The storm then proceeded northeast passing through rural farmland and destroying or heavily damaging numerous farmsteads. The twister narrowly missed Chalmers and soon after, took a direct hit on Monticello, passing through the heart of the city. The Monticello Tornado was born in a field just west of Brookston (in southern White County), at approximately 4:50pm. (From Manual of Downburst Identification for Project NIMROD, Fujita 1978) The downburst winds disrupted the tornado's inflow, allowing it to temporarily lift southwest of Chalmers. The "twisting downburst" described above. The reclassification of the tornado still documents the Monticello Tornado as having a 109 mile path length with a path width of up to a half mile, retaining the title as the longest track tornado during the Super Outbreak of 1974. In reality, as the first of the tornado lifted, the second touched down, just west of Brookston. So, to the casual observer it appeared as a single tornado track. As soon as the first tornado dissipated, another touched down almost immediately and nearly along the same path. Fujita discovered that a strong “twisting” downdraft from the parent thunderstorm (most likely the thunderstorm’s rear flank downdraft) disrupted the storm’s inflow, subsequently allowing the initial tornado to dissipate. Ted Fujita indicated that this was not the case and the Monticello tornado was officially reclassified as two separate tornadoes. However, further analysis and research by Dr. The Monticello tornado was originally rated as having an impressive 121 mile path length from southeast Benton County to La Grange County (IN). The Monticello tornado family was responsible for 18 deaths across Illinois and Indiana, several injuries, and an enormous amount of damage in excess of $100 million (1974 dollars). Tornadoes included in the Monticello tornado family were: Owaneco, Pierson, Tolono, Homer Lake, and Bismarck in Illinois with Rainsville, Otterbein (originally classified as part of the Monticello tornado track), Monticello, and Plato in Indiana (tornadoes 7-14 in the figure below). The same thunderstorm produced a series of 9 tornadoes across Illinois and Indiana, known as the Monticello tornado family. The Monticello Tornado was spawned by an intense supercell thunderstorm. One of the most destructive tornadoes (including the longest path length) of any tornado during the outbreak was the Monticello Tornado. Not only was the eastern US devastated by tornadoes, but high winds and very large hail accompanied many thunderstorms that day. The combined path length of all tornadoes during this period was approximately 2500 miles with 315+ fatalities, over 5000 injuries, and an estimated $600+ million loss (in 1974 dollars). The “Super Outbreak,” as it is commonly referred to, featured 148 tornadoes that occurred in a 24 hour period from 1:00 PM EST April 3 rd to 1:00 PM EST on April 4 th. These images are more typical radar observation overlays, with different colors used to denote the varying intensity levels within the storm echoes.Apwill always be remembered as the date of the worst tornado outbreak during the 20 th century. The following images reveal that after the outbreak of tornadic supercell thunderstorms the afternoon of April 3rd, another line of storms moved through the region late that evening into the early morning hours of April 4th. It is uncertain if the varying color outlines may perhaps indicate different intensity levels within the echoes. Thus, some of the information is incomplete and at first glance some of the UTC times may appear to be inconsistent with the location and movement of the echoes. It is unclear exactly what methodology was used to create these particular overlays, as one would imagine things were extremely hectic in the Cincinnati NWS office that afternoon, and these overlays were probably drawn as quickly as possible. The radar operator would place these thin paper maps over the radar scope and trace an outline around the echoes. Below are CVG WSR-57 radar observation overlays from the Super Outbreak.
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