The Order of the Solar Temple was a religious group active in several French-speaking countries, led by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret. Founded in 1984, it was a neo-Templar secret society with eclectic beliefs sourced from many different movements like Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and the New Age. The OTS had a commune in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade in Quebec, the "Sacred Heart" (French: Sacré-Coeur) commune and farm. The location, having previously belonged to the Catholic organization the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, was bought by the OTS in 1984 for 235,000 Canadian dollars. The farm was located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City, where the group was headquartered in an old orphanage, also home to one of Jouret's Club Amenta locations. It was intended as an "ark of survival" far from urban areas with 100 people to repopulate the Earth following an apocalypse, due to the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, which would destroy Europe. By 1988, there were about 50 people living at this commune, who worked as volunteer farm workers. Members practiced organic farming and worked long and difficult hours; they also occasionally organized conferences on OTS ideas.
The OTS seemed to be doing well, but on 25 November, the 1988 Saguenay earthquake occurred at a 5.3 magnitude; this earthquake damaged the view held by Jouret and other Templars that Quebec would be a safe haven from the impending apocalypse, which was the main reason they had moved to Canada. While Jouret often spoke of the apocalypse, he had predicted that Quebec would be spared; following the earthquake, members of the Sacred Heart commune began to criticize his leadership and his predictions (viewing them as too specific). The farm was also not self-sustaining, and the commune was close to bankruptcy. In March 1993, Jouret and several other members became embroiled in a gun scandal, when they were charged for attempting to buy illegal weapons in Quebec. This resulted in immense scandal. Following the gun scandal, member Didier Quèze told the media that they were harmless and not a cult; he stated, "In a cult, you're told what to do. Here, you do what you think you should do."


Following the gun scandal, Jouret became very paranoid and concerned with purported injustice. He began speaking of "transit", an idea which had previously been introduced by Di Mambro several years earlier; the idea of a "voluntary departure of templars to another dimension in space in order to recreate the world." They conceptualized the transit as a ritual involving magic fire, where they would undergo a spiritual voyage to the star Sirius. In October 1994, the first transit killed 53 people, 48 in Switzerland and five in Canada; several of the dead did not consent to death or were directly murdered for being "traitors". Among the dead were both Di Mambro and Jouret. The group left a suicide letter called "The Testament". The main message of this letter is a call to other members of the OTS to join the departed ones by "transiting" themselves, encouraging former members to kill themselves. Included in this letter were the words:


Know that from wherever we are, we will always reach out to those who are worthy of joining us.
Following these suicides, the group became internationally notorious. In December 1995, 16 more members of the OTS would commit mass suicide, this time in France. Following the previous suicides, French police rounded up members of the OTS for preventative reasons, fearing new mass suicides on dates tied to astrological events or Templar history. It was stated by Yves Casgrain, a spokesman for Info-Secte, that the group likely still operated in Quebec, only underground. The OTS was officially banned by the government of Quebec after the first mass suicide and was believed to be dissolved.


The Quèzes, Didier and Chantal Quèze (née Goupillot), 39 and 41 years old, respectively, managed the bakery at the Sacred Heart commune: living apart from other members, they were not well-liked, with former OTS members describing Didier as the "know-it-all" of the farm on the commune and as "a real character", while his wife was described as passive and unassertive. The couple was perceived by one ex-member as "withdrawn, haughty, and ill-tempered". Former teachers from France, they had moved to Switzerland to be in closer proximity to the group, before moving to Canada. Sixty-three-year-old Suzanne Druau, Chantal's mother, was not a member of the OTS, but was associated with the movement and lived in a way permissible to the group's beliefs; she had moved from France to live with her daughter following the death of her husband. Druau was the only person to have died in the entire series of OTS deaths who was not a member of the group.
Forty-nine-year-old Bruno Klaus was the former head farmer of the commune; following his divorce from Rose-Marie, he was with Pauline Riou. Klaus was described as a calm and hardworking man, known to be fanatical about the farming methods on the commune (involving astrology), though his methods were ineffective and he was later made to work at the bakery. A lapsed Catholic from Switzerland, Klaus had met Luc Jouret in Switzerland circa 1984 when he visited him (as Jouret was a doctor) due to an earache. Jouret told him that he had actually had cancer, but that he had cured it – after this, Jouret would often tell Klaus that he "should be dead" and that he owed him his life. Klaus would then become a devoted follower of Jouret. Marie-Louise Rebaudo, the OTS's astrologer, later claimed that she saw significant changes in his star chart, which showed that he was to move to Quebec to help start the "ark of survival". He moved with Rose-Marie to the Sacred Heart commune. He had invested over 100,000 Canadian dollars into the farm purchase.
Rose-Marie eventually left the OTS over a "cosmic marriage" enforced by the group that separated her from her husband. For several years after this, she repeatedly tried to get Bruno back, having a "foot inside, but always one outside" the OTS community, but eventually gave up, and began contacting anti-cult groups. She divorced him and returned to Switzerland, taking their two children with her; while previously Bruno Klaus had been a high-status member, his reputation in the group suffered due to the actions of his wife. According to Swiss journalist Arnaud Bédat, Klaus was later romantically involved with Jocelyne Friedli, who died in the 1995 transit. He was then partners with Pauline Riou. Pauline Riou was a 54-year-old Canadian nurse; speaking of her, former member Hermann Delorme described Riou as completely "enthralled" with Jouret, saying that she would "tremble when he spoke". She was not a very active member of the group but was described as a very faithful and obedient one. Klaus, Riou, and the Quèzes were all close friends.
Following the investigation of former members in the group in Canada, Klaus and Didier Quèze, among nearly 100 other former members or sympathizers, were met by the police; many of these members were extremely disappointed in the fact that they had not been selected as part of the previous mass suicide. The Quèzes moved to Saint-Casimir, a town of 2000 people near Quebec City, following the deaths, where they established a bakery, but continued to practice OTS ritual and ideology in secret; they moved their bakery, where they continued to work. Their neighbors were unaware of their connection to the group, then notorious, viewing them as "quite normal", though private. The couple's three children were forbidden from joining sports teams by their parents, and according to their classmates could not play with their peers or leave the house.


