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Northern IL tornado events mid-late 90's to 2005

Thundersnow12

By Thundersnow12,
in Lakes/Ohio Valley

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andyhb

andyhb

Posted
Posted

4/11/65...

Notes:

-Historic Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak.

-The F4 tornado that pushed through McHenry and Lake county killed6 and injured 75 people.

Soundings:

12z DVN

0z DVN

12z Upper Air Maps:

4116512z500.png

4116512z850.png

0z Upper Air Maps:

411650z500.png

411650z700.png

411650z850.png

Tornado Count: 47

Illinois: 4

F1: 2

F2: 1

F4: 1

Michigan: 12

F1: 1

F2: 5

F3: 2

F4: 4

Ohio: 12

F1: 5

F2: 1

F3: 1

F4: 5

Indiana: 10

F3: 2

F4: 8

Wisconsin: 7

F1: 5

F2: 1

F4: 1

Iowa: 2

F1: 1

F4: 1

Georiga: 1

F1: 1

West Virginia: 1

F2: 1

41165reports.png

Those strings of F4's in Northern IN/Southern MI and Central IN/Western OH are just ridiculous.

That 0z 500 mb chart is insane...

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Chicago Storm

Chicago Storm

Posted
Posted

9/26/59...

Notes:

-The F1 tornado that pushed through Cook and Lake counties injured 14 people.

-The F2 tornado that pushed through Warren county injured 1.

Soundings:

12z DVN

0z DVN

12z Upper Air Maps:

9265912z500.png

9265912z700.png

9265912z850.png

0z Upper Air Maps:

926590z500.png

926590z700.png

926590z850.png

Tornado Count: 22

Illinois: 12

F1: 6

F2: 6

Missouri: 6

F0: 1

F1: 3

F2: 1

F4: 1

Wisconsin: 2

F1: 1

F2: 1

Arkansas: 1

F3: 1

Tennessee: 1

F3: 1

Idaho: 1

F2: 1

92659reports.png

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Chicago Storm

Chicago Storm

Posted
Posted

4/30/97...

Notes:

-The F1 tornado the moved through Fairview in Fulton county injured 2 people.

-The F0 tornado that moved through Pekin in Tazewell county injured 1.

Soundings:

12z DVN

12z ILX

0z DVN

12z Upper Air Maps:

4309712z500.png

4309712z700.png

4309712z850.png

0z Upper Air Maps:

430970z500.png

430970z700.png

430970z850.png

Tornado Count: 28

Illinois: 19

F0: 16

F1: 3

Iowa: 5

F0: 5

Missouri: 3

F0: 2

F1: 1

Indiana: 1

F1: 1

43097reports.png

43097rad.png

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Chicago Storm

Chicago Storm

Posted
Posted

1/7/08...

Notes:

-The EF-3 tornado that pushed across Boone and McHenry counties injured 5 people.

-This is only the second tornado to occur during the month of January int he LOT CWA. The other was an F2 that moved through Momence in Kankakee county on January 25th, 1950.

Soundings:

12z DVN

12z ILX

0z DVN

0z ILX

Environment:

1708enviro.png

12z Upper Air Maps:

170812z500.png

170812z700.png

170812z850.png

0z Upper Air Maps:

17080z500.png

17080z700.png

17080z850.png

Tornado Count: 47

Illinois: 3

EF0: 1

EF1: 1

EF3: 1

Missouri: 35

EF0: 15

EF1: 12

EF2: 5

EF3: 3

Oklahoma: 4

EF0: 4

Arkansas: 3

EF0: 2

EF1: 1

Wisconsin: 2

EF1: 1

EF3: 1

1708reports.png

Radar:

1708rad.png

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Hoosier

Hoosier

Posted
Posted

Most of the tornadoes occured right on the nose of the 500mb jet streak.

Somebody did a reanalysis of the event with CAPE maps and all that good stuff but I forgot the link. IIRC, there was 1000-1500 J/kg CAPE well into southern and maybe central lower MI with 2500+ farther south in southern Indiana, not bad for an early season event and certainly enough for big problems with that shear.

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Thundersnow12

Thundersnow12

Posted
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Posted

Somebody did a reanalysis of the event with CAPE maps and all that good stuff but I forgot the link. IIRC, there was 1000-1500 J/kg CAPE well into southern and maybe central lower MI with 2500+ farther south in southern Indiana, not bad for an early season event and certainly enough for big problems with that shear.

Ya that mid-level jet is crazy and even more crazy with sufficient instability to work with. If you ever find that link, throw it up here sir.

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Stebo

Stebo

Posted
Posted

Somebody did a reanalysis of the event with CAPE maps and all that good stuff but I forgot the link. IIRC, there was 1000-1500 J/kg CAPE well into southern and maybe central lower MI with 2500+ farther south in southern Indiana, not bad for an early season event and certainly enough for big problems with that shear.

Yeah I cant even imagine having another day like that occurring. Hell we had 2 long track F4s go through N. Indiana into S. MI that were so close together in path that their paths crossed in Michigan. I believe they occurred about 30 minutes apart too. The more impressive part is that many large cities in the region dodged the bullets this day. Had you taken those 2 tracks and shifted them 50 miles north, they would have traversed down US 12 right into the Detroit Metro area.

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andyhb

andyhb

Posted
Posted

Yeah I cant even imagine having another day like that occurring. Hell we had 2 long track F4s go through N. Indiana into S. MI that were so close together in path that their paths crossed in Michigan. I believe they occurred about 30 minutes apart too. The more impressive part is that many large cities in the region dodged the bullets this day. Had you taken those 2 tracks and shifted them 50 miles north, they would have traversed down US 12 right into the Detroit Metro area.

Yep, I believe it was similar to the Tanner tornadoes on Apr. 3/74, where the second tornado in some cases destroyed what was left of structures left behind by the first.

Here's an article I've read several times regarding the event, by Ronald Wilbanks (the F5 tornadoes were downgraded after this piece was written):

It All Started In Iowa:

Sunday, April 11, 1965 began, with beautiful skies and warm temperatures. Winter had been a long time dying that year. People around the Great Lakes were eager to enjoy the balmy weather conditions after an extended season of cabin fever. All across the Midwest, people were making plans to enjoy the day or attend Palm Sunday services. There was no hint of the disaster yet to come.

The U.S. Weather Bureau forecast for the South Bend area was very simple: "Sunny and unseasonably warm today, high around 80, slight chance of showers, maybe a thundershower around sunset." The forecast for Chicago, Detroit, and Toledo called for more of the same. The previous day there had been a serious of evening tornadoes across the Razorback State, one of which was a very large F4 that devastated the city of Conway, Arkansas leaving six dead and hundreds injured. A timely warning based on a classic hook echo signature on the Little Rock WSR-57 radar, lead to the low loss of life, thanks in part to the timely warnings issued to the public. Likewise, the public education campaign conducted by the U.S. Weather Bureau, in cooperation with the news media really paid off: when the sirens sounded, people took cover.

The news that Palm Sunday morning carried the tragic announcement that Hollywood actress Linda Darnell had been killed in the home of her secretary in Chicago the evening before. Apparently she had been smoking in bed and just finished watching one of her first films that made her a household name "Star Dust." The blaze was contained to her bedroom, but she later died from severe burns in a local hospital. Around noon, many people in the Windy City decided to enjoy the cool lakefront. The mercury in the thermometers was inching closer to 83 and the humidity was on the rise as well, adding to the discomfort across the Great Lakes region. The same was true for all of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio; people were complaining about the heat. According to retired police chief Warren Hale, who lives on Milan-Oakville Road in York Township just outside Milan, Michigan, the heat and humidity was really unbearable. "The day was so warm and wonderful Š the family I decided go on a picnic in the Irish Hills, because it was too stifling in the house," Hale said. "The heat and humidity drove us crazy so we had to just get away from it all."

