The Tornado outbreak sequence of May 2004 was a series of

tornado outbreaks These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred around the globe. # ''Exact death and injury counts are not possible; especially for large events and events before 1955.'' # ''Prior to 1950 in ...

that affected much of southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

United States from east of the

Rockies The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Can ...

to the Mid-Atlantic States from May 21 to May 31, 2004. Particularly hard hit were the central Plains from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and the

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...

. The Central Plains were hit by two significant outbreaks on May 22 and May 24, the first outbreak of which produced a very large and violent tornado in

Hallam, Nebraska Hallam is a village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 213 at the 2010 census. History Hallam was platted in 1892 when the Chicago, Rock Island and ...

. The

was affected by one of the largest tornado outbreaks ever during the Memorial Day weekend on May 29–30. Seven people were killed in four states during the entire event. In all, 389 tornadoes were confirmed over an 11-day period – close to the number of tornadoes in the

May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence The tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003 was a prolonged and destructive series of tornado outbreaks that affected much of the Great Plains and Eastern United States in early May 2003. Most of the severe activity was concentrated betwe ...

which affected more or less the same area. However, the 2003 outbreak sequence produced several more destructive and violent tornadoes and had a much higher death toll than in May 2004.

Confirmed tornadoes

Hallam tornado outbreak

The Hallam, Nebraska tornado outbreak was a

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

of 56

tornadoes A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

in several Midwestern U.S. states on the evening of May 22, 2004 and the first of a series of tornado events. Most of the tornadoes occurred in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

and

. On that day, a warm, moist airmass was sitting over Nebraska while an upper level low developed in Colorado, with an attending dryline forming ahead of the advancing cold front. One person was killed in this outbreak, 38 were injured and there was $175 million in damage. The worst tornado was an F4 that struck

. The violent tornado was ranked as one of the widest tornadoes on record, with the funnel stretching 2.5 miles (4 km) wide as it passed through Hallam. This record was surpassed on May 31, 2013 by an EF3 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma that reached 2.6 miles wide.

Timeline

The first tornado in this outbreak touched down at 1:15 MDT near

La Grange, Wyoming LaGrange is a town in Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 448 at the time of the 2010 census. Geography LaGrange is located at (41.638359, -104.164330). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total a ...

. It was an F0 and did not cause any significant damage. After another small tornado touched down in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, several tornadoes began to form in Nebraska and Iowa during the mid–afternoon hours where they continued until around 11:00 p.m CDT. The most damaging tornado in the outbreak first touched down at 7:30 p.m. CDT in northwestern Jefferson County. The tornado then moved to the northeast, through southern Saline County and northwestern Gage County. By the time it entered Lancaster County, it measured an F4 on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

and the damage path was 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. The tornado passed into Otoe County, disappearing just west of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

at 9:10. The tornado had a path length of about 54 miles, and was on the ground for 100 minutes.

Damage

The village of Hallam, struck at 8:33 p.m., was the hardest hit. Approximately 95% of the buildings in Hallam were damaged or destroyed. There were 37 people injured and one fatality in the village. The Norris School District 160 high school building was severely damaged; its auditorium was destroyed. Straight-line winds caused damage in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

. Several farms and rural homes suffered extensive damage. This storm also derailed a freight train and left it lying 20 feet away from the railroad. Other significant damage occurred from an F2 tornado in Adams and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

counties, Nebraska. Fifteen homes were damaged and another train was overturned, resulting in $5.5 million in damages.

Memorial Weekend outbreak

The Memorial Day Weekend 2004 tornado outbreak was the largest continuous tornado outbreak ever recorded in the month of May. It lasted for two days from May 29–30, 2004 with the final tornadoes occurring during the early morning hours of May 31. This

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

outbreak began in the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

and continued throughout the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. Tornadoes on the 29th were focused from the

Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

before shifting east to the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Car ...

s on the 30th. The official Storm Data archives fro
NOAA
list a total of 168 tornadoes during the two-day period. Unofficial storm reports compiled by the

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight a ...

indicated 199 tornadoes, but these reports are strictly preliminary and are not quality controlled to the degree of Storm Data publications. The 168 tornadoes occurred in 32 hours of continuous activity, which would not at all break the record held by the

1974 Super Outbreak The 1974 Super Outbreak was the second-largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the 2011 Super Outbreak. It was also the most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded, with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes confirmed. From Apri ...

