tap.
Now, with such devastation, you would think that the nearby Chicago area would have received a wakeup call. Nope. Not at all. In fact, just a couple months ago, my own high school was putting students in the gym for a tornado warning with a confirmed funnel cloud! This area will suffer incredible casualties the next time a tornado outbreak occurs.
Some useful links:
1. NWS LOT report (with additions by Al Pietrycha)
2. NWS IND report
3. NWS DVN report (Clinton County)
4. NWS DVN report (Putnam County)
5. NWS IWX report
6. NWS ILX report
7. CBS 2 Chicago stories (GREAT VIDEO)
8. Part I of a PULITZER-PRIZE-WINNING Chicago Tribune Series on the Utica tornado (with links to parts II and III)
9. Tornado/damage photos