The lead forecaster at SELS in Kansas City, Missouri issued a Special Weather Statement at 10:45 a.m. CDT, warning of the possibility of severe storms and isolated tornadoes from eastern Missouri, into central Illinois and northern Indiana. This was received by the weather forecasters at the local offices and was passed along immediately to public safety agencies and broadcast media. This was the first hint at what would later become a supercharged, historically significant severe weather day. Around 1:00 p.m. CST, the deepening cyclone on the surface weather charts was now moving into central Iowa; triggering supercell thunderstorms near Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. Within minutes, the first reported tornado (A-1: storm and tornado number) had destroyed several houses and farm buildings. An even larger F-4 tornado (B-1) descended near the small farming community of Tipton in Cedar County and moved into Clinton County, and completely destroyed over two-dozen farms.

It was at this time the U.S. Weather Bureau began to really worry. None of their forecasts had predicted severe weather and certainly not of this widespread ferocity. The National Severe Storms Forecast Center, based in Kansas City, Missouri is responsible for issuing Severe Weather/Tornado Forecasts. (After Palm Sunday were changed officially to Severe Thunderstorm/Tornado Watches in 1966.) The NSSFC (SELS) did not foresee any signs of a possible tornado outbreak earlier in the day; now had to scramble and revise forecasts since it was possible more violent storms could form in Illinois and southern Wisconsin. They moved quickly and issued a Tornado Forecast to cover that area at 1:00 p.m. CST. Unknown to the SELS forecasters, the first tornado had already been on the ground for at least 15 minutes prior to the issuance of the forecast. Around 2:00 p.m. CST, SELS forecasters were advised that the jet stream had split into two branches over northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, much like when water in a river goes around an island. This dividing effect that helped lift the air even higher in an already unstable atmosphere, which really resulted in the correct upper level wind dynamics to quickly enhance storms to severe levels and start rotating counter-clockwise.

Severe Thunderstorms continued to erupt over southeastern Iowa, moving into northwest Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Just after 2:30 p.m. CDT, the telephone rang at Stephenson County Sheriff?s Office. A frantic lady was screaming, "There are two funnel clouds dancing in my fieldŠheading northeast." The next killer tornado (B-3) was churning a path of destruction 250 yards wide across the open farmland at 45 MPH. Rated an F-2, by Dr. Tetsuya Fujita, this storm would travel 28 miles, injuring 40 people. Moreover, this storm would grow into a half-mile terror (B-4 & B-5) that would move across farms and forests destroying everything in its path. Ironically, when it would cross U.S. Highway 16 in Jefferson County, on its way to Waterville, two automobiles were sucked up and thrown several hundred feet, killing the occupants immediately in the crumpled wreckage. The radar operator at the U.S. Weather Bureau Office in Chicago, Illinois noticed explosive storm development was taking place just west of Janesville, Wisconsin, and in northwestern Lee County, Illinois at 3:00 p.m. Unknown to him, twisters (B-4 & B-5) were already carving a path of death and destruction across Rock County and within minutes would move into Jefferson County. He also advised the meteorologist in charge, that two severe thunderstorms were moving into eastern McHenry County and northern Kane Counties and that the former of the two was exhibiting a classic hook echo around 3:25 p.m. CST.

Deputy Sheriff, Glen Roberts, was on patrol just north of Crystal Lake when he noticed the skies turn a very dark, pea green color. He decided to pull off the highway and watch the storm pass. The events of the next few moments would leave a lasting imprint in his mind forever. "Everything seemed so strange and eerie, like the clouds were a spinning wheel coming at me," Roberts said. "I had seen newsreel footage of a killer tornado in Udall, Kansas when I was 16 and the way the clouds were moving made me feel really fearful that this storm was going to be similar." Minutes later, debris from what was nearby Lake Plaza Shopping Center and homes were falling from the sky around his patrol car. He knew disaster had struck and before he could key his microphone to call in; Crystal Lake Police were reporting a quarter mile wide tornado (F-1) had destroyed the shopping center just two miles from him. Then another report of a funnel cloud came across the airwaves northwest of Woodstock. Luckily, no touchdown was reported, but seconds later, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin would have a near brush with disaster as (E-1) it skirted northwest of the community.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Lake twister continued its relentless rampage northeastward for the next 12 miles striking the Colby Holmes Subdivision, where it severely damaging over 150 homes and completely leveling well over 40 dwellings. Then destroying the myth that tornadoes will skip over a valley, the storm went down into a steep hillside area and struck the unsuspecting town of Island Lake head-on causing F4 damage to everything in the community, taking the life of a local resident with it. Finally, the U.S. Weather Bureau in Chicago issued a tornado warning for the areas that were struck just moments before at 3:41 p.m. CDT, but unknown to them the second thunderstorm that came out of Kane County would drop another tornado (G-1) over Lake County near Druce Lake at 3:50 p.m. CST. This F2 storm would cross Interstate Highway 94 near Gurnee causing moderate damage as it moved along the ground. Moreover, another twister that would be the last to strike the Chicagoland area that fateful day in the area near St. Charles at 4:01 p.m. CST, would tear several houses to pieces as it crossed U.S. Highway 30. Crystal Lake was the hardest hit community in the Chicago area on Palm Sunday, 1965. Here was the scene of human suffering as people and rescue workers frantically searched through the rubble to find survivors. When it was over, six would die and 75 were seriously injured.

Next Stop, Michiana:

Northern and central Indiana has some of the most fertile farmland any farmer could ever wish to plant a crop on. Elkhart, LaGrange, and St. Joseph Counties are home to the largest Amish and Mennonite populations west of Pennsylvania. Here man and machine become; man and horse. Sadly, in the days after the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak, many rural areas across this region were cut off from the world by these killer storms: horses were the primary means of transportation and used quite effectively to clear the rural landscape of debris.

Larry Burns was assigned to the day shift at the U.S. Weather Bureau Office in South Bend on that fateful Palm Sunday in 1965. Around 1:15 p.m. CDT, he received a call from the neighboring Chicago office indicating that a Tornado Forecast had been issued for downstate Illinois, on a line from St. Louis, eastward to Indianapolis, but also included northwest Indiana. He immediately sent out a statement over the Teletype machine to all the local news media outlets in area and made phone calls to area public safety, and media outlets not on the U.S. Weather Bureau Teletype circuits. Likewise, he decided to call in fellow forecaster Bob Greene to assist him.

As the day wore on, the skies across the lower Great Lakes region began to get very hazy with an unusual yellow pinkish color, with a hint of green. Many people commented that either this was a bad omen of things to come, or paid no attention to it. Those who thought the former was correct seemed to sense something terrible lay just beyond the horizon like a lurking angry giant was waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting community. No one knew it at the time but color was actually topsoil from Illinois and Missouri that was picked up by strong jet stream winds; even tornadoes.

According to William R. Deedler, Weather Historian at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in White Lake, Michigan the jet stream was one of the key elements to the events that happened on the afternoon and evening of April 11, 1965. "The strong jet core extended throughout all levels of the atmosphere as of Palm Sunday morning," Deedler said. "At 850 MB (5000 FT), a 50 to 60 knot west southwest wind could be found over the Southern Plains moving through Kansas into Missouri, while at the 700 MB (10,000 FT) level, a 70 knot wind maximum was surging northeast across the Texas Panhandle into Oklahoma. Higher up, from the 500 MB to 300 MB (18,000 - 30,000 FT) layer, incredibly strong maximum winds of 120-150 knots extended from the Desert Southwest into the Southern Plains." This really set the stage for rapid thunderstorm development and movement.

Western Michigan was no exception to the unusual summer like weather on Palm Sunday, 1965. As the afternoon wore on, some radio stations advised that Severe Thunderstorms were possible, but made no mention of tornadoes. Like so many times in the past, these forecasts came and went with only minor incidence. Very few radio and television stations carried these weather advisories back in 1965, unless they were part of the EBS Network. Moreover, since it was Sunday, many radio stations probably only had one person on duty and they could only spend a limited amount of time watching the reports coming in on the weather wire circuits.

Likewise in Indiana, the broadcast media often disseminated weather advisories but not on a mandatory basis. When radio stations in the South Bend area transmitted the advisories, it was believed that many people did not hear them broadcasted, because they were too involved with outdoor activities. Moreover, since the storms also hit in areas that were heavily inhabited by Amish and Mennonite families, the inability to effectively communicate the impending threat to them via the mass media contributed greatly to the death toll east of Goshen at Rainbow Lake and Shore community in Lagrange County.

