National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

For more on the Utica portion of the deadly F3 tornado, please see the NWS Chicago Event Write-Up. For more on Iowa tornadoes that happened that day in the NWS Quad Cities County Warning Area, please see here.

Storm Track Maps  
Putnam County & Adjacent Area Tornadoes Granville-Utica F3 Tornado

 

 

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Public Information Statement

 
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
435 PM CDT WED APR 21 2004

...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURVEYS GRANVILLE ILLINOIS TORNADO...

ON TUESDAY APRIL 20TH BETWEEN 515 PM AND 6 PM...MULTIPLE TORNADOES 
MOVED NORTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHERN BUREAU AND PUTNAM COUNTIES IN 
ILLINOIS. 

IN SOUTHERN BUREAU COUNTY...A TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND ABOUT 1.5 
MILES AND WAS ABOUT 100 YARDS WIDE, DAMAGING A BARN...SEVERAL 
OUTBUILDINGS AND THE ROOF OF A FARMHOUSE ON A FARM.  A GROUND SURVEY 
OF THE DAMAGE ESTIMATED THE WIND AT 70 MPH...WHICH WOULD CATEGORIZE 
THE TORNADO AS AN F-0 ON THE FUJITA TORNADO DAMAGE SCALE.

IN PUTNAM COUNTY...A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN OVER RURAL AREAS ABOUT 2 
MILES EAST OF HENNIPEN...AND TRAVELED NORTHEAST INTO GRANVILLE.  THE 
TORNADO CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO BUSINESSES...HOMES...AND CITY 
BUILDINGS IN GRANVILLE. EYEWITNESSES REPORTED THAT THIS TORNADO HAD 
MULTIPLE VORTICIES IN THE VICINITY OF GRANVILLE.  THE TORNADO CAUSED 
DAMAGE THAT RESULTED IN WIND ESTIMATES NEAR 150 MPH IN NORTHERN 
GRANVILLE. THE TORNADO REMAINED ON THE GROUND ACROSS THE COUNTY LINE 
INTO LASALLE COUNTY...3 MILES NORTHEAST OF STANDARD.  IN RURAL 
AREAS...EXTENSIVE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED TO SEVERAL FARMS.  WIND 
ESTIMATES SHOW THAT WINDS CAUSING THIS DAMAGE WERE NEAR 157 MPH...OR 
A HIGH LEVEL F-2 TORNADO. THIS TORNADO LATER CAUSED DAMAGE TO 
LASALLE COUNTY ILLINOIS.

THIS DAMAGE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY MIKE MCCLURE...ANDY ERVIN...AND 
SCOTT DOERING.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ILLINOIS LAW ENFORCEMENT...LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF 
GRANVILLE...AND CITIZENS OF GRANVILLE.  

 

 

 

Pictures

 

Boards stuck in ground. Projectiles from Granville Tornado.

High-end F-2 damage. Garage taken off foundation, car blown out of garage. From Granville.
   
   
   
Flattened garage.
   
   
 

Devastated farm northeast of Granville. High-end F-2 damage.

 

 
Granville gymnasium without roof.