On July 13, 2004, a powerful F4 tornado formed outside of Roanoke, a small town in central Illinois. It is best known for the numerous videos and pictures taken of it as well as the complete destruction of the Parsons Manufacturing plant. Despite the damage, there were only three minor injuries and no fatalities. It was one of six tornadoes to touch down on July 13, 2004.
2004 Roanoke tornado
The tornado hitting the Parsons plant (Scott Smith via NWS)
On Tuesday, July 13, 2004, at about 2:30 p.m., a tornado with a maximum reported width of a one-quarter mile (0.40 km) struck west of the village of Roanoke, damaging much of the area and cutting power to the main town of Roanoke for three days. Based on the extreme damage, the tornado was classified as a violent F4 on the Fujita scale by the National Weather Service.[1] The tornado started approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of Metamora, located eight miles (13 km) west of Roanoke, and lifted approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of Roanoke. The tornado moved roughly southeasterly for a distance of 9.6 miles (15.4 kilometers) over about 25 minutes.[1]
Damageedit
Aftermath at the Parsons Company manufacturing plant.
The worst damage occurred at the Parsons Company manufacturing plant, a parts supplier for Caterpillar Inc., which was leveled, losing its roof and outer walls.[2] Although about 140 people were inside the building when the tornado struck, there were no fatalities and only a few minor injuries. This was attributed to preparations made during the construction of the plant and spotter training given to some of the workers.[3] Although no tornado sirens were heard at the plant before the tornado struck, an alarm sounded by one of the spotters allowed all the workers to move to storm shelters and ride out the storm.[3]
Large steel beams from the Parsons plant were blown approximately 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) away, and many of the employees' cars tossed into nearby cornfields. Three neighboring farmsteads were completely swept away, with only debris remaining in the basements. Trees were debarked, and farm machinery was thrown and mangled.[1]
Aftermath & impactedit
The storm was an example of how structural planning, storm spotting, and awareness techniques can be used by companies. The plant owner's decision to include storm shelters in the building's design likely saved the lives of many employees.[3] Just as important, the early notice provided by the company storm-spotters allowed employees to reach the shelters before the storm struck.[1] The Parsons plant reopened in April 2005 with seven tornado shelters, five more than the original plant.
Two local residents chased the tornado for much of its 23-minute duration. They produced a half-hour-long video that was sold in the Peoria area to help raise funds for employees of the Parsons plant, most of whom had lost their cars and were either underinsured or not insured.
The Roanoke tornado was the most significant tornado of a small tornado outbreak which transitioned into a destructive derecho over an extensive area of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys extending to the Gulf of Mexico. The outbreak produced three other tornadoes, all rated F0. The Roanoke 2004 Tornado was featured on The Weather Channel's Storm Stories and Full Force Nature.[4]
The Parsons plant would come very close to being destroyed again during the Washington, IL Tornado on November 17, 2013, however, that tornado passed just northwest of the plant.[5]
^ abcd"Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office The Roanoke F4 Tornado of July 13, 2004". National Weather Service. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
^"Illinois plant leveled by storm". NWI Times. nwitimes.com. 15 July 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
^ abc"THE JULY 13, 2004 ROANOKE ILLINOIS TORNADO EVENT: THE WARNING RESPONSE PROCESS AT THE PARSONS COMPANY". 2004. CiteSeerX10.1.1.587.3054.
^"ROANOKE, ILLINOIS TORNADO: STORM STORIES SEASON 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
^"Washington Tornado (Tazewell/Woodford Counties) of 11/17/2013". National Weather Service. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
External linksedit
Roanoke F4 Tornado of July 13, 2004 (NWS Central Illinois)
Supercell of July 13, 2004 (NWS Chicago)
Preliminary Review of WSR-88D Radar Signatures seen in the F0 & F1 Central IL Tornadoes during the Record Setting 2003 Tornado Season (James Auten & Ernest Goetsch ~ NWS Central Illinois)
The July 13, 2004 Tornado Event: Analysis of Tornadogenesis in a Highly Unstable Environment June 27, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (Ed Shimon, Pat Bak & Kirk Huettl ~ NWS Central Illinois)
The July 13, 2004 Tornado Event: The Contributions of Evolving Paradigms & Human Factors in the Warning Process (Lyle Barker ~ NWS Central Illinois)
The July 13, 2004 Roanoke Illinois Tornado Event: The Warning Response Process at the Parsons Plant (Chris Miller ~ NWS Central Illinois)
{] Actual footage
January 01, 1970