William Ezell, the Meteorologist in Charge of the Toledo, Ohio office of the U.S. Weather Bureau, along with his assistant began calling all of the local radio and TV stations in the "Glass City" and across all of northwest Ohio, asking them to please broadcast to the public the seriousness of the unfolding weather situation across the lower Great Lakes region. Many of them laughed at how foolish they were for overreacting and several stations even hung-up on Ezell. At 5:22 p.m. EST, the Severe Weather phone at the South Bend rang again; it was the Chicago office advising them that a new Tornado Forecast had been issued effective immediately, calling for several tornadoes in an area 60 miles either side of line from Detroit to Lafayette, Indiana valid until 9:00 p.m. Moreover, they advised that storms were starting to develop over northwest Indiana in Lake and Porter Counties, southwest of Michigan City. Amazingly, this geographical region covered by the forecast was in the heart of area mostly affected by the deadliest of the killer storms that afternoon and evening.

Now the U.S. Weather Bureau at South Bend swung into full action, calling in extra personnel, notifying local emergency broadcasting stations, and working closely with area law enforcement agencies, particularly the Indiana State Police, District 12 in South Bend and District 21, in Ligonier. They, along with other districts did a marvelous job of tracking the numerous tornadoes as they moved across the northern half of the Hoosier State. Without any doubt, their reports would be very valuable in the days to come in retracing the times and locations of the tornadoes as they moved through several communities.

Since the late 1950s, the Indiana State Police followed the lead taken by several states to the southwest and included three hours of training in what is called "Severe Weather Surveillance," in which officers are properly educated in how to follow and report Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes from a safe distance, usually from the southeast side of the mesocyclone. On April 11, 1965 none of the Indiana State Troopers in the areas affected by the tornadoes could have ever imagined that this aspect of their academy training would prove to be so priceless. Some even had time to grab a camera and take photos as the storms churned across the landscape at speeds greater than 60 MPH.

The wait at the South Bend weather office was a short one, at 5:32 p.m. EST, the Chicago office notified them that a rapidly developing thunderstorm contained a hook echo west of Knox, and was moving northeast at 45 MPH. Immediately, Larry Burns issued a Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warning for LaPorte, Marshall, and Stark Counties for the next 30 to 60 minutes. This was the first warning, with many more to follow in the next three hours. The first confirmed report of tornadic activity was called into the Weather Bureau at 5:48 p.m. EST, when the Knox Airport reported seeing a funnel cloud eight miles north of town. This first in series of killer tornadoes (J-1) was to cut an unprecedented path of death and destruction across northern Indiana, descended from the sky west of Koontz Lake at 5:30 p.m. EST. Quickly moving at speeds greater than 60 MPH, this 250 yard wide F4 storm, would kill 10; injure 180, across: Knox, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Elkhart Counties. Many people had no time to react; death was at their doorstep within seconds. Indiana State Trooper Robert Candler would spot the coming tornado (J-1) approaching U.S. Highway 31 from the southwest at a high rate of speed. Stopping his patrol car in the roadway to block traffic from heading into the twister, the tempest would pass within two blocks of his location. He radioed back to District 12 in South Bend, and informed them to notify the U.S. Weather Bureau that the dangerous storm was heading right for them. He then was able to take a marvelous photo of a white tornado as it passed to his east.

As this large twister moved into Lakeville, the new high school that was under construction was completely leveled. Many people in the community were looking forward to the new school especially the gymnasium where the basketball games would be played. For you see, the passion of the hoop is to the Hoosier State in the spring, what the magic of the gridiron is in Texas during the autumn months. Passions for local teams run deep in just about every part of the state unifying the townsfolk together as large mass of cheering fans. Sadly, in the days after the Palm Sunday storms, many of these same communities that had weeks earlier been as one to cheer their teams onto victory had to now come together to help with the cleanup and bury the dead.

Just as the first tornado was moving north of Wakaruska, the second violent F4 tornado (J-2) was eradicating the small town of Wyatt from the map. This storm would pass through the Midway Trailer Park, wiping out the vulnerable mobile homes. Paul Huffman would capture this tragic moment on film forever, as the twin funnels would move across U.S. Highway 33 and the New York Central Railroad?s New York-to-Chicago mainline one after another, then merge into a gigantic monster that would move off to the east. Huffman was the senior photographer for the Elkhart Truth newspaper. Earlier he had been on assignment, taking photos of Palm Sunday ceremonies at a local church, when he decided to head home with his wife on Route 33 to check on their son to see if he was ok. Driving north, he observed the unusual green color of the storm; noticing the rotating striations, he decided to pull off the highway and watch it. Seeing the tornado approaching rapidly form the west, Huffman grabbed his Speed Graphic camera from the car and shot six high-speed exposures within less than a minute.

In that time, most of Dunlap now lay in ruin. Watching the deadly double twister move through the area, Elkhart County Deputy Sheriff Richard Walker, grabbed his microphone and told dispatch that a tornado had just hit the trailer park and they needed ambulances, doctors and tow-trucks to head there immediately. Walker had heard the earlier warnings broadcasted about the storm in Nappanee and decided that since he had never seen a tornado before, to head towards the west and find a good observation point to report anything back to the radio operator at the county jail. As fate would have it, Walker would become an eyewitness to history. By this time the U.S. Weather Bureau office in South Bend was receiving a deluge of calls coming from the public and law enforcement agencies alike, some were joke calls from citizens, but the majority of them were confirmed reports of funnel clouds and tornadoes on the ground. Moreover, forecasters were unable to make contact with these areas due to power grid towers and telephone trunk lines being ripped down.

At 6:50 p.m. EST, meteorologist Larry Burns issued a "Blanket Tornado Warning" for all of the counties under their jurisdiction, due to the life-threatening nature of the outbreak over such a large geographic area. To this day, this was the first and only time such a measure has ever been undertaken to disseminate critical life-saving warnings to the public by the National Weather Service. The next in a series of killer tornadoes (J-3) would touch down just northeast of Goshen, Indiana, and move northeast at over 60 MPH. As this monstrous F4 twister churned across the landscape in Elkhart and LaGrange Counties: entire farms, houses, and the Shore community of Rainbow Lake would be totally swept away, leaving only a foundation as the only reminder that life existed there. Ironically, even the dead in the cemetery wasn?t spared the full wrath of nature?s fury, as she proceeded to remove the tombstones and the neighboring church with its burial records. Thankfully, this priceless information was later found days later in Branch County, Michigan and returned to their rightful owners.

Many eyewitnesses to this storm had rather vivid descriptions of what they saw. One family that saw the storm coming from the west said it looked like three, maybe five serpents dancing around. While others described it as swaying back and forth like an elephants? trunk. However, just before the tornado arrived at the Shore area, residents watched in total disbelief as the twister evolved into a massive cloud of swirling and churning oatmeal that spread death to whatever it touched, complete with suction jets that resembled octopus tentacles reaching out horizontally on both sides.

Indiana State Trooper Charles Wainscott was on patrol in Lagrange County on State Route 120, when the dispatcher in Ligonier informed him to respond the scene of devastation in suburban Dunlap. Heading in a westerly direction, he spotted what looked like a tornado on the far horizon to the southwest. Turning south on S.R. 5 he attempted to intercept the twister but it was moving so fast that he was unable observe it for very long, but radioed back it?s position as being near U.S. Highway 20 and the Shore community. Many people were caught totally by surprise in this mostly Mennonite community as the very large, multiple vortex twister would smash peoples homes, lives and farms to smithereens, causing near F5 damage.

Here the only thing that remained was the bare concrete and dirt foundations of what had been a thriving area. Many of the personal belongings of the residents here were scattered all over the landscape, some were even found in the cities of Jackson and Chelsea, Michigan over 100 miles away. As the falling debris in the roadway cut off Trooper Wainscott?s pursuit, another state police cruiser picked up the chase and followed the tornado (J-3) further northeast. Meanwhile, Lagrange County Sheriff Jack Bowen was keeping the tornado under surveillance from his observation point to the north and staying in constant contact with his dispatcher, who was relaying the twister?s location to other police units across the county and to neighboring Steuben County to the east, the next location on the storm?s list.

