Salt Lake City Tornado
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Salt Lake City tornado was a very rare tornado
that occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah
on August 11, 1999, during an unusually strong summer monsoon season. It was among the most notable tornadoes to hit west of the Great Plains
in the 20th century and the second tornado to hit in Utah
that resulted in a fatality (the other occurring in 1884).
, the day began with calm but cloudy weather. As the day progressed, the clouds became steadily darker until nearly all light was obscured. Winds were still nearly calm, with the exception of a few microburst
s. Hail
preceded and followed this tornado, which was rated a strong F2 on the Fujita scale
. At 12:41 p.m., 1½ inch (4 cm) diameter hail was reported near the town of Herriman
. Afterwards, the storm started rotating, and at around 1:00 pm, many people reported seeing the storm rotate (forming a mesocyclone) as it moved into downtown Salt Lake City. A non-descending funnel cloud developed and traveled from western downtown toward the northeast before terminating near Memory Grove Park upon reaching the base of the Wasatch Mountains
.
The tornado uprooted trees and destroyed temporary tents set up for the National Outdoor Retailers Association convention, claiming the life of one booth set-up supervisor, Allen Crandy, 38, of Las Vegas
, Nevada
. In The Avenues
, over 120 homes were severely damaged and had roofs blown off and 34 homes were completely destroyed. Over 100 people were reported injured and a dozen critically.
The Delta Center (now the EnergySolutions Arena
), home of the Utah Jazz
of the National Basketball Association
, suffered minor damage. All of the windows from the nearby Wyndham Hotel (now the Radisson Hotel), across the street from the temporary tents, were broken out, raining down shards of glass on people attempting to escape from the collapsed tents. Construction cranes for the LDS Conference Center
were toppled by the storm, which nearly struck the city's landmark Mormon Temple. Damage to historic buildings in the lower Capitol Hill area of Salt Lake was reported. Nearly all of the trees in Memory Grove, a World War I
memorial park at the mouth of City Creek Canyon near downtown, were reportedly torn out, as well as hundreds of old trees on the Capitol grounds. A tree used as a popular photo spot at the Salt Lake Temple
, commonly after marriages
, was also destroyed.
This was the first major tornado to occur in a major urban area's downtown district and strike buildings of nearly 500 ft (150 m) tall according to Bill Alder of the National Weather Service
. Ironically, it happened in an area of the U.S. where tornados are quite rare. The governor of Utah in 1999, Michael O. Leavitt, heard the sound of the tornado moving between the tall glass buildings just before the windows imploded. The tornado caused approximately $170 million in damage.
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, 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. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
that occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
on August 11, 1999, during an unusually strong summer monsoon season. It was among the most notable tornadoes to hit west of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
in the 20th century and the second tornado to hit in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
that resulted in a fatality (the other occurring in 1884).
Meteorological synopsis
In Salt Lake ValleySalt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
, the day began with calm but cloudy weather. As the day progressed, the clouds became steadily darker until nearly all light was obscured. Winds were still nearly calm, with the exception of a few microburst
Microburst
A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
s. Hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
preceded and followed this tornado, which was rated a strong F2 on the Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
. At 12:41 p.m., 1½ inch (4 cm) diameter hail was reported near the town of Herriman
Herriman, Utah
Herriman is a city in southwestern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 21,785 as of the 2010 census. Although Herriman was a town in 2000, it has since been classified as a fifth-class city by state law. The city has experienced rapid growth since incorporation in 1999, as its...
. Afterwards, the storm started rotating, and at around 1:00 pm, many people reported seeing the storm rotate (forming a mesocyclone) as it moved into downtown Salt Lake City. A non-descending funnel cloud developed and traveled from western downtown toward the northeast before terminating near Memory Grove Park upon reaching the base of the Wasatch Mountains
Wasatch Range
The Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches approximately from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
.
Damage
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. In The Avenues
The Avenues, Salt Lake City, Utah
The Avenues is a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is named after the perfectly grid-like, closely laid out roads called Avenues and Streets. First surveyed in the 1850s, the Avenues became Salt Lake City's first neighborhood. Today, the Avenues neighborhood is generally considered...
, over 120 homes were severely damaged and had roofs blown off and 34 homes were completely destroyed. Over 100 people were reported injured and a dozen critically.
The Delta Center (now the EnergySolutions Arena
EnergySolutions Arena
EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, owned by Jazz Basketball Investors, Inc., the estate of Larry H. Miller...
), home of the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, suffered minor damage. All of the windows from the nearby Wyndham Hotel (now the Radisson Hotel), across the street from the temporary tents, were broken out, raining down shards of glass on people attempting to escape from the collapsed tents. Construction cranes for the LDS Conference Center
LDS Conference Center
The Conference Center, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Completed in spring 2000 in time for the church's April 2000 general conference, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby Salt...
were toppled by the storm, which nearly struck the city's landmark Mormon Temple. Damage to historic buildings in the lower Capitol Hill area of Salt Lake was reported. Nearly all of the trees in Memory Grove, a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
memorial park at the mouth of City Creek Canyon near downtown, were reportedly torn out, as well as hundreds of old trees on the Capitol grounds. A tree used as a popular photo spot at the Salt Lake Temple
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...
, commonly after marriages
Celestial marriage
Celestial marriage is a doctrine of Mormonism, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and branches of Mormon fundamentalism.Within Mormonism, celestial marriage is an ordinance associated with a covenant that always...
, was also destroyed.
This was the first major tornado to occur in a major urban area's downtown district and strike buildings of nearly 500 ft (150 m) tall according to Bill Alder of the National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
. Ironically, it happened in an area of the U.S. where tornados are quite rare. The governor of Utah in 1999, Michael O. Leavitt, heard the sound of the tornado moving between the tall glass buildings just before the windows imploded. The tornado caused approximately $170 million in damage.
External links
- Satellite imagery (University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonThe University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
) - Tornado Hits Salt Lake City (University of Nebraska at Lincoln)
- KSL.com Tornado Report (KSL-TVKSL-TVKSL-TV, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. KSL-TV is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
) - Utah Hazard Mitigation Plan (Utah Department of Public Safety)