2004, roanoke, tornado, july, 2004, powerful, tornado, formed, outside, roanoke, small, town, central, illinois, best, known, numerous, videos, pictures, taken, well, complete, destruction, parsons, manufacturing, plant, despite, damage, there, were, only, thr. On July 13 2004 a powerful F4 tornado formed outside of Roanoke a small town in central Illinois It is best known for the numerous videos and pictures taken of it as well as the complete destruction of the Parsons Manufacturing plant Despite the damage there were only three minor injuries and no fatalities It was one of six tornadoes to touch down on July 13 2004 2004 Roanoke tornado The tornado hitting the Parsons plant Scott Smith via NWS Meteorological historyFormedJuly 12 2004 c 2 30 pm CDT F4 tornadoon the Fujita scaleOverall effectsInjuries3Areas affectedRoanoke IllinoisPart of the tornado outbreaks of 2004 Contents 1 Description 1 1 Damage 2 Aftermath amp impact 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksDescription editOn Tuesday July 13 2004 at about 2 30 p m a tornado with a maximum reported width of a one quarter mile 0 40 km struck west of the village of Roanoke damaging much of the area and cutting power to the main town of Roanoke for three days Based on the extreme damage the tornado was classified as a violent F4 on the Fujita scale by the National Weather Service 1 The tornado started approximately 1 8 miles 2 9 km north of Metamora located eight miles 13 km west of Roanoke and lifted approximately 2 5 miles 4 0 km southeast of Roanoke The tornado moved roughly southeasterly for a distance of 9 6 miles 15 4 kilometers over about 25 minutes 1 Damage edit nbsp Aftermath at the Parsons Company manufacturing plant The worst damage occurred at the Parsons Company manufacturing plant a parts supplier for Caterpillar Inc which was leveled losing its roof and outer walls 2 Although about 140 people were inside the building when the tornado struck there were no fatalities and only a few minor injuries This was attributed to preparations made during the construction of the plant and spotter training given to some of the workers 3 Although no tornado sirens were heard at the plant before the tornado struck an alarm sounded by one of the spotters allowed all the workers to move to storm shelters and ride out the storm 3 Large steel beams from the Parsons plant were blown approximately 3 4 mile 1 2 km away and many of the employees cars tossed into nearby cornfields Three neighboring farmsteads were completely swept away with only debris remaining in the basements Trees were debarked and farm machinery was thrown and mangled 1 Aftermath amp impact editThe storm was an example of how structural planning storm spotting and awareness techniques can be used by companies The plant owner s decision to include storm shelters in the building s design likely saved the lives of many employees 3 Just as important the early notice provided by the company storm spotters allowed employees to reach the shelters before the storm struck 1 The Parsons plant reopened in April 2005 with seven tornado shelters five more than the original plant Two local residents chased the tornado for much of its 23 minute duration They produced a half hour long video that was sold in the Peoria area to help raise funds for employees of the Parsons plant most of whom had lost their cars and were either underinsured or not insured The Roanoke tornado was the most significant tornado of a small tornado outbreak which transitioned into a destructive derecho over an extensive area of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys extending to the Gulf of Mexico The outbreak produced three other tornadoes all rated F0 The Roanoke 2004 Tornado was featured on The Weather Channel s Storm Stories and Full Force Nature 4 The Parsons plant would come very close to being destroyed again during the Washington IL Tornado on November 17 2013 however that tornado passed just northwest of the plant 5 See also editList of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks List of derecho eventsReferences edit a b c d Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office The Roanoke F4 Tornado of July 13 2004 National Weather Service Retrieved 31 March 2021 Illinois plant leveled by storm NWI Times nwitimes com 15 July 2004 Retrieved 31 March 2021 a b c THE JULY 13 2004 ROANOKE ILLINOIS TORNADO EVENT THE WARNING RESPONSE PROCESS AT THE PARSONS COMPANY 2004 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 587 3054 ROANOKE ILLINOIS TORNADO STORM STORIES SEASON 3 Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 31 March 2021 Washington Tornado Tazewell Woodford Counties of 11 17 2013 National Weather Service Retrieved 31 March 2021 External links editRoanoke F4 Tornado of July 13 2004 NWS Central Illinois Supercell of July 13 2004 NWS Chicago Preliminary Review of WSR 88D Radar Signatures seen in the F0 amp F1 Central IL Tornadoes during the Record Setting 2003 Tornado Season James Auten amp Ernest Goetsch NWS Central Illinois The July 13 2004 Tornado Event Analysis of Tornadogenesis in a Highly Unstable Environment Archived June 27 2017 at the Wayback Machine Ed Shimon Pat Bak amp Kirk Huettl NWS Central Illinois The July 13 2004 Tornado Event The Contributions of Evolving Paradigms amp Human Factors in the Warning Process Lyle Barker NWS Central Illinois The July 13 2004 Roanoke Illinois Tornado Event The Warning Response Process at the Parsons Plant Chris Miller NWS Central Illinois https web archive org web 20110604123921 http video google com videoplay docid 3669229307285179970 amp ei ZFvScGaEo3I gGSnPm0BQ amp q roanoke il tornado Actual footage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2004 Roanoke tornado amp oldid 1223142280, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