Bowen?s high-speed patrol vehicle had to use its entire horsepower to keep-up with the deadly menace that was now taking everything in its path. "I clocked the tornado at 65 MPH, with my speedometer trying to keep pace with it east of Lagrange," Bowen said. "I never knew a tornado could move so fast." Thankfully, the Lagrange County storm lifted just three miles to the east of Brighton, but it would only be a short respite before the next tornado (J-4) would drop from the skies two miles southwest of Lake Pleasant in Steuben County. While the Hoosier State?s law enforcement community magnificently rose to the challenge by effectively communicating the whereabouts of the tornadoes at any given time, Michigan however, would be a whole different story.

Across The Water-Winter Wonderland:

The U.S. Weather Bureau offices in Grand Rapids, and Lansing were plagued with equipment failures that day. The former was dependant on the aged local radar in Muskegon that had suffered a burned-out tube the day before, and was out-of-service on Palm Sunday, 1965. Forecasters were unable to see where the storms were and subsequently did not issue any warnings for their area of responsibility. Thankfully, many county Civil Defense and fire departments took it upon themselves to issue local origination warnings for their communities. The Lansing office had a failure of their Teletype machines due to a faulty relay circuit and did not receive any reports from Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne or South Bend. They had no clue that Severe Weather was occurring in neighboring districts and would soon move into their warning area. Moreover, later findings would conclude that a lack of coordinated communications between regional U.S. Weather Bureau offices, SELS, and local and state public safety agencies played a significant role in the loss of life in the Wolverine State.

The first F4 killer tornado in Michigan (H-1) was tearing across the ground near the Ottawa, County town of Allendale, on M-50 at 5:54 p.m. EST. Catching everyone by surprise the storm would move undetected across the area at 45 MPH. Five would perish; 142 were injured, as the storm moved into Kent County, south of Rockford, then lifted. Among the causalities was Grand Traverse County Sheriff Richard Weiler, who suffered a severe injury to his thigh. Weiler had been in the Grand Rapids area on official business and was eating dinner at a local restaurant when the twister struck with the speed and ferocity of an incoming howitzer shell. Over 50 people, including Sheriff Weiler were trapped in the rubble, but a quick response from the local fire department saved many lives.

Some of the most heart-wrenching damage occurred in Comstock Park on north side of Grand Rapids, as entire houses along city blocks were reduced to rubble in seconds. The deadly half-mile wide twister roared into the neighborhood and sucked the life out of the small thriving bedroom community. Survivors emerged from the their homes to find a landscape that resembled a scene that resembled recent images taken by the Mars Rover, of the Martian landscape, completely stripped of trees and houses. However, they were the lucky ones that survived to tell their grandchildren about the winds of April.

Moving east-northeast at speeds reaching 70 MPH, fast moving Supercells would drop several additional tornadoes during their trek across the Lower Peninsula. The first to the south in Allegan County, (I-1) would crash to earth and skip across the landscape at 7:05 p.m. EST. Injuring nine people, this storm would lift before hitting Barlow Lake in Barry County. Ernest Miller, however, was not so lucky. Hearing a load roar, he opened the back door of his house and walked outside to investigate. He probably never knew what hit him; a 2x4 went right through his chest killing him instantly.

Shortly afterwards the next unwelcome visitor appeared at 7:40 p.m. EST, when an F3 twister fell from the skies in central Barry County near Hastings, and moved northeast to just south Woodbury, injuring five, but fortunately there were no fatalities from this twister. However, areas to the northeast would not be so lucky. Feeling the urge to do more destruction, the Supercell that had just left Barry County, roared into Clinton County and dropped a very large F4 tornado 3.5 miles west of Dewitt, killing one lady and inuring eight others at 8:15 p.m. EST. This killer storm moved east-northeast and lifted one mile northwest of Bennington, in Shiawassee County near Blood Lake. While the loss of human life was very low from this twister, several dozen-farm animals lost their lives as entire farms disappeared from the landscape. Ironically, ten minutes after the Clinton County twister had touched down, just 35 miles northwest in Montcalm County, another family of tornadoes was poised to suck-up more earth as they moved across the landscape at 70 MPH.

Another tornadic supercell would move across Lake Michigan from Chicago into Berrien County, where a tornado moved across the mostly rural landscape southwest of St. Joseph causing little if any damage. However, it would come down again southeast of Kalamazoo as a quarter mile wide twister that would thankfully stay away from populated areas near Battle Creek moving across rural Calhoun County, causing F3 damage to whatever it touched. Several people would be injured but thankfully the only fatalities that day would be the livestock that were corralled into their pens at the time the tornado struck with no warning at 7:45 p.m.

After hearing about the large tornado in Kent County, the Stanton Fire Dept., was watching the skies as the next storm moved into Montcalm County. A reported funnel cloud off State Highway M-97 north Greenville put them on high alert and as they patiently scanned the skies. Their wait would not be a long one because at 8:25 p.m. EST, another funnel (N-1) descended from the skies south of Stanton and moved quickly into Gratiot County, but lifted before striking the community of Alma, but amazingly dropped three separate tornadoes at the same time around the city of Ithaca at 8:35 p.m. Michigan?s next to the last series of damaging Palm Sunday tornadoes came when (N-5) touched down in Portsmouth Township in Bay County. This F2 twister tore the roof off several commercial buildings and destroyed several farms before moving out into Saginaw Bay. However, shortly thereafter (N-6) would descend to earth in northwestern Tuscola County, causing more F2 damage and completely destroying a lumberyard in Unionville before lifting.

Hoosier State Act II:

Mother Nature was not done with Indiana. Three more violent killer tornadoes would touchdown in the Hoosier State. The first would spin down from the skies over extreme eastern Porter County (K-1) and move northeast towards Wanatah, in La Porte County at 6:30 PM. The second twister (L-1) was part of the longest path length of any tornado on Palm Sunday; covering 273 miles, in 4 hours and 23 minutes, across Indiana to near Cleveland, Ohio. Finally, the last violent tornado (M-1) would carve a 1760-yard wide path of total devastation across Montgomery, Boone, and Hamilton counties north of Indianapolis. The strongest tornado to ever strike northern Indiana (J-2) was one of two F5 storms of the outbreak.

This monstrous twister first touched down at 7:10 p.m. EST, just west of S.R. 331, near the small hamlet of Woodland, and quickly grew into a half-mile wide killer. Moving along at speeds of over 60 MPH, this tornado would totally devastate the community of Dunlap, a suburb just southeast of Elkhart. The Sunnyside and Kingston Heights subdivisions were completely swept away, leaving a bare foundation as a cruel reminder that moments earlier had been a seemingly happy and thriving community.

WTRC, AM-1340 was on the air warning people that this twister had just struck Jimtown, and the announcer stated and "tornado is coming dangerously close to the studio, if we go off the air for extended length of time, you?ll know what happened to us." The tornado passed just to the south of WSJV Fox 28/WTRC's studio and spared the station. However, by this time the key to receiving any updates on the weather depended whether or not you had any electricity. Most of the 36 people killed by this violent twister received no warning the storm was fast approaching from the southwest. Entire power and telephone grids had been destroyed by the storms as they moved through St. Joseph, and Elkhart Counties. At the very least you needed electricity to receive the warnings or a constant eye on the sky.

Since the modern power distribution grid system across northern Indiana was completely upgraded in 1961, the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company was more than confident their new state-of-the-art network was infallible, even to the severest of weather conditions. However, Mother Nature would put it to task on Palm Sunday 1965, like no other power system had been before and would come out the victor. By the time the last tornado had gone through the Kokomo area, all of the 12 power grids supported by 165? tall towers were completely out of commission, which cut off all power to the businesses, residents, and even the U.S. Weather Bureau Office in Fort Wayne at Baer Field was in the dark for over an hour.

Elkhart County Sheriff, Woody Caton was at home when his telephone rang advising him of the disaster at the Midway Trailer Park. He ran to his patrol car; responded to the scene without even saying goodbye to his wife. After arriving at the scene, he assisted with the rescue workers in looking for additional victims that might be buried in the rubble. While looking at the devastation, a firefighter ran up and said, "There is another tornado coming." The rains and winds started to blow furiously; hailstones as large as tennis balls fell from the sky. Sheriff Caton ordered everyone to "Hit the ditch across from the trailer park on the other side of the railroad tracks." Soon after: debris began to rain down on the rescue workers.

Pieces that once were automobiles, houses, and other man made objects fell from the sky. Sheriff Caton knew this disaster would outstrip his department?s ability to respond effectively to the severity of this crisis. He radioed the dispatcher and told him to contact the Indiana State Police for further assistance. The dispatcher told him "all the phone lines were knocked out from the earlier storm and they were on their backup radio system." Now it was clear; communications with the outside world had been lost. Elkhart and other parts of the Midwest were now cut off from the rest of humanity. Their only hope would now lie at the hands of Amateur (Ham) Radio Operators; they would be the distress beacons that would tell the world of the disaster that hit northern Indiana.

Communications problems were numerous on Palm Sunday, 1965. With the widespread loss of electrical power, many public safety agencies lacked adequate means to notify those in harms way the tornadoes were approaching or assist in recovery efforts, especially without a backup generator. Moreover, with telephone relays at the main AT&T long distance repeater station completely destroyed, the Elkhart Police Department could not call outside the city to warn anyone in Michigan the deadly twisters were moving into their state. Even the different police radio frequency bands in use at that time made it impossible to notify those in Branch and St. Joseph Counties, of the impending disaster about to arrive at their doorstep.

In 1965, law enforcement communications were in Indiana had already moved to the newer VHF-High band, while most of southern lower Michigan was still operating on VHF-Low band around 37.10 MHz. Furthermore, each ambulance, fire and police agency had their own radio system that operated on different frequencies, which in most cases prohibited any real chance to communicate, and coordinate disaster response and relief operations among each other. Thankfully, today?s high-tech digital public safety radio systems like the Michigan Public Safety Communications System (MPSCS) and the SAFE-T System in Indiana promote true two-way interoperability among all first responders.

Tim Bainter was only five years-old when the Palm Sunday Storms struck Elkhart County that day. His family lived on US-20 just west of S.R. 15, where some of the most intense damage was spawned from the second tornadic supercell, as it plowed through the area like a bulldozer out of control. "What normally took us 20 minutes to arrive home from church, took several hours," Bainter said. I can remember seeing a house that night that had its second floor removed and the only thing sitting there was a grand piano completely untouched. I was so tired and looked forward to getting home, but when we did, the landscape looked like an atomic bomb had gone off and the second story of our house was completely removed. Worse yet, the truck stop just down the road was completely devastated and only the concrete foundation remained."

The Bainters were not alone, many residents all across the Michiana Region would have the numbing feeling that the place they called home was no longer there; seemingly gone with a swipe of a hand. Ironically, Mother Nature was not done yet and places, homes, and lives to the east would now undergo the same brutal battering that had just unfolded across northern Indiana. The massive tornado (K-2) continued northeast and struck the Hunters Lake area, causing extensive damage to many of the houses along the eastern shore. Several of the houses were picked up and smashed to kindling, and family photos was later found in the back yard of a house in Homer, Michigan roughly 70 miles away. From there the twister crossed over the Indiana Toll Road near the small berg of Scott, where several vehicles were blown off the freeway just after 7:30 p.m. EST.

Doctor James K. Sommers, now of Dexter, Michigan was heading back to college in Iowa, from his home in Angola when the tornadoes struck and became an eyewitness to the carnage on the Indiana Toll Road. "I was with a person who was an off-duty Ohio State Trooper, and he was trained in how to spot Severe Weather conditions," Sommers said. "As we drove west along the Toll Road, you could see the towering storms in the distance and the closer we got to Elkhart, the worse the weather conditions got. When the heavy rain and golfball size hall started, we pulled under an overpass and waited the storm out. The first tornado went by and completely sandblasted the car I was in. We decided to wait because my friend said that Œsometimes tornadoes come more than one at a time? and the person who stopped behind us took off and was struck by another tornado just two minutes later. His car and along with several others was picked up and tossed like a toy into a barren cornfield on the north side on the Toll Road."

Irish Hills Invaders:

Just before 7:00 p.m. EST, in Steuben County, ironically further east down the Indiana Toll Road, another thin rope extended down from a thunderstorm, followed by four more that began to dance around each other three miles southwest of Lake Pleasant. These thin funnels (J-4) quickly grew in size and strength as it tore through the resort area around the lake. The entire eastern shore of Lake Pleasant was completely devastated; nothing remained but twisted wreckage. Even the trees, not directly in this killer storm?s path, were completely stripped of their bark around the lake; they had been literally sandblasted. Moving along at well over a mile-a-minute, this gargantuan tornado would exceed one mile in width as it tore into Coldwater Lake, in Branch County Michigan.

The beautiful summer cottages along the west shore were completely destroyed and swept into the lake. Eighteen people would die here and over 400 people injured. Amateur Radio Operators would again play a paramount role in obtaining assistance into areas completely paralyzed by the wrath of Mother Nature in Branch County. Bill Sullivan, K8JID, was very fortunate. The first tornado (J-4) did not touch his house located on the far north side of Coldwater Lake. With electrical and telephone services knocked out; he started his emergency generator. Bill knew his radio equipment was the only way to summon assistance for the families of the dead and injured; screaming in the lake for help. Bill sent out a SOS on 80 Meters; received by Gerald Cole, W3CI, in Maryland. Bill explained to Gerald the severity of the disaster and for him to call for assistance. "Its like a bomb had gone off at the lake, everything was obliterated. There?re bodies laying everywhere." Gerald had never been in such a situation like this since World War II, when he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He decided to call the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and explain to them what had happened; who in turn contacted the local Detroit office.

After talking with the communications director in Washington, D.C: the Detroit office then called the Coldwater City Police Department, who notified the Branch County Sheriff?s Department. Before Gerald could tell Bill that help was on its way, another violent tornado (K-3) was forming just west of Coldwater Lake. This monstrous storm would follow a nearly identical path as the earlier storm (J-4) that had already demolished everything in its path as it moved to the northeast at 63 MPH. For rescue workers in Hillsdale and Lenawee Counties, the second tornado came without any warning, following nearly the same path as the previous one. For a resident of Long Lake in Hillsdale County, who must have been avid fisherman, must have received the shock of his life when the authorities came to his front door and told him that his aluminum boat had been found in back of Elliot?s Sports Center in Brooklyn, Michigan, which is roughly 35 miles from the lake where he last saw his boat docked at.

The small vessel was completely battered and unusable, but without any doubt had an incredible journey after being picked up and carried for such a long distance. Likewise, many residents in the Chelsea, Manchester and Saline areas in Washtenaw County reported large debris that was found the next day from Hillsdale and Manitou Beach in their fields, front lawns, and even wrapped in the trees. Moving east-northeast, the tornado would move across Baw Beese Lake, demolishing everything in its path. It was here that a New York Central freight train was picked up and thrown into the lake, where it still rests today. Fortunately, the engine crew escaped death by accelerating their locomotives away from the path of the oncoming twister.

Hillsdale County Sheriff, Ed Webb, was outraged by the fact his county had received no warning from the U.S. Weather Bureau. He called up the Lansing office and demanded an explanation as to why they were not alerted to such a severe storm moving across his county. "The forecaster in Lansing assured me that there was no need to worry; they had not received any damage or tornado reports, " Webb said. "I told him, what the hell do you call baseball size hail thenŠice pellets?" Sheriff Webb being a prudent man told him he was crazy that a 40-foot sailboat just flew past his front window hung up and dove for the basement.

The U.S. Weather Bureau in Lansing decided at that point to issue a tornado warning for the areas to the northeast in Jackson County, which they felt was in the direct path of the approaching storm. Since their teletypes were out-of-service, they started to telephone police, fire, and news media offices to let them know the storm was heading for the Jackson area. However, Mother Nature doesn?t necessarily follow a road map and the storm took more of an easterly trek towards the Manitou Beach area in Lenawee County. Here an entire community would be caught off guard on April 11, 1965.

