April 8-10 Severe threat

[vortex]

To me its fairly obvious he's speaking to someone on the phone. It has that "canned" sound and he's explaining to them, "yah... it's coming right for ME"... not us... he was alone in the car, I'm pretty sure.

Yeah, I agree.  

Unless he takes his kids along on business trips with him and they were miraculously more calm than he was. 

Here is the narrative from the video on YouTube.

 

Very close encounter with the tornado that rolled through Northern Illinois on April 9, 2015. My boss and friend Sam S. took the video and sent it to me soon after. Sam is not a storm chaser and was on his way to Indianapolis. He was visiting from North Carolina on business and had never had any experience with this type of weather. Unfortunately, I had to disable comments due to remarks made that were flat out vile. 

[DaveNay]

I haven't seen this posted here yet...

 

[zestylabs]

My after chase report

 

https://medium.com/@zacharylassiter/rochelle-il-after-chase-report-40363a343725

[Hoosier]

I believe that April 9 was the first tornado day in Illinois this year...if not, then disregard this post.  I was wondering how unusual it is for the first tornado day of the year in that state to produce a violent EF4/EF5 tornado, and it turns out it has happened 5 other times since 1950.  1956, 1959, 1977, 1981 and 1989. 

[blackjack123]

I believe that April 9 was the first tornado day in Illinois this year...if not, then disregard this post.  I was wondering how unusual it is for the first tornado day of the year in that state to produce a violent EF4/EF5 tornado, and it turns out it has happened 5 other times since 1950.  1956, 1959, 1977, 1981 and 1989.

I would think it would be extremely rare. A tornado being rated EF4 and no tornadoes this year have been rated EF3. I don't think that happens very often. I have never heard of a tornado being rated F5 or EF5 before the occurrence of an F3/EF3 or F4/EF4 in any given year though it could have happened and I am not aware of it.

[andyhb]

I would think it would be extremely rare. A tornado being rated EF4 and no tornadoes this year have been rated EF3. I don't think that happens very often. I have never heard of a tornado being rated F5 or EF5 before the occurrence of an F3/EF3 or F4/EF4 in any given year though it could have happened and I am not aware of it.

 

The dates below had F/EF4s that were the first F3+ tornadoes of their respective years. Used tornadohistoryproject maps.

 

1/22/1957

1/24/1964

1/23/1969

1/10/1975

2/28/1987

1/7/1989

2/18/1992

3/27/1994

1/24/1997

2/10/2009

4/9/2015

 

Never been the case with an F/EF5.

[blackjack123]

The dates below had F/EF4s that were the first F3+ tornadoes of their respective years. Used tornadohistoryproject maps.

 

1/22/1957

1/24/1964

1/23/1969

1/10/1975

2/28/1987

1/7/1989

2/18/1992

3/27/1994

1/24/1997

2/10/2009

4/9/2015

 

Never been the case with an F/EF5.

Thank You.

[Geos]

I haven't seen this posted here yet...

 

 

Nice video. Even without the crops in the fields, it's very clear where the tornado tracked. There was quite a few homes near the route that really lucked out!

[nwohweather]

He's a dumbass, how the hell can you be that ignorant to not know how dangerous a tornado is as a grown man

[cheese007]

I have no idea how he remained that calm unless he was in complete shock, honestly he is lucky the tornado didn't suck him in or roll him.

 

Look at the gauge cluster reflected in the window around the 1:43 mark. You can see a light blinking in the center of the cluster. Usually this indicates that the traction control is working, which in this case means the vehicle was being lifted off the ground as this was filmed

[Chinook]

Tornado list from 4/9/2015. Feel free to add information

15 tornadoes listed here

------------------

Davenport IA NWS Office, tornado surveys for IA and IL

 

RATING:                 EF-1
START LOCATION:         8 MILES WEST OF MAYSVILLE IOWA
END LOCATION:           2 MILES SOUTH OF DEWITT IOWA (This tornado was a few miles north of the DVN radar and possibly crossed US-30)

 

RATING:                 EF-1
START LOCATION:         1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF CLINTON AIRPORT (This tornado crossed the Mississippi River)
END LOCATION:           5 MILES NORTHEAST OF FULTON IL

 

RATING:                 EF-1
START LOCATION:         5 MILES NORTHEAST OF FULTON IL (Fulton and Thompson are very close to Clinton IA)
END LOCATION:           8 MILES EAST OF THOMSON IL

-----------------

Paducah Kentucky NWS Office, tornado surveys for eastern Missouri

RATING:                 EF-0
START LOCATION:         3 MILES WEST OF JACKSON MO (Cape Girardeau area)
END LOCATION:           1.3 MILES WEST OF JACKSON MO

RATING:                 EF-0
START LOCATION:         0.5 MILES NORTHWEST OF DAISY MO
END LOCATION:           1.5 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF DAISY MO (18+miles from Cape Girardeau)

-----------------------

Shreveport LA, NWS Office tornado surveys for eastern Texas

 

RATING:                 EF-2
START LOCATION:         3.5 MILES NE OF MOUNT SELMAN
END LOCATION:           5.25 MILES NE OF MOUNT SELMAN