, which saw 148 tornadoes in 18 hours. There was also a greater number of large and violent tornadoes in the Super Outbreak event. Most of the tornadoes were produced by supercells, though a few were produced by the following squall line. There were also widespread wind damage reports from a large

squall line A squall line, or more accurately a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), is a line of thunderstorms, often forming along or ahead of a cold front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front (which often are accompa ...

that moved through after the tornadoes. Damage totals from this outbreak are at $62.321 million. The tornado outbreak killed at least 5 people across two states including 4 in

and 1 in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. 3 of the fatalities were caused by an F4 tornado that struck the

Weatherby Weatherby, Inc. is an American gun manufacturer founded in 1945 by Roy Weatherby. The company is best known for its high-powered magnum cartridges, such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .340 Weatherb ...

area in

DeKalb County, Missouri DeKalb County is a county located in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,029. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was organized February 25, 1845 and named for General Johann d ...

late during the evening of May 29. Another person was killed in the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Metropolitan area while the fifth fatality was northwest of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in the Marengo area where 80% of the town was damaged or destroyed. In addition, an F2 tornado on May 30 affected portions of the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Metropolitan Area just a few hours after the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

was taking place. The tornado missed the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

by six miles and forced post-racing events to be held indoors. The tornado did however cause extensive damage across southern and eastern Marion County south of the downtown area. While 26 people were injured, over 700 structures were damaged by the storm.

Other outbreaks

Several other smaller tornado outbreaks took place between May 21 to May 31, 2004 and affected many of the regions impacted by the two main outbreaks. On May 21, a series of tornadoes hit Iowa causing major damage to the town of Bradgate where 75% of the buildings were either damaged or destroyed. On this day, several clusters of thunderstorms traveled from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic States producing widespread damaging wind and weaker tornadoes across

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. On May 24, several tornadoes touched down across the Great Plains and the Mid-Mississippi Valley. Most tornadoes were weak although one person was killed in Illinois inside a mobile home.Storm Prediction Center Storm Reports
/ref> On May 26–27, several tornadoes affected portions of the

. One tornado north of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

producing significant damage in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and Clark Counties. An F3 tornado tore through a residential subdivision just north of

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

causing major damage to about 50 homes.

References

External links

May 22

Hallam Nebraska Tornado
(NWS Omaha, Nebraska)
Summary of the Storms of May 22nd and 24th, 2004
(NWS Hastings, Nebraska)

(

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

)
22 May 2004 - Severe Convection in Nebraska and Iowa
(CIMSS, SSEC,

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

)

May 24

Storm images from May 24 tornadoes in Kansas and Nebraska

May 29–31

May 29, 2004: Tornadoes across Northwest Missouri
(NWS Kansas City, Missouri)
May 30, 2004 Tornado Outbreak
(NWS Indianapolis, Indiana)
F3 tornado strikes Peru, Indiana
(NWS Northern Indiana)
Severe Weather Outbreak of May 30, 2004
(NWS Central Illinois)
30 May 2004 Event
(NWS St. Louis)
Jefferson County, Kentucky Tornado Damage
(NWS Louisville, Kentucky)
Floyd County, Indiana Tornado Damage
(NWS Louisville, Kentucky)
Crawford County, Indiana (Marengo) Tornado Damage
(NWS Louisville, Kentucky)
Clark County, Indiana Tornado Damage
(NWS Louisville, Kentucky)
Tornadoes in the Paducah county warning area
(NWS Paducah, Kentucky) {{DEFAULTSORT:2004-05-22 Tornado Outbreak Sequence F4 tornadoes by date ,2004-05-22 Tornadoes of 2004 Tornadoes in Indiana Tornadoes in Illinois Tornadoes in Iowa Tornadoes in Kansas Tornadoes in Kentucky Tornadoes in Missouri Tornadoes in Nebraska Tornadoes in Oklahoma Tornadoes in Canada by date 2004-05-22 Tornado outbreaks 2004 natural disasters in the United States May 2004 events in North America