To the east of Hillsdale County, lies an area of gentle farmlands in Lenawee County that produce a rich harvest every year. In this part of southeastern Lower Michigan, are many lakes created when the glaciers were retreating during the Ice Age. Devil?s and Round Lake are prime summer vacation spots, with many summer cottages just a short drive from U.S. Highways 127 and 223. The residents of Manitou Beach would be no strangers to the tragedy of April 11, 1965. Pastor Jack Nicholson was conducting the annual Palm Sunday evening services at the newly opened Manitou Beach Bible Church. As the weather grew worse with each passing minute, those at the church began to feel a strange vibration from the floor. With each passing tick of the second hand, time brought the parishioners closer to a rendezvous with death. Becoming more concerned by the sounds Mother Nature was making outside than the words coming from Pastor Nicholson, many were becoming visibly anxious as the weather outside grew worse, as he was minutes away from completing his sermon.

The vibration in the floor was becoming an audible noise that everyone could hear, but many residents in the area thought it was a freight train passing by on the old Cincinnati Northern Branch Line of the New York Central. Then at 7:45 p.m. EST, the roar grew louder and with the loud crash of the steeple, people started for the basement but never made it. Before anyone had a chance to fully react, a deafening roar tore shattered the stained glass windows and caused the wall and ceiling to crash down upon them trapping two-dozen people in the rubble before they had a chance to escape to the basement. Those who did not make it downstairs were thrown outside like dolls. Cars were completely swept out of the parking lot, and some were found a full city block away, including Pastor Nicholson?s station wagon. Several people would die in this part of Lenawee County, as they had received no warning of the killer tornado?s approach. Worse yet, they had no clue that 45 minutes behind the first storm would come another violent twister. Heading east-northeast right towards Tipton, Michigan, the first tornado (J-4) would level every building within its reach as it rolled across the Irish Hills like a giant steamroller. Here the damage path from both tornadoes reached four miles wide and extended well into northwest Monroe County.

As the horrible storm passed north of the Meyers Airport, an anemometer recorded for the first time a peak wind gust in access of 151 MPH. This data coupled with the passing of the second tornado (K-3) 45 minutes later would provide Dr. Fujita with a wealth of data to study. By this time, the Lenawee County Sheriff?s Department received a call that the Bible Church at Devil?s Lake had been hit by a tornado and people were injured. Since there were no patrol cars in the area at that time, the Hudson Police was contacted and Chief Ted Milliman, with the help of a firefighter, responded to the scene at Manitou Beach. Likewise, Sheriff Richard Germond and Detective Larry Mowery grabbed the rescue van and headed to the lake Code-3. However, unknown to any of the people or public safety first responders, the second tornado (K-3) was only minutes away from the area between the lakes and would destroy everything not already decimated by the first twister.

The train crew from the daily northbound Carlisle-to-Jackson freight train "CJ-4" found their right-of-way blocked by debris that was just moments before parts of a garage, living room, and even a late model automobile or two, causing them to make an emergency stop. The engineer radioed the Jackson Dispatcher they had rode into the middle of a disaster and the people of Manitou Beach needed all the help they could get. Usually the "CJ-4" passes through the area much earlier, but due to a heavy load of freight cars that had to set off in Ohio, backed them up by over an hour. Had they arrived in the area sooner, they too might have become part of the rubble in the area between the lakes. As Chief Milliman raced to the Manitou Beach area up U.S. Highway 127 at high speed, the lightning, rain and hail was beginning and then the winds started to blow again very hard. Before Ted knew what was going on, the second tornado had picked up their patrol car spun it around and set it back down in the southbound lane. Likewise, Sheriff Germond and Detective Mowery had a similar experience, when their rescue van began to meet a lot of resistance rocking back and forth from the nearby twister on Rome Road. The winds were so strong that they could not even get the doors open to get into the ditch to take cover. Thankfully, they were not injured and headed to the scene between the lakes with caution, setting up a command post to direct search and rescue operations.

The second storm took out the long distance phone lines from Manitou Beach to Adrian; thus, isolating the area off from the rest of the world. For the people in Tipton east to the Monroe County line, word did not reach the Sheriff?s Department that they had been hit until several hours later. The disaster at the lake had outstripped the capabilities of the local authorities, and help was called in from the Michigan State Police and National Guard. Meanwhile, the mile wide tornado (J-4) continued its march into Monroe, County, taking aim on the city of Milan. Most residents of this small town were unaware of the approaching twister, and were going about their usual routines on Sunday night, clueless that death was heading their way faster than a runaway freight train. Ironically, more people would die in Monroe County on this day than any other, from the three violent F4 tornadoes that would leave a path of complete destruction in their wake on Palm Sunday, 1965.

As the tornado moved into Milan, fortunately it began to shrink and loose it?s intensity. However, not before causing severe damage to the city?s primary employer: Wolverine Plastics. Here the entire roof was peeled off like a sardine can. Entire trees were snapped in two; thrown into houses. Several people caught off guard were injured, even killed just outside of Milan. Moreover, the city was without electricity and telephone communications for a several days after the storms passed. Like so many other places around the Great Lakes Region, they too had no warning the storms were coming. Former Milan Police Chief Warren Hale had arrived back home at his house in York Township located in Washtenaw County, just across the street from Monroe County, an hour before the first tornado struck the city.

The events over the next two hours would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life. "My wife was preparing a desert after getting back home from the Irish Hills area, and I believe I was watching ŒBonanza? on TV," Hale said. "However, the weather continued to deteriorate, and a real eerie calmness settled inŠand the winds kicked up, with continuous lightning, much of it green in color, then came the largest hailstones I ever saw". Then came what at first we thought was a train coming down Wabash Railroad, but everything outside was blowing around and I said, to my wife that it was a tornado and we immediately hit the floor, then you could hear windows breaking and the roar was deafening."

Like so many people that night across the lower Great Lakes, Warren Hale emerged from his house to see his backyard area to the north look like a total mess, with wires down, trees and small buildings destroyed. Worse yet, his 1953 Kaiser Manhattan had its roof completely flattened when it was picked up and tossed around in the back yard. With the electricity and telephones knocked out, Hale decided to get his family into a their battered station wagon and head into town. "Before we could even get out of the house into the car, the second storm hit came up and it was raining and hailing again, so we jumped in and I started the car, then we heard that unmistakable roar again," Hale said. "We tried to get the car doors open but the pressure was too great, and then backend of the station wagon was picked up and we held on for dear life, then we spun around counter-clockwise and landed with a thud in the driveway." Then just like first time, the second tornado left Milan just as quickly as it came, but this time taking down all of the utility poles on the south side of Milan-Oakville Road as far as the eye could see.

Likewise, Squires Manufacturing Company located on County Street suffered severe damage and the building was written off as a complete loss. The first tornado, (J-4) started to diminish in intensity as it moved through Milan and finally dissipated 10 miles east near Waltz, Michigan located in southern Wayne County. Intermittent damage was visible from the air on both sides of the Wayne Washtenaw/Monroe County borders. Ironically, 20 minutes after the first tornado had destroyed the church at Devils Lake.

WXYZ TV-7 in Detroit ran a crawl across the bottom of the screen, warning everyone in Lenawee County to take cover. The Detroit Office of the U.S. Weather Bureau, located at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, did not receive any warnings from the Lansing Office, indicating that tornadoes were occurring to the southwest of their area of responsibility. Subsequent investigation would reveal that the teletypes at their office had failed around 3:00 p.m. EST; no warnings were sent or received over their wire circuits. Upon receiving confirmation from the Michigan State Police at the Clinton Post, warnings were issued for Monroe County as well. However, it was now too late.

Glass City Shattered:

The onslaught of death and destruction continued in Northwestern Ohio. Another violent F4 tornado (O-1) would touchdown and move quickly across the northern part of Toledo, Ohio. Dozens of eyewitnesses observed twin funnels dance their way across the sky at dusk, moving across Lasky Avenue in Toledo. One brave individual even photographed the twin bright orange electrified tornadoes in the dark skies as they marched across the city in tandem. The death toll would have been worse, had the storms stayed on the ground and cut a continuous path of destruction. The first word that the U.S. Weather Bureau Office in Toledo received that a tornado had struck the city, was when they were called by the TV stations in town, looking for information on where the storms were headed for.

