The tornado outbreak of April 8–9, 1999 was a widespread tornado outbreak that affected the United States in early April 1999. It is best known for producing an F4 that killed four people in the Blue Ash and Montgomery, Ohio, areas.
| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | April 8–9, 1999 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 54 confirmed |
| Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | 30 hours |
| Fatalities | 6 fatalities, 100 injuries |
| Damage | $82 million |
| Areas affected | Midwest, South Carolina, Virginia |
Part of Tornadoes of 1999 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado | |
Confirmed tornadoes edit
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 14 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 54 |
April 8 event edit
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | ||||||
| F1 | NW of Aurora | Hamilton | 1600 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | A grain dryer was destroyed while several center pivots and a few outbuildings were damaged. | |
| F1 | NE of Clarks | Merrick | 1654 | 3 miles (4.8 km) | Five sheds were destroyed and several center pivots were damaged. | |
| F0 | S of Belgrade | Nance | 1656 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | A chemical applicator, a barn, and fencing were damaged. | |
| F0 | N of St. Edward | Boone | 1722 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | Caused heavy damage to barns and outbuildings. | |
| F1 | NW of Schuyler | Colfax | 1806 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | Caused damage to ten farmsteads and a church. | |
| F1 | W of Morse Bluff | Saunders, Dodge | 1807 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | 10 buildings were damaged, including a business that was nearly destroyed. 14 homes were also damaged. | |
| F0 | W of Yutan | Saunders | 1812 | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) | Caused damage to outbuildings, center pivots, and a grain bin. | |
| F0 | SW of Orum | Washington | 1848 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 4 outbuildings were damaged. | |
| Iowa | ||||||
| F1 | SE of Slater | Story | 1833 | 2 miles (3.2 km) | 44 homes and businesses were damaged, including one destroyed. | |
| F0 | E of Hamburg | Fremont | 1908 | unknown | Brief touchdown with no damage. | |
| F0 | N of Honey Creek | Pottawattamie | 1918 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | Brief touchdown with no damage. | |
| F1 | Shenandoah area | Page | 1922 | 5 miles (8.0 km) | Minimal damage occurred. | |
| F1 | S of Clarinda | Page | 1936 | 8 miles (13 km) | A workhorse was killed and several homes were damaged. | |
| F1 | Red Oak area | Montgomery | 1938 | 8 miles (13 km) | Several metal buildings at a pig farm were destroyed, and an RV was overturned and tossed into a frame house, destroying it. | |
| F1 | NE of Clarinda | Page | 1948 | 9 miles (14 km) | Minimal damage occurred. | |
| F0 | Villisca area | Montgomery | 1954 | 5 miles (8.0 km) | Caused damage to trees and outbuildings. | |
| F4 | NW of Guss to SE of Casey | Taylor, Adams, Cass, Adair | 1954 | 49 miles (79 km) | This was a mile-wide wedge tornado. Farmsteads were swept clean by the tornado and checks and papers were carried several dozen miles from their original locations. One horse was thrown by a tornado and sustained severe injuries. 2 people were injured by the storm and damage amounts were pegged a $1 million in both Adair and Adams Counties. | |
| F4 | SE of Creston to NW of Granger | Union, Madison, Dallas | 2048 | 56 miles (90 km) | Damage amounts in Union County were pegged at $2 million, and at $350,000 in Madison County. One person was injured by the tornado. One car with its occupant was thrown 250 feet away by the tornado but was uninjured. Five coal cars were also knocked off a track | |
| F0 | Des Moines area | Polk | 2200 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) | One house and several trees were damaged west of downtown Des Moines. | |