Following the 1994 deaths, Klaus and Didier Quèze were distraught, viewing themselves as having been abandoned by Jouret; according to Bédat they felt rejected by society and were convinced they were being spied on. Didier Quèze was placed under police watch by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) in July 1996, but nothing beyond that, and he defended himself to the press. It was known that the four of them still had extreme faith in OTS beliefs. Police had last had contact with them the last summer solstice. A former police investigator into the OTS claimed that the police had visited the Quèzes several months prior to the deaths and that during this visit he had begged them not to take the children with them if they did do another transit, and that in response they had "[sung him] sweet nothings". Hermann Delorme predicted that another suicide would take place on the summer solstice of 1996, though this did not occur.
According to Journal de Québec, in the weeks prior the police and Bédat had received several clues that indicated the planning of a third massacre in Quebec. According to Bédat, it was known that there were "still a few fanatics left"; he said he had received what he described as "very specific information" that something would happen near Quebec City. Following the publication of his book on the OTS in Canada in March 1997, L'Ordre du Temple Solaire, he spoke publicly to the media warning about how he believed a third massacre by the group was a possibility. He stated: "We really can't rule out that they are preparing a third massacre. The fact that the first and second have left legitimizes their faith, suggests that there is indeed an afterlife as they imagined. How far will these convinced followers go? The worst is still possible..." Klaus was once quoted in this book on the subject of his romantic relationships, telling how he and Friedli had switched wives at Jouret's suggestion. Bédat had previously had telephone contact with Klaus and Didier Quèze, and described them as being "agitators" of the OTS, "if not leaders".
In April 1996, Bédat published an article in the Swiss magazine L'Illustré titled Un troisième massacre se prépare au Québec, 'A third massacre is being prepared in Quebec'. A few days before the killings, Bédat sent a fax warning a former member who lived in Canada to be careful, especially of members Klaus and Didier Quèze. Following the mass suicide, the book, and Bédat's statements discussing the possibility of another massacre, were discussed by several news outlets. According to Delorme, in the weeks leading up to the "transit", Klaus and Didier Quèze often spoke of "travelling". Clément Godin, owner of the only gas station in the area, said that he had seen Didier Quèze fill up his gas cans, and that he seemed well. Godin was also the chief firefighter of the town and would later be one of the first responders.
In a private letter to his relatives left behind, one of the members wrote:


all the people in the Order were extraordinary, very far from the image of bastards spread by the newspapers. If only you could know how kind Luc Jouret was. We have all been hunted down like dogs because what we are telling, what we are relating, disturbs at a high level. [...] we are relieved to know that we as well as our children will no more have to endure the craziness of this earthly world. Don't believe anything that you will read about us. If only there would have been honest journalists, we would have helped them to write their articles.
The letter defends their choice to transit, and asks for forgiveness for the people they may have hurt, but says that they are happy to have accomplished their work, that it was merely moving again, but this time further away.


