tornados suck - Pics from the 04/20/04 Illinois tornados

[boiker]

http://www.wildlifescenicphotos.com/utica_storm_photos.htm

 

[Floridays]

Those are some powerful photos, though!
Tornadoes are nasty little buggers. I knew someone whose home and entire neighborhood were demolished by a tornado. About 3-4 years later, after everyone had re-built, another tornado blazed through the SAME neighborhood. Needless to say, most of the residents are/were planning to move.... :-\

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Ever watch Storm Stories on the Weather Channel? 8-|

 

[Gedunker]

Shudder. I love standing out the front porch watching the storm gather, but these images remind me that you have got to play it safe. Great photos.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

That is the only reason I do not liek the midwest. Hate the tornadoes. Love the lightning and thunderstorms.

 

[Tom R]

tornadoes

It appears that the area as actually lucky that no more were killed than what happened. What was the Force level?

 

[JNA]

What was the Force level?

From the NWS website: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/severe/20Apr04/summary.html

THE THIRD TORNADO
HAD A 15 1/2 MILE PATH THROUGH GRANVILLE...
THIS TORNADO PRODUCED F3 DAMAGE IN UTICA
AND ITS MAXIMUM WIDTH WAS ABOUT 200 YARDS.

 

[Big Easy King]

Those are very compelling photos. A tornado almost touched down very near to the Fairgrounds, which is the annual site of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, this past Sunday, April 25th. Despite the horrible impending weather, 40,000 people, including myself, attended the event on said date. I can only imagine the result if that forming tornado would've been born and run its course within the Fairgrounds site. I count my blessings.

 

[DecaturHawk]

Utica is a great little village and is the gateway to Starved Rock State Park, one of the most popular parks in Illinois. The Starved Rock Lodge is the annual site of the Illinois APA Statewide Conference (this year to be held May 19-21), and bar hopping in Utica on Thursday night is a time honored tradition. There are several great bars in the village, and the one that was destroyed (where most of the victims were killed) was one of the best. This year's conference will be somewhat melancholy in comparison to prior years. May those who were killed rest in peace and may those who were left behind be consoled and blessed.

 

[ebeech121]

Wow. Those pictures look like they were ripped straight from this month's NatGeo. (There was a layout about tornadoes). It's horrific to think about all the people hurt and things damaged, but at the same time..it's still so fascinating.