The hardest hit area of Toledo was the Fuller Creek (Creekside) Subdivision, near Pointe Place, on the northeast side of the city. Here a large residential section of the city lay in complete ruin. Toledo Police officer Jeff Karmichael would describe the scene, as one of complete carnage and destruction. Around 9:40 p.m. EST he was the beat car working the north side patrol. He received a call from headquarters of a possible explosion near Pointe Place. Proceeding to the scene, his progress was stopped by numerous trees and part of a house that blocked his way. The electricity was out and the smell of natural gas permeated the night air. Karmichael would never forget the sounds of people crying and screaming for help, he had nightmares about it for many months afterwards.

The twin twisters would create near F5 damage as they played hopscotch across the Glass City. Coming down again on I-75, a Greyhound Bus was picked up and slammed down on the freeway like a toy, taking four lives and injuring many others. Then heading northeast, the twin twisters moved across the Lost Peninsula area, located in extreme southeastern Monroe County, Michigan. Two more lives would be taken here and 29 injured as automobiles and boats became airborne missiles that crashed into houses near the lakefront. When it was all over with, damages alone from the three F4 twisters would be well over $5 million and no amount of insurance coverage could ever being to replace the family memories that were now gone with the wind.

Listen To The Jingle, Rumble And The Roar:

Mother Nature was not finished with Ohio, as more killer tornadoes were coming from Indiana. Already 25 people lay dead; 835 injured in Kokomo and Marion from a mammoth 800-yard wide tornado (L-2). This storm had produced an earlier killer tornado, a classic mile-wide wedge of death (L-1) that had destroyed every building in Russiaville, Indiana. Many residents in this small picture book slice of 1960s small town Americana were attending local church services when the storm hit and ran for cover when the deafening roar grew louder. A lucky few were able to outrun the tornado in their cars; others would not be so fortunate. Ironically, another tornadic supercell was forming southwest of Kokomo near U.S. Highway 136, heading east-northeast at speeds well over 60 MPH.

Just after 7:50 p.m. EST, a large tornado (M-1), which several eyewitnesses described as a mushroom cloud resembling an atomic bomb, dropped from the skies in Montgomery County, just southeast of Crawfordsville, Indiana. Moving east northeast at 60 MPH, this violent storm would grow quickly to just over a mile wide in width and claim over 28 lives, injuring over 123 people in its path of carnage across Montgomery, Boone, and Hamilton Counties. Many curious onlookers did not recognize what they were looking because the violent twister didn?t resemble a classic funnel, but an entire wall of vertically rolling clouds that enveloped everything in it?s path and, taking with it everything that it touched. Those who saw it coming narrowly escaped death by literally diving into the basement, under a workbench, or even crawling under their family automobile.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Weather Bureau Office at Fort Wayne?s Baer Field had not received any timely information that a large F4 tornado was heading for the city of Marion, located in Grant County. Here the mighty twister tore the roof of the Veterans Administration Hospital, injuring many of the patients there, then tore apart the Panorama Shopping Center. Within minutes of the storm?s passing, looters descended upon the stricken businesses and shops carrying off anything that was salvageable. Moreover, it would be days before power was restore in the part of the Hoosier State, as 30+ Indiana and Michigan Electric Company transmission towers were completely demolished, resembling spaghetti more than anything else.

As Tornado L-2 lifted near Arcana, the Fort Wayne Weather Office issued a Tornado Warning for Adams, Blackford, Grant, Huntington, Jay, Wabash and Wells Counties. As this was happening, another tornado was forming (L-3) and would show a very well defined hook-echo on the aged Fort Wayne local warning radar. They immediately sent out a Severe Weather Statement five minutes before the deadly twister slammed into Berne, calling attention the dangerous storm. However, they had no idea that a large tornado had been on the ground for less than 40 miles tearing through the area.

Adding insult to injury, the city of Marion, Indiana at 9:07 p.m. EST, reported to the Fort Wayne Signal Dept., "three tornadoes had struck the city of Marion with extensive damage especially to the V.A. Hospital." Subsequently, the weather office in Fort Wayne issued a Tornado Warning for Adams, Blackford, Jay and Wells County. Ironically, they had issued a warning based on the misinterpretation that the report they had just received was current, when in reality the storm had already passed through the area nearly 90 minutes before.

Buckeye Supercell Express:

Ohio?s main battle with the destructive forces of Mother Nature began in earnest when the first violent storm (L-3) had crossed over the state line from Adams County, Indiana. This tornado had caused catastrophic F4 damage to the towns of Keystone, Linn Grove, and the north side of Berne, wiping out everything it came in contact with. Moreover, there were many reports of twin tornadoes in Adams County, as the first twister had an identical counter part that was equally as destructive and could have been in fact anti-cyclonic.

Moving into the northwest corner of Mercer County, Ohio just before 8:00 p.m. EST, the gigantic funnel would waste no time in takings it?s first lives on Winkler Road, before moving into Van Wert County. As the twister churned east-northeast at speeds over 62 MPH, the Ohio City Volunteer Fire Dept., had been out warning the residents several minutes before to take cover immediately, as the storm roared just to the south of the small town. Here was one of the very few communities that were prepared to handle the seriousness of the tragedy that would soon continue its rampage to the east and form a completely new twister.

The next destructive tornado from the "L" family (L-4) would touchdown just northwest of Lima, Ohio near U.S. Highway 30S. This F4 storm wasted no time in tearing across Allen and Hancock counties. By the time it lifted west of Vanlue, Ohio, it had managed to kill 13 people and injure over 150 people and had destroyed pretty much every building in it?s path. By this time, the next tornadic supercell was getting ready to spawn its next deadly twister roughly 65 miles to the southwest.

Around 10 p.m. EST, another F4 twister (P-2) dropped from the sky just west of Fort Loramie, in rural Shelby County, and proceeded to tear apart the south side of town. Moving rapidly across the landscape at breakneck speeds the storm would collide with a northbound Baltimore and Ohio freight train, 53 boxcars were torn from the tracks and tossed into a cornfield like toys. Many of the freight cars were nothing but twisted balls of metal. Several residents in the area reported seeing another funnel descend to the ground (P-1) around 15 minutes prior to the larger and more destructive F4 twister that would spread damage to over 150 farms in the county.

Back up north, Seneca County would be struck by another killer storm (L-5) that would carve a 20-mile long path of complete destruction and destruction across the county. The F4 storm would nearly destroy the Borden Company?s Smith-Douglas Division Factory north of Carey, before heading into the small hamlet of Rockaway at U.S. Highway 224 and Ohio State Route 67. Here like so many times earlier that day, Mother Nature would attempt to erase another town off the map.

So devastated was the small berg of Rockaway that less than a handful of houses received severe damage with just a wall or two standing, everything else, including entire farms had been completely destroyed. Two survivors that were World War II, Veterans from the Army Air Corps, said that, "I never saw destruction so thorough and complete when I was taking recon photos in Germany in 1945Šif we could have done saturation bombing this well the war in Europe would have ended much sooner that is for certain." Some residents knew of the approaching storm from listening to radio reports from the Van Wert area, but thought that the storm would weaken before hitting their area. However, due to sketchy information and speculation on the parts of the broadcast media and the public alike, proved to be a costly mistake.

The residents of Lorain County knew something wasn?t right with the weather that Palm Sunday evening, as many of their animals started behaving in strangely. Some folks dismissed this as being nothing to be concerned about, while others saw this as an omen of things to come. Just before 11:00 p.m. EST, the lighting in the western sky was a continuous fireworks show that attracted several people to their windows to watch what they would later call "the worst electrical storm of the century."

The lightning was often many shades of blue, orange, and white but as the storm approached rapidly from the west, the most commonly reported color was green, which is a harbinger of large hail. Moments later this was confirmed but with it came a distinct roar that grew louder till entire houses started to vibrate, shake and then crumble from the strengthening winds. Another killer had been born.

The second F5 tornado (L-6) was on the ground just west of Ohio State Route 58, south of Oberlin, just after 11:08 p.m. EST. heading for the small farming community of Pittsfield Center, located in Lorain County. Many residents were caught off guard as the power went out and tried to scramble around in complete darkness to gather up their loved ones and head to the basement. Many of the nine fatalities and those who were seriously injured never made it there as the twister was moving along the ground at 62.5 MPH, and was already time was too short to react.