On 20 March 1997, the Quèzes arrived home, after going on a two-day trip the destination of which was unknown. The same day, the pair mailed the Canadian newspapers La Presse and Le Journal de Montréal a "testament" letter, from a post office in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade; it was stamped on the 21st. This letter was not taken seriously by the organizations they mailed and it was not published. A copy of this was also left in the shed. One excerpt from this letter read:


We must however specify that it was necessary that a group of Men, Women and Children, having been previously prepared, had to go through the vicissitudes of these 3 years in Law and Service; so that the experience acquired could fully bear its fruits, to enrich the Consciousness of the Return to the Father.
Religious scholar Alain Bouchard summed up the letter as saying "we have had enough, you do not want to understand anything, we prefer to die". The "testament" letter argued that the three mass suicides together constituted one singular transit, calling the first one an "exceptional moment" and saying the second had reactivated the process of planning another mass suicide. It blames the media, saying that the members "know full well that the media's filth against us will increase", though unlike previous letters it is mostly focused on living OTS members, to whom it says that the letter was intended to bring clarity to.
It threatens Thierry Huguenin, the 54th intended member of the 1994 suicide who had escaped, that "[a]s for the pseudo 54th, he should know that the welcoming committee is waiting for him." La Presse described it as reminiscent of the 1994 transit letters written by Di Mambro. According to Shannon Clusel and Susan J. Palmer, they rationalized the fact that they had not been selected to participate in the earlier "transits" by Jouret and Di Mambro as a kind of "trial period" that had been done to strengthen them.
Later in that evening, the Quèzes drugged their children, who did not know of the plans, with juice laced with sedatives. The children then went to sleep. The adults had created a setup involving propane tanks, gas canisters, and stoves, designed to explode the house; three five-gallon canisters of gasoline were attached to three propane tanks and a timer. This was planned for the spring equinox.


Early in the morning, one of the teens woke up, and finding the unconscious body of her father, found the setup designed to set the house on fire. She then woke up her two siblings, and they then tried and failed to wake up their mother, but succeeded in waking up Druau. Druau told them that the group had "failed" (but did not tell them that they had been trying to commit suicide). The siblings then succeeded at thwarting the attempt by airing the house out, closing the propane tanks, and removing the rest of the setup – this was all done while their parents were still asleep.
When the adults eventually woke up, they were confronted by the children. Chantal Quèze initially told the children that they would not attempt suicide again before Didier Quèze said they would – but this time their children would have a choice in whether they wanted to be included or not. The daughter almost agreed to participate in the suicide, before one of her brothers convinced her not to. That day, their school was worried about them given their absence; they had never been absent before. The principal called the home, which was answered by the older son, who told him that his siblings were sick and he had to take care of them.
Following this, the children spent the remaining hours of the day tending to the adults, who were sick after the suicide attempt. As of the evening, the teenagers were still not decided as to whether they would participate; their parents, however, apparently believed they had agreed to die with them, and proceeded to slip sedatives into their food a second time. The children, assuming that the adults were too sick to try to do it again, slept, but close to midnight they were woken up again by their mother's cries and were too affected by the drugs to do anything. During the night, Druau was suffocated by the Quézes with a plastic bag (which had also occurred in the other OTS suicides), with her consent.


Didier Quéze then repeated his attempt to restart the ignition machinery. Early in the morning, the teenagers woke up again and went downstairs, finding their father trying to reassemble the ignition system, and Druau dead with a garbage bag over her head. The children, having decided that they did not want to die, then proceeded to, again, remove the suicide setup, airing the house out and removing the system; the other adults were mostly asleep at this time. The children proceeded to argue with the adults through the morning, begging them not to die. Didier Quèze told them that their grandmother's death made it so they could no longer turn back, and once again the children's parents asked them if they would die with them. With some hesitation, all of the children refused. Later in the day, their parents gave them permission to survive as long as they did not interfere with their own deaths. The teens were then drugged and sent to a shed in the garden (where they had placed a bed), but after several hours the fire had failed to start and they returned to the house.
Upon returning, the teenagers found the adults very ill, and once again stopped the ignition system, before begging their parents to not die. Their mother asked the children to restart the ignition system before they helped Klaus and Riou upstairs. They then helped their father start the fire, starting the ignition timer again, which also failed. A final time, they returned to the house (where they brought their mother additional sedative drugs at her request) and started the timer. They returned to the shed, taking with them several personal items and "some mementos of their parents". By about half an hour later, at 6 p.m., the house was burning. After a call from a neighbor, firefighters soon arrived, and after the fires diminished an hour later they were able to enter the home. At 7:35 p.m., they discovered four of the burnt bodies in the master bedroom on the second floor, arranged in a crucifix formation.
Red rose petals were scattered throughout the room, and while searching the house police found a sword with Pauline Riou's name engraved into the handle and medieval-style clothing. Once the smoke cleared, Druau's body was found on the first floor at 8:05. The three propane tanks were found detached from the detonation mechanism and were unaltered by the fire. In the debris, metal grills were discovered containing cloth drenched in flammable substances. The timers used in the detonation mechanism resembled those used for the fire set at Morin-Heights. An hour after officers arrived, the three teenagers came out of the shed in the garden, and were found by the chief fire officer who believed them to be possibly drugged. The teenagers were taken to be medically examined and were found to have traces of benzodiazepines in their blood.
Coincidentally, on the night of the 22nd, the Quebec television channel Canal D aired a documentary on the Order of the Solar Temple, Aller simple pour Sirius, 'One-way ticket to Sirius'. This documentary contains testimonials from people who had lost their parents to past OTS suicides.