| F2 | W of New Virginia to SE of Rising Sun | Warren, Polk | 2213 | 32 miles (51 km) | Tornado traveled mostly through rural areas with minor property damage. | |
| F3 | SW of Norwood to Colfax | Lucas, Warren, Marion, Jasper | 2218 | 39 miles (63 km) | Three homes and a business were damaged or destroyed. 5 people were injured, and damage was pegged at around $1 million in Jasper County. | |
| F3 | Bloomfield to NE of Eldon | Davis, Wapello | 2315 | 16 miles (26 km) | 64 homes and businesses in the Bloomfield area were damaged. A farmstead and outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed outside of town. In total, 178 homes and businesses were affected and 5 people were injured. | |
| F0 | NW of Batavia | Jefferson | 2325 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Brief touchdown with no damage. | |
| F0 | SW of Richland | Jefferson | 2325 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | Brief touchdown with no damage. | |
| Missouri | ||||||
| F1 | SW of Pumpkin Center | Andrew, Nodaway | 1930 | 13.5 miles (21.7 km) | 6 homes were destroyed, and two mobile homes, barns, outbuildings, and a grain bin were damaged. | |
| F2 | W of Bosworth to W of Atlanta | Carroll, Chariton, Macon | 2120 | 53.5 miles (86.1 km) | 14 homes and 9 mobile homes were destroyed, and several outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed. Also, another 40 homes and five mobile homes were damaged. A total of 85 agricultural outbuildings were destroyed and another 37 were damaged. | |
| F1 | N of Wheeling | Livingston | 2120 | 7 miles (11 km) | A machine shed, a pole barn, a grain bin, and a garage were destroyed. | |
| F2 | S of Atlanta to SW of Novelty | Macon, Knox | 2225 | 17 miles (27 km) | 5 homes, 4 barns, 2 grain bins, and 3 mobile homes were destroyed. Six other homes and several outbuildings being damaged – some of the outbuildings were destroyed. | |
| F1 | NE of Billingsville | Cooper | 2230 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | A church was damaged and three tractor trailers overturned. | |
| F2 | N of Midway | Boone | 2255 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | A mobile home, seven outbuildings, a farm, and two pieces of farm equipment were destroyed. Five homes were damaged as well. | |
| F2 | S of La Belle to W of Derrahs | Lewis | 2305 | 16 miles (26 km) | A modular home, 3 regular homes, and several sheds, barns, and outbuildings were destroyed. Three homes were also damaged. | |
| F2 | S of Hallsville | Boone | 2305 | 10 miles (16 km) | A few farm equipment storage buildings, one barn, five grain bins, and a garage were destroyed. 4 homes were damaged as well. | |
| F1 | N of Mexico | Audrain | 2330 | 10 miles (16 km) | Damage to an industrial complex, including a factory which lost parts of its roof. Several sheet metal buildings were destroyed. A barn, two equipment buildings, and two grain bins were destroyed while a barn and two homes were damaged. | |
| F1 | S of Osage Bluff | Cole | 2330 | 12 miles (19 km) | Two barns were destroyed and 28 homes were damaged. | |
| F1 | NE of Linn | Osage | 0000 | 8 miles (13 km) | One mobile home was destroyed while 79 permanent homes and several businesses were damaged. | |
| F0 | S of High Prairie | Webster | 0015 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | A shed was destroyed. | |
| F2 | Louisiana, Missouri, to NW of Florence, Illinois | Pike, Missouri, Pike, Illinois, Scott | 0034 | 27.3 miles (43.9 km) | There was minor roof damage in Missouri. In Illinois, five barns and a grain bin were destroyed while other farm buildings, two grain bins, an equipment building, two houses, and a boat dock were damaged. | |
| Illinois | ||||||
| F3 | Hamilton, Illinois/ Warsaw, Illinois | Hancock | 2335 | 7.5 miles (12.1 km) | 176 structures, including homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed including two destroyed homes in Warsaw, with many businesses and neighborhoods destroyed in Hamilton. KHQA-TV and KOKX towers were destroyed. 4 people were injured. | |
