April 20, 2004
The first significant tornado outbreak of 2004 produced several dozen
tornadoes, mostly in Illinois and Indiana. The only killer tornado of
the group swept through Utica, Illinois, a small town 90 miles
southwest of Chicago. Eight people died in the storm. All were in the
basement of a tavern, the Milestone Tap Restaurant. Sirens sounded
about three minutes before the tornado arrived. Everyone rushed to the
basement of the three-story, century-old building. The structure
collapsed as the tornado hit, killing 8 and injuring about 10 people in
the basement. The dead ranged in age from 18 to 81.
April 24, 2004
Eight people were injured, one critically, as a mobile home was picked up and
thrown into a grove of trees, 2 miles west of Ellsinore, Carter County,
Missouri.
May 22, 2004
Supercells towering to 65,000 feet spawned at least 20 tornadoes in southeastern
Nebraska. Worst hit was the town of Hallam, about 25 miles south of
Lincoln. Thirty-seven people were injured, and a 73-year-old woman was
killed. She died as her home collapsed. It was not swept away.
May 24, 2004
During an outbreak of small tornadoes, one person was killed in Scott County, Illinois. An F1 tornado cut a 7-mile-long path. Two miles southwest of Winchester, it destroyed a rural mobile home, killing a 63-year-old woman.
May 29, 2004
An outbreak of about 50 tornadoes (91 tornado reports) destroyed buildings
from North Dakota to Oklahoma. A family of tornadoes swept
north-northeast across De Kalb, Daviess, and Harrison Counties in
Missouri. Just east of Weatherby, De Kalb County, a group of homes were
destroyed by an F4 tornado. Three people were killed and about 18
injured. One man died as he shielded his children while his mobile home
was blown across the road and into Daviess County. Further to the
north-northeast, two women were killed when their older home, sitting
on cement blocks, was completely swept away. Their bodies were found in
a field north of the empty foundation. This area is about 60 miles
north of Kansas City. The NWS for the Kansas City area has a page for this outbreak.
May 30, 2004
The system that produced 50 or so tornadoes on the 29th, produced another
major outbreak, but further to the east. The town of Marengo, Crawford
County, Indiana, was torn apart. This area is 35 miles northwest of
Louisville, Kentucky. An elderly man was killed when his mobile home
was overturned. Many towns had serious damage, including Indianapolis,
which may have been hit by five or more small tornadoes.
June 23, 2004
An outbreak of tornadoes across central Wisconsin caused one death. A 53-year-old man was thrown 300 yards to his death by a mile-wide tornado that passed through the Mackford area, south of Markesan, Green Lake County. The home was destroyed and his wife was seriouslly injured.
June 26, 2004
An isolated F1 tornado destroyed a corrugated metal workshop in Milam County, Texas. A 72-year-old man, working in his Maysfield shop, was killed.
August 13, 2004
Between August 12th and August 14th, Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley spawned about 30 tornadoes. Just before dawn on the 13th, Bonnie produced an F2 tornado in the Rocky Point community of Pender County, North Carolina. Along its 5-mile-long path, about 30 home were damaged or destroyed. Three people were killed, one in each of three mobile homes. About 25 people were injured. This particular tornado is not shown on the preliminary SPC map.
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September 15, 2004
Hurricane Ivan has spawned nearly 100 tornadoes, four (possibly five) of which caused deaths. Two people died in Panama City, Bay County, Florida, one person died in Panama City Beach,and four died in mobile homes north of Blountstown, Calhoun County, Florida. In Franklin County, Georgei, there was one death near Carnesville when a tree fell onto a car. In a possible killer tornado, two women were killed in Cecil County, Maryland, as a house was hit by a tree. On Sunday, we will post a list of the worst hurricane-spawned killer tornadoes in history.
September 27, 2004
Hurricane Jeanne spawned more than two dozen tornadoes. One of them did F2 damage 4 miles NNW of Ridgeway in Fairfield County, South Carolina. Seven homes were damaged or destroyed. A 51-year-old man died when he was thrown from his mobile home as it was wrapped around a tree.
October 18, 2004
An outbreak of small tornadoes in the Mississippi River valley produced scattered F1 and F2 damage, and caused three fatalities in modular homes. The killer tornado touched down briefly southeast of Cooter, Pemiscot County, Missouri, at 7:45 PM. Three members of one family were killed. Pieces of the homes were found a mile away from the foundation. Sirens were first sounded at 7:00 PM.
November 23, 2004
A two-day outbreak of mostly small tornadoes struck the southern United States on November 23rd and 24th. On the 23rd, a 77-year-old woman was killed when her trailer was destroyed, 5 miles north of Silsbee, Hardin County, Texas. A few hours later, the worst tornado of the outbreak destroyed the small town of Olla, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. More than a hundred homes were damaged or destroyed, and an 89-year-old woman lost her life in one of them. On the 24th, a tree crushed a mobile home at Bynum, Calhoun County, Alabama. Another early morning tornado caused a death 15 miles southeast of Louisville, Winston County, Mississippi.
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