RATING:                 EF-1
START LOCATION:         6.5 MILES NW OF HALLSVILLE
END LOCATION:           4.5 MILES NNW OF HALLSVILLE

RATING:                 EF-1
START LOCATION:         1.75 MILES NE OF DOWNTOWN LONGVIEW
END LOCATION:           2.76 MILES NE OF DOWNTOWN LONGVIEW

------------------

Chicago NWS Office

 

RATING:                 EF-4 (PRELIMINARY)
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   0.5 MILE
FATALITIES:             2
INJURIES:               22
START LOCATION:0.9 MILES NE FRANKLIN GROVE
END LOCATION:4.2 NNW KIRKLAND

RATING:                 EF-0 (satellite tornado of Franklin Grove-Kirkland tornado??)
START LOCATION:2.9 MILES E LINDENWOOD
END LOCATION:4.6 ENE LINDENWOOD (Interstate 39 and Illinois Highway 72)

 

RATING:                 EF-1
START LOCATION:         3.6 MILES S BELVIDERE
END LOCATION:           3.6 MILES SE BELVIDERE
 

RATING:                 EF-0
START LOCATION:         2.9 MILES S CHERRY VALLEY
END LOCATION:           2.5 MILES SE CHERRY VALLEY (8+miles east of Rockford)
----------

Lincoln NWS Office (storm surveys and EF ratings not posted on Lincoln NWS web page)

 

8 miles SW of CHILLICOTHE. This is located 17 miles north of Peoria.

3 miles south of Tovey (Christian county IL)  This is 8-9 miles west of Taylorville.
-------------

St Louis NWS Office (storm survey and EF rating not posted on web site)

 

Wright City, Warren County, Missouri. This is located 46 miles west of St Louis.

[huronicane]

A second EF-1 was confirmed by LOT, produced by the Rochelle storm after the EF-4 lifted:

 

.TORNADO 5...

RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 110 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 3.9 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 50 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0

START DATE: APRIL 09 2015
START TIME:7:25 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 6 MILES SE BELVIDERE
START LAT/LON: 42.2442/-88.7386

END DATE: APRIL 09 2015
END TIME:7:31 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 5.6 MILES ESE BELVIDERE
END_LAT/LON: 42.1942/-88.7748

THIS TORNADO WAS SPAWNED BY THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE LONG
TRACK EF-4 SHORTLY AFTER THAT TORNADO LIFTED.

[hm8]

Scar

 

[huronicane]

Up to 7 tornadoes from LOT:

 

[Chicago Storm]

They still haven't confirmed the satellite tornado shortly after Fairdale was hit.

[IWXwx]

EF0 in MI:

 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
813 PM EDT TUE APR 14 2015 /713 PM CDT TUE APR 14 2015/

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 04/09/15 TORNADO EVENT...
...BRIEF EF0 TORNADO FOUND IN LARGER SWATH OF WIND DAMAGE...

.OVERVIEW...
A SURVEY OF DAMAGE NORTH OF MOSCOW MICHIGAN REVEALED THAT MAINLY
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS CAUSED DAMAGE TO SEVERAL AREAS OF TREES AS
WELL AS SOME STRUCTURES. HOWEVER...FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF RADAR
DATA AND GROUND REPORTS REVEALED A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WITHIN
THE SWATH OF DAMAGE.

WE WISH TO THANK HILLSDALE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS
LOCAL RESIDENTS FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE WITH THE SURVEY.

RATING:                                EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    85 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  0.6 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   70 YARDS
FATALITIES:                          0
INJURIES:                             0

START DATE:                        APR 9 2015
START TIME:                         622 PM EDT
START LOCATION:               1 NNE MOSCOW MI
START LAT/LON:                  42.0634/-84.4987

END DATE:                           APR 9 2015
END TIME:                            624 PM EDT
END LOCATION:                  2 NE MOSCOW MI
END LAT/LON:                     42.0669/-84.4879

SURVEY SUMMARY: A WEAKLY ORGANIZED TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN AN OPEN
FIELD SOUTHWEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF BIBBINS AND MOSHERVILLE
ROADS. AFTER CROSSING BIBBINS ROAD THE TORNADO APPEARED TO
INTENSIFY SOMEWHAT, UPROOTING AND BREAKING SEVERAL TREES ALONG
MOSHERVILLE ROAD...EAST OF BIBBINS ROAD. THE TORNADO PASSED TO THE
NORTHWEST OF A UNOCCUPIED 2 STORY HOME CAUSING MAINLY TREE AND
WINDOW DAMAGE. 2 LARGE TREES FELL ONTO THE ROOF OF THE HOME AS THE
TORNADO PASSED. SHORTLY AFTER LEAVING THIS PROPERTY THE TORNADO
APPEARS TO LOSE ITS STRUCTURE AND LIKELY DISSIPATED BEFORE A GROVE
OF TREES TO THE EAST OF THE RESIDENCE.