| F0 | E of Disco to NE of Berwick | Hancock, Henderson, Warren | 0035 | 20 miles (32 km) | A farm shed lost parts of its roof. | |
| F1 | W of Exeter | Scott | 0110 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | One barn and three grain bins were destroyed, and several other barns were damaged. The roof of a trailer was also removed, and silos were damaged as well. | |
| F1 | W of Joy Prairie | Morgan | 0127 | 9.5 miles (15.3 km) | Several outbuildings and a barn were destroyed, while several homes, a barn, an airplane hangar and a garage were damaged. A boat was thrown off a trailer into a pond a quarter-mile away. | |
| F1 | Ashland area | Morgan, Cass | 0145 | 9.3 miles (15.0 km) | 1 death – One home, two outbuildings, 17 trailers, a shed, a barn, a hog shelter, and a mobile home were destroyed. 17 houses, 20 trailers, a church, a laundromat, a city garage and brick buildings were also damaged. | |
| F1 | SW of Tallula | Sangamon, Menard | 0153 | 9.3 miles (15.0 km) | ||
| F1 | SW of New Douglas | Madison | 0318 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | 3 farms, outbuildings, one home and a garage were damaged. | |
| F1 | N of Cisco | Piatt | 0335 | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) | 1 death – A mobile home and two garages were destroyed, killing 1 and injuring 3 others. | |
| F0 | N of Janesville | Cumberland, Coles | 0432 | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) | Three homes were damaged, with a front porch and a swimming pool being destroyed. | |
| Indiana | ||||||
| F3 | E of Dupont to S of Olean | Jefferson, Jennings, Ripley | 0756 | 18 miles (29 km) | Several homes and barns were damaged, including one severely in Jefferson County. In Jennings County, 4 barns were destroyed and two homes damaged. Two metal power line towers were toppled as well. In Ripley County, four mobile homes, one house, 21 barns, 17 outbuildings, and 5 pieces of farm equipment were destroyed, while 4 mobile homes, 28 houses, 20 barns, 15 outbuildings, 7 vehicles, and 4 pieces of farm equipment were damaged. 2 livestock were killed. | |
| Sources: Tornado History Project Storm Data - April 8, 1999 | ||||||
April 9 event edit
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | ||||||
| F0 | NE of Wilmington | Dearborn | 0844 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | A barn was destroyed, while a silo and four homes were damaged. | |
| Ohio | ||||||
| F1 | Addyston area (SW Cincinnati) | Hamilton | 0855 | 0.8 miles (1.3 km) | One house was destroyed and the roof of a garage was removed. | |
| F1 | Tipp City area | Miami | 0900 | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) | Several campers and RVs were destroyed, while homes and storage buildings were damaged. | |
| F4 | Montgomery/Blue Ash (NE Cincinnati) to NE of Loveland | Hamilton, Warren | 0912 | 10 miles (16 km) | 4 deaths – In Hamilton County, 91 homes and apartments and 37 businesses were destroyed. 674 homes and apartments and 44 businesses were damaged. Two fatalities occurred in a home, and two others occurred in vehicles that were thrown. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. Width of the tornado was a quarter-mile wide. Several homes, garages and barns were damaged in Warren County. | |
| F2 | S of South Lebanon | Warren | 0933 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | Two homes and a barn were damaged, including one structure that was twisted from its foundation. | |
| F1 | S of Middletown | Champaign | 1000 | 0.5 miles (0.80 km) | Caused damage to houses and mobile homes. | |
| Virginia | ||||||
| F1 | N of Porter | Spotsylvania | 2217 | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) | Several sheds were destroyed and homes were damaged. | |
| Sources: Tornado History Project Storm Data - April 9, 1999 | ||||||
See also edit
External links edit
- April 9, 1999 tornado – then–WKRC-TV meteorologist Steve Horstmeyer
- Tornado in Cincinnati – Enquirer and Post coverage
- April 9, 1999 Blue Ash F4 Tornado – National Weather Service, Wilmington, Ohio Office