The Pittsfield Methodist and Congregational Churches were completely destroyed within seconds. Like so many houses of worship that received the full force of Mother Nature?s fury on Palm Sunday, 1965, these two would not be alone. Dozens of churches has been razed by the violent winds, and in the days to come congregations came together to bury loved ones, and rise up out of the ashes to rebuild anew.

From Pittsfield, the storm headed east-northeast and would slam into Grafton head-on taking everything with it and depositing canceled checks, letters and newspapers in western New York State and Pennsylvania. One resident in Grafton was going to take his car to a friends? house to be worked on the next day. The tornado did it for him, although delivered in much worse shape.

As the very large twister continued to the east, several residents quickly emerged from their basements and could see the tornado well lit by the lightning and at times by its own illumination. Moreover, around a dozen witnesses reported seeing this tornado split into twins, then reform into one large, hideous monster, much like what Paul Huffman photographed just outside of Elkhart Indiana. Likewise, over the last mile of this storm as it passed through the suburban Strongsville in western Cuyahoga County at 11:35 p.m. EST, two paths were found that suggests that there were indeed twin tornadoes, but the pattern of the trees confirms that one of the vortexes was in fact anti-cyclonic.

The radar operator at the U.S. Weather Bureau Office at Akron-Canton Regional Airport would record all of this activity on their aged Decca 41 scope. Unknown to him was the fact they had actually seen a round circle in the rear quadrant of the storm just minutes before the twister touched ground. Subsequent investigation by Dr. Tetsuya "Ted" Fujita, would reveal that radar did in fact pickup the eye of tornado as it moved through the Pittsfield area. Had the staff at the Cleveland office known this information, they would have issued a warning for the area immediately, but did not do so until they had received a call from the Lorain County Sheriff?s Dept., and by that time it was too late. Ironically, just as the Strongsville tornado was lifting, another one was forming just to the south.

At 11:30 p.m. EST, a severe tornado would touchdown in Medina County near Brunswick and moved rapidly east-northeast for just over eight miles and ended north of Richfield. Producing F3 damage along of its path length, the worst damage was in Brunswick along Anderson Street, where several houses were destroyed. Several people were injured but there were no fatalities. However, the same could not be said for the area just north of Columbus in the heart of the Buckeye State.

As the two tornadoes were moving across the areas to the west and south of Cleveland at the 11:30 hour, another twister (Q-1) was born and quickly tasted the ground in eastern Union County. Moving quickly east-northeast at speeds approaching 60 MPH, this F3 storm would move across Delaware County and quickly kill four people in the Radnor area, where the damage was near F4 in intensity. Several people were injured as the storm passed into Morrow County, where a dozen farms were destroyed.

Weaker tornadoes would touchdown in southwestern Ohio just north of Xenia in Greene County doing minor damage to the area around Cedarville at 11:30 p.m. EST. Likewise, additional severe thunderstorms and possible weak tornadoes caused significant damage in Preble and Harrison Counties, which injured a few people, but thankfully no fatalities were reported. However, just past 12:30 a.m. on April 12, 1965, the last twister of the outbreak would crash to earth in Ohio.

The final tornado (R-1) started at Ashville and ended some 30 miles later near Somerset, crossing Pickaway, Fairfield and Perry Counties. The F3 storm produced its worst damage when it crossed the Scioto River where pretty much everything in its path was severely damaged, sending around a dozen people to the hospital. Many farms and mobile homes were totally destroyed by this storm, but no fatalities were reported. Then finally near Somerset, the tornado lifted and one of the worst chapters in American weather history would come to a close. However, with the light of dawn, the healing cleanup would begin and take weeks to complete.

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Hoosier

Hoosier

Posted
Posted

Ya that mid-level jet is crazy and even more crazy with sufficient instability to work with. If you ever find that link, throw it up here sir.

I couldn't find the link I was looking for but I found something else. Slideshow of the outbreak:

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Mertice-16985-40th-Anniversary-Palm-Sunday-Outbreak-Fujita-Attributed-Several-Facets-April-11-12-1965-Fu-of-the-as-Entertainment-ppt-powerpoint/

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Hoosier

Hoosier

Posted
Posted

Yeah I cant even imagine having another day like that occurring. Hell we had 2 long track F4s go through N. Indiana into S. MI that were so close together in path that their paths crossed in Michigan. I believe they occurred about 30 minutes apart too. The more impressive part is that many large cities in the region dodged the bullets this day. Had you taken those 2 tracks and shifted them 50 miles north, they would have traversed down US 12 right into the Detroit Metro area.

I really wonder if we're back into a cycle like the 1950s-1970s. Those were some active years with several big outbreaks across the region. Of course it may be hard to tell since overall tornado detection is much better nowadays.

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Stebo

Stebo

Posted
Posted

I really wonder if we're back into a cycle like the 1950s-1970s. Those were some active years with several big outbreaks across the region. Of course it may be hard to tell since overall tornado detection is much better nowadays.

1950s were drier than average in Texas, and I personally don't see a huge change in the drought for Texas this winter.

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Tim from Springfield (IL)

Tim from Springfield (IL)

Posted
Posted

Do you have plans to due write ups/storm analyses on these events:

--7/23/75: the Canton, IL tornado which killed 2 people.

--9/14/65: a tornado went through the south part of Peoria, with major damage to a grade school in the outlying community of Norwood. 30 people were injured. Before reaching Peoria this storm produced a major hail event in and around Elmwood, IL (the same Elmwood whose downtown was among the victims of the 6/5/2010 outbreak). IIRC there were other tornadoes in eastern IL and IN from this early "second season" storm.

--Speaking of Elmwood and 6/5/2010, what about a write-up/analysis on that day's outbreak?

--5/14/61: Mother's Day tornado outbreak in Illinois, with tornadoes in New Berlin, IL (Sangamon County) and Douglas, IL (Knox County), with at least 8 injuries from the storms (mainly in Douglas).

Also what about 3/12/2006 (which we remember all too well in Springfield).

And also 6/14/57, which included an F4 tornado on the south and southeast sides of Springfield whose track was similar to that of the two tornadoes on 3/12/06 here in the city. Two people were killed and 50 injuried.

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Thundersnow12

Thundersnow12

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6/7/08 is probably the #1 IL event I wish I could have chased...remember watching live radar from home and hearing all the reports come in.

Andrew Pritchard got great video of all the tornadoes associated with that cyclic supercell

And here is a picture of one of them taken by Amy McKinney who is associated with the COD chasing program.

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Chicago Storm

Chicago Storm

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Posted

I remember 1/7/08 pretty well....don't know many tornado events when the H7 temp is below freezing...H5-H7 delta T is 20 at DVN...very impressive mid-level lapse rates.

I'm guessing you'll be doing 11/22/10 as well?

Do you have plans to due write ups/storm analyses on these events:

--7/23/75: the Canton, IL tornado which killed 2 people.

--9/14/65: a tornado went through the south part of Peoria, with major damage to a grade school in the outlying community of Norwood. 30 people were injured. Before reaching Peoria this storm produced a major hail event in and around Elmwood, IL (the same Elmwood whose downtown was among the victims of the 6/5/2010 outbreak). IIRC there were other tornadoes in eastern IL and IN from this early "second season" storm.

--Speaking of Elmwood and 6/5/2010, what about a write-up/analysis on that day's outbreak?

--5/14/61: Mother's Day tornado outbreak in Illinois, with tornadoes in New Berlin, IL (Sangamon County) and Douglas, IL (Knox County), with at least 8 injuries from the storms (mainly in Douglas).

Also what about 3/12/2006 (which we remember all too well in Springfield).

And also 6/14/57, which included an F4 tornado on the south and southeast sides of Springfield whose track was similar to that of the two tornadoes on 3/12/06 here in the city. Two people were killed and 50 injuried.

Due to the number events there are, I decided to use a general criteria when deciding what events I would do.

Out of the events listed in these two posts 6/5/10 is the only one that was done.

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