[Hoosier]

Was thinking about this earlier and other than the 4/21/1967 tornadoes and the Plainfield tornado, you could probably make a case that this is next in line as far as major tornadoes in northern IL since 1950 when factoring in things like intensity and path length.  I'd be inclined to put something like the 4/17/1963 Kankakee area tornado in this secondary group as that had numerous points of pretty intense damage, though a substantial portion of it occurred in Indiana.

[andyhb]

This video from Flagg Center, IL (near Rochelle) shows some of the most intense motion I've seen in awhile, not just in the tornado, but also the wall cloud. That roar is also incredible. After doing some geographical cross referencing, that debris flying at the beginning is EF4 damage as homes are being demolished along E Kuehl Court (in the image below the video). There's also an interactive track map up on LOT's page now and it appears there were three areas of EF4 damage. One of them is below, another is immediately east of Grubsteakers on 64 and finally one immediately northeast of that area where it looks like a farm was obliterated.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPtgdXD8Oqo

 

[bowtie`]

^ Wow, when your residence is a comma shaped ground scar, you might have been in a violent tornado.

[IWXwx]

That's the type of Midwest tornado that we in Emergency Management worry about and try to prepare the public for the possibility of occurring. Most think that violent tornadoes just happens in the Plains. A majority weren't around for Palm Sunday or the Super Outbreak.

[Gilbertfly]

On my frequent trips to the farm I drive north on 39 from 88 to 20...obviously this takes me right past the Fairdale tor damage path. As I passed the bridge where that one guy videod the way close view of the twister I could see off to the east an incredibly mangled little forest of trees. Over the summer the foliage had hidden quite a bit of the damage there (from I39s viewpoint at least), so I couldn't see much. This was the first opportunity that I had to really see the mess it had made in that small area there just east of the hwy and just north of Ivy Ave (the street that formed the underpass where that man stopped and filmed). Large trees just laying in every conceivable direction on top of each other. It really is amazing to see from the streets perspective how close and how lucky that guy was (I'm not here to bash the guy or discuss the guy's decision). That was an impressive day and obviously an extremely impressive cell and subsequent tornado. Needless to say, the damage I saw today (many months later and even from a bit of a distance) was still incredibly impressive.

[SchaumburgStormer]

On my frequent trips to the farm I drive north on 39 from 88 to 20...obviously this takes me right past the Fairdale tor damage path. As I passed the bridge where that one guy videod the way close view of the twister I could see off to the east an incredibly mangled little forest of trees. Over the summer the foliage had hidden quite a bit of the damage there (from I39s viewpoint at least), so I couldn't see much. This was the first opportunity that I had to really see the mess it had made in that small area there just east of the hwy and just north of Ivy Ave (the street that formed the underpass where that man stopped and filmed). Large trees just laying in every conceivable direction on top of each other. It really is amazing to see from the streets perspective how close and how lucky that guy was (I'm not here to bash the guy or discuss the guy's decision). That was an impressive day and obviously an extremely impressive cell and subsequent tornado. Needless to say, the damage I saw today (many months later and even from a bit of a distance) was still incredibly impressive.

I do the same thing when I drive through Washington. Still amazed by the damage I saw down there being boots on the ground a day after the tornado, and how far they have come in rebuilding. I have a good friend who was 1 house off the "total loss" line, and visit quite often. The transformation has been amazing, and short of the damaged trees, you would be hard pressed to know a tornado went through. Vastly different from those first few days after the event.

[bdgwx]

A new video of the Rochelle, IL tornado has recently surfaced. It ranks among the most dramatic and scariest tornado videos I've seen.

 

[IllinoisWedges]

< mfw I thought this thread was for 2016 because of the bump, LOL

[Sidewinder]

Me too.

 

Saw the news excerpt from the other thread earlier today. The full video certainly showed he had plenty of time to move. It was almost like he was frozen in awe watching it or he had concrete balls to stand there until the end. 

[SchaumburgStormer]

< mfw I thought this thread was for 2016 because of the bump, LOL

 

Haha me too. Saw 27 pages and was like "what the hell did I miss?"

 

That video is absolutely heartbreaking, knowing the story that goes with it. absolutely incredible from a met perspective however.

[IllinoisWedges]

Me too.

 

Saw the news excerpt from the other thread earlier today. The full video certainly showed he had plenty of time to move. It was almost like he was frozen in awe watching it or he had concrete balls to stand there until the end. 

There was definitely plenty of lead time. (Fairdale is the red square in the core) I'd like to believe it was because of the shock and awe effect, but didn't the main article state that he/local met thought the tor would stay S of them? 

[Sidewinder]

Oh yeah tons of lead time. In an interview he thought it would miss him. Not sure about the local met

 

http://abc7chicago.com/weather/video-sheds-new-light-on-deadly-fairdale-tornado/1276049/

It does kind of look like it would pass to the right on his viewfinder but I think by 1:50 you gotta bail and head for safety. I'd pass out from anxiety watching the houses in its path get shredded as it got closer. His breathing seemed completely normal. If you listen to the audio ramp up right around 2:10 it feels like winds enter a new speed category, probably coupled with the disintegration of his home. The microphone on his cellular did great.