INDIANAPOLIS — Where were you on November 17, 2013? If you were in Indiana, you will probably remember the tornado outbreak the state saw that day.
In total, 30 tornadoes were reported throughout the state, making it the second-largest outbreak in history, says WISH-TV Meteorologist Marcus Bailey.
“The vast majority of the tornadoes did come out of the Lafayette area,” Bailey said. “The strongest of the tornadoes…was rated an EF-3.”
The National Weather Service says that tornado started near Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, traveled through Clinton and Carroll counties, and dissipated south of Logansport in Cass County. 16 of the tornadoes in the state that day were in north central Indiana, with half being recorded as EF-2 tornadoes.
At the time, Bailey was actually working at a television station in Peoria, Illinois, where the damage was much worse.
“That’s something that will be burned in my memory forever,” he said.
Just east of where he was working, the town of Washington, Illinois was destroyed by an EF-4 tornado, with winds up to 190 miles per hour.
(PHOTO: National Weather Service)
“I was very fearful of the photos that we were going to see, and unfortunately, it came true,” Bailey said. “It wasn’t just minor damage. It was homes completely blown off their foundation, businesses that had been completely leveled, trees that had been splintered.”
WATCH: Video taken of the tornado in Washington, Illinois. (WARNING: Strong language.)
Bailey said the storms and winds were so strong, they got reports of people in Chicago suburbs — 140 miles away — getting pieces of mail from Washington, Illinois.
Three people died in the Illinois tornadoes on Nov. 17, 2013. No one died in Indiana.
Bailey says it’s not unusual to have severe weather and tornadoes this late in the year.
“You’re transitioning from the warm months to, eventually, the cold months, so you’re going to have a lot of that back-and-forth that can create the potential for severe weather,” he said.
He added that Indiana has even had a tornado reported in December, January and February.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MARCUS BAILEY:
