# Presentation: 126391

## 2004A Record Year for Tornadoes

**2004****A Record Year for Tornadoes**

- Dan McCarthy,
- Joe Schaefer and Greg Carbin
- NWS Storm Prediction Center

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Main Aspects of 2004

- Very slow start for tornadoes
- Below normal through April
- April highlight in Illinois
- Two-personality May
- Unfavorable pattern through the 19th
- Very favorable after the 20th
- A Tropical Storm and 5 Hurricanes
- Busy “second season”

***THIS LEAD TO 1,722 TORNADO REPORTS IN 2004***

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Tornadoes By Year

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Tornado Days

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Tornado Fatalities

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

**Notes:**
Even with 1,717 tornadoes, only 35 fatalities occurred.  This is the lowest since 1996.

## 2004 Tornado Reports

**2004 Tornado Reports**

- Utica, IL

- Outbreaks in late May

- Hurricanes

- Second Season

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

**Notes:**
The tornado year began slowly as northwest flow aloft kept cold air over the east and keeping Gulf of Mexico waters cool.  The first episode to get things going came over central Illinois on April 20.  May began quietly, but the bang came after the 20th with 9 of 11 days producing tornadoes.  The third series of events came with Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Gaston, Ivan and Jeanne with 306 tornadoes.  Finally, the “second season” would produce 90 tornado reports in two days in November.

## Tornadoes by Month

- based on preliminary reports

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

**Notes:**
Records were set for number of tornadoes in August and September due to the number of tornadoes reported with tropical systems (306).  May could be close, but latest indications are that there were 491 actual tornadoes with 2003 being the record with 543 tornadoes.

## Tornadoes in Hawaii

- Interesting way to begin the Year

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Tornadoes near Oahu, HI

- Witnesses reported three tornadoes
- “funnels would start at the top, disappear and start again from the bottom.”
- Record for Hawaii is 5 tornadoes in 1971
- The 3 tornadoes on 1/23/04 ties 1982 for second highest

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## April 20, 2004

- Utica, IL Tornado

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Synoptic Set Up

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Upper Air

- Strong divergent flow at 250 mb
- Strong low level jet of 40-50 kt at 850 mb
- Low level jet across surface warm front provide strong ascent
- Upper level flow enhances vertical shear

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Central IL Radar at 2330 UTC

**Utica**

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Peru/Utica, IL Tornado

- 8 fatalities
- People took shelter in basement of Milestone Tap
- A structure that was 117 years old built of sandstone block and supported by railroad ties-type beams
- Damage was evaluated at F3 on F-Scale

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## May 2004

- The Tale of Two Seasons

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Quiet Start...Loud Finish

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## In Another View...

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## And Yet Another...

- Number of Tornado Reports

- May
- 1-15

- May
- 16-31

- 82

- 409

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Changes at 500 mb...

- Trough develops over the west
- Allows southwest flow across the Plains
- More favorable for severe weather

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Leads to Changes at 850 mb

- Began with ridging over Gulf of Mexico
- Limiting low level moisture advection
- Changes to lower heights over Colorado
- Western Gulf of Mexico opens up allowing moisture return

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## May 22, 2004 – Hallam, NE

- Outbreak would include largest damage path on record
- 2.5 mile wide maximum path width
- Would cause F4 damage...and center of storm was _south_ of town!!!

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Video of tornado near Daykin, NE

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

**Notes:**
Taken by Corey Mead, SPC Meteorologist, west of Hallem, NE.

## May 29-30 Outbreak

- Tornadoes from the Plains into the Ohio and Tennessee Valley

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## 149 tornado reports 

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Like the Super Outbreak in ’74?

- No tornadoes rated with F5 damage
- April 3-4 had 6
- Happened in a 32 hour period
- April 3-4 was in 16 hours
- 82 tornadoes were rated F0
- Five fatalities
- April 3-4 had 315 fatalities

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## May 29th at 00 UTC

- 850 mb

- 250 mb

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Thermodynamics-040530 at 00 UTC

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## May 30th at 00 UTC

- 850 mb

- 500 mb

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Thermodynamics - 040530 12 UTC

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## June 23rd

- Markesan, WI

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Northwest Flow Case

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Meteorology

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Madison, WI

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Markesan, WI

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## July 13th

- Metamora, IL
- Another Northwest Flow Case

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## A Real Success Story!

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Tornado Track

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## No Fatalities...They were Ready

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Hurricane Related Tornadoes

- Six Tropical Systems =
**306 Reports**

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Estimated Tracks & Reports

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## Late November Outbreak

- Dixie Alley Gets Hit

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## November Tornado Reports

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## One Last Round

- December – Dixie Alley & Southern California

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## December Tornado Reports

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## In Summary

- Preliminary record number of tornadoes – **1,722**
- Eclipses previous record of 1,424 in 1998
- This is 72% more than normal
- This is 44% above the 10-year average
- 36 tornado related fatalities
- 20 killer tornadoes
- 35% below average
- 159 tornado days
- 22% below average

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## 2004 Tornadoes By State

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/torn/monthlytornstats.html

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop

## National Severe Weather Workshop

- March 3, 4, & 5 in Oklahoma City
- Reed Center
- Geared for Emergency Managers and Media
- Presentations on NWS products-Storm Spotter and Radar Training
- www.norman.noaa.gov/nsww2005

- 2005 National Severe Weather Workshop