October 18-24, 2007
Midwest Weekly Highlights - October 18-24, 2007
Overview
The week of October 18th to the 24th continued the warm trend of this October with temperatures across the entire Midwest at or above normal (Figure 1). The western portion was slightly cooler at only two to five degrees above average while the eastern half of the Midwest was at double digit departures. The majority of the warmth was during the first part of the watch period (Figure 2) with several records set in Ohio on October 21st but the passage of a low pressure system on Monday, October 22 (Figure 3) brought in cooler air to the region (Figure 4).
This system also tapped into some Gulf moisture and brought some much needed precipitation to the drought stricken areas of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Record rains were reported in several Kentucky locations (Louisville National Weather Service, Figure 5). In fact, most areas of the Midwest received near normal to above normal rainfall this week (Figure 6). And, although longer term rainfall deficits still remain, drought conditions in many areas of the Midwest are on the mend (Figure 7). According to the October 23rd edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor, severe drought (D2) has now been totally removed from the state of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Figure 8).
Severe Weather Outbreak of October 18th
On Thursday, October 18th a powerful fall storm system moved across the Midwest leaving a swath of destruction from the Great Lakes to the Gulf coast. The strong system had developed from of a deep upper level trough and was almost spring like in its structure. During the day on the 18th, much of the Midwest was in the warm sector ahead of the low and experienced daytime heating and an influx of moist air, destabilizing the atmosphere. This, coupled with the strong middle and upper level winds aloft, was the perfect set up for supercell thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes.
In Illinois, Chicago commuters had a nightmare trip home when the storms hit the city right at rush hour. The worst hit areas were along the I-55 corridor from downtown Chicago to Joliet, with reports of marble sized hail and winds of 60 miles per hour in the Loop itself. As the storms were winding down, an often forgotten risk of thunderstorms occurred when an 11 year old boy was struck by lightning while riding his bike. Fortunately, following medical treatment, he was reported in good condition.
Two EF-3 tornadoes were reported in Indiana on the 18th, striking at both the northern and southern portions of the state that evening. Clark County near New Washington was hit when the storms rolled through at approximately 10:00 p.m. The tornado there was classified as a low EF-3, with maximum winds of approximately 138 miles per hour. The tornado scoured corn and bean fields before destroying more than five barns and several other outbuildings. It also damaged ten homes, including four severely. One two story home was blown off its basement and destroyed; however, according to the National Weather Service storm damage survey, the destruction was not directly from the tornadic winds but from the debris of two large barns, a stable and a silo located immediately to the southwest of the home. At the other end of the state at 10:30 p.m., just west of Bourbon in Marshall County, an EF-0 tornado touched down and caused some shingle and small branch damage. But as it moved to the northeast towards Bremen, the circulation intensified and damage began to occur to structures, trees and power lines. As it continued further on to Nappanee (Kosciusko County), the circulation tightened more and the tornado strengthened to a strong EF-3 with winds of approximately 165 miles per hour. In Nappanee, 200 to 250 buildings were destroyed, half severely. Among the businesses damaged were three recreational vehicle plants that are among the city's largest employers. The Franklin Coach factory was totally destroyed and at the Gulf Stream Coach factory on the city's east side, dozens of RV's parked outside were turned upside down and piled on top of each other. Following the storms passage, the entire town was without power and numerous gas leaks were reported. A state of emergency was imposed and all businesses were ordered closed on Friday, October 19th. All in all, the tornado caused 20 miles of destruction from Marshall to Kosciusko to lower Elkhart counties but thankfully no fatalities were reported and only five people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
Multiple tornadoes and a water spout occurred in Michigan during the evening of the 18th with two of the tornadoes proving fatal and one nearly so. In South Boardman (Kalkaska County), a 29 year old man was fatally injured when his mobile home was ripped apart by an EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 120 miles per hour. He was living next to his mother whose home was also destroyed (Gaylord, MI NWS). In Ingham County, a couple spending their first night in a new modular home outside Williamston was killed when an EF-2 tornado came through their area at approximately 10:40 p.m. The home was blown upside down and into a pond on their property and their bodies were not found until the next day. However, not all stories with this outbreak were tragic. In Millington (Tuscola County), a tornado struck at around 1:16 a.m. Friday, October 19th. Several houses were reduced to rubble including that of a young family whose 1 1/2 story home was nearly leveled with nothing remaining higher than six feet tall. Following its passage, the parents and an older child reunited outside the structure, but their 14 month old son was missing. The frantic parents and helpful neighbors searched the rubble and upon hearing a faint whimper, found the child 40 feet from the home underneath a pile of wreckage and the mattress of his overturned crib. Protected by the mattress from the flying debris, the child escaped with only minor cuts and bruises.
Severe weather also struck western and central Kentucky on October 18th producing the largest recorded tornado outbreak during the month of October in the 58-county Paducah National Weather Service county warning area with 13 tornadoes confirmed for the region. They cut a swath of damage and destruction from Trigg and Christian Counties up through Caldwell, Hopkins Webster, Mc Lean and Daviess Counties. The storms damaged numerous trees and homes, destroyed barns and smaller structures, demolished mobile homes and made roads impassable. The Webster County EF-2 tornado caused injuries to a family when it struck at approximately 7:00 p.m. after two other non-tornadic storm cells had moved through. The family had sought shelter from the earlier lines of storms, but then conditions cleared. It was then that the tornado struck and their mobile home was demolished and a 33 year old man, a 35 year old woman, a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old were injured. The most seriously injured was the youngest, with a skull fracture requiring five hours of surgery and two titanium plates. Four tornadoes struck Daviess County, including one rated at EF-3 with peak winds of 155 miles per hour. It hit the city of Owensboro and caused eight injuries in addition to destroying or damaging numerous homes and businesses. One building that was totally destroyed dated to the 1800's and housed Owensboro's oldest bar - one that had opened in the days after Prohibition and was once popular on the jazz circuit. In Breckinridge County, an EF-2 tornado caused significant damage in Rosetta where the Fountain of Faith Church was destroyed, a structure built with 6x6 posts buried seven feet deep. With maximum winds of 135 miles per hour, the twister also moved a 4500 pound tractor seven feet and wrapped a 16 foot trailer around a tree. A pick-up truck was thrown 75 feet before landing upside down. An EF-1 tornado in Bullitt County embedded within a strong gust front had two touchdowns near Shepherdsville. The roof of a cinder block garage was blown several hundred feet away and three walls collapsed in the second touchdown and houses sustained roof and chimney damage in addition to trees being downed. Metro Louisville in Jefferson County was struck by an EF-0 tornado that caused damage to a building housing a Kroger grocery store and a Dixie Dry Cleaners. The structure had its windows blown out, indicating the rapid pressure change.
Field Work Continues
Although the showers of the past week have delayed summer crop harvesting, in many locations the delay was short as the dry ground quickly absorbed the moisture. The recent warm temperatures and rains have also been beneficial to wheat emergence and pasture growth.
For the northern areas of the Midwest where precipitation for the month has been heavier, some corn stalks are beginning to rot and there has been volunteer sprouting in corn and soybean fields. In Wisconsin, some farmers are reporting concerns about mold in corn and soybean fields.
Temperature and precipitation records from this week can be seen in Table 1.
MCP