Following the suicides, there was widespread media interest, particularly about the extent of the children's involvement and what had led to the events, with many competing theories; a heated debate on religious freedom in Quebec resulted. As the event had happened over the weekend, there was little coverage the following day, except for the broadcast of a Sûreté du Québec press conference and a brief interview with sociologist Raymond Lemieux; however, come Monday there began intense media coverage. Early coverage included interviews with former member Hermann Delorme and novelist Guy Fournier, who had written a novel based on the OTS; Fournier called the event a "human tragedy", a demonstration of "remarkable faith" by people who were "screwed", while Delorme described those who died as having been "pushed to the wall", "no longer capable of living the situation". Later coverage was more critical, promoting intervention in religious matters. Anti-cult speaker Yves Casgrain accused the government of having "blood on its hands", and said they had not listened to his warnings. He declared the incident an example of how cults can manipulate their victims, even if the leaders had been dead for years. Mike Kropveld, director of Info-Secte, said the government should be doing more to fight cults. The population of the village expressed their shock at the incident.
In the immediate aftermath, Arnaud Bédat stated that a fourth massacre was still possible, though he said there were no reliable leads unlike in the Saint-Casimir case, only rumors. The OTS was fixated on numerology (occult significance in numbers): Bédat noted that with the deaths of five additional members, the total death toll of the OTS had been brought to 74; seven and four add to 11, a significant number for the OTS as it was the number of "elder brothers" in their theology. The children dying would have made it 77, a double number, also important to the OTS. He noted that though it was still the same group, it was a smaller more isolated affair, a "question of Klaus and his new concubine, of Quèze, his wife and his mother-in-law." In addition to the vernal equinox, he speculated that the timing of the suicides could also have to do with the weekend having experienced a lunar eclipse and the passage of the Hale–Bopp comet. The Canadian newspaper Le Devoir later received a letter from other OTS members following the transit, discussing the Saint-Casimir incident.
On the same day as the Saint-Casimir suicide, members of the unrelated Heaven's Gate group also began a mass suicide. Heaven's Gate happened to be a group with similar beliefs, in both cases believing that suicide would allow their souls to be transported into space. This led to initial suspicions of a connection, though police investigating the Heaven's Gate deaths refused to acknowledge these speculations. Scholars and journalists speculated immediately after the deaths that both groups had possibly been motivated in their timing in part by the vernal equinox (which had occurred on the 20th). The OTS deaths had been timed for the equinox, but due to the failed attempts they did not happen until the 22nd. Heaven's Gate had instead timed it for the closest approach of the Hale–Bopp comet on the 22nd. There was no apparent connection found between the two groups.


The transit letter was immediately seized by the police following the suicides, in order to carry out analysis of it, especially to determine that it had not been written by anyone not among the dead. Excerpts of this letter were printed in a 25 March 1997 article by Martin Pelchat of La Presse, and included in Bédat's second book; the SQ refused to grant two researchers access to the letter in 2020. Handwriting analysis was done, as well as toxicology tests on the bodies of the dead and investigation related to the final phone calls made by the members killed. The teenagers were made to identify their parents' bodies by police, which they made the youngest son do. According to police, after learning of the death of their parents, only the eldest son cried.
The children were questioned by police; they said they did not remember what exactly had happened, likely due to the drugs. While awaiting the decision as to whether they would be charged, they were put in a Quebec City center operated by the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ), the address of which was kept secret. Their schoolmates wrote them letters and recorded them a video cassette, though the DPJ did not want them to have outside contact during this period. They were later allowed to contact their classmates, but not allowed to discuss what had happened.
Based on their testimonies, the children were considered to have played an "active role" in the mass suicide by investigators. Possible criminal charges for this kind of action could have been arson or murder. The Sûreté du Québec gave the Chief Deputy Attorney General discretion as to whether they would be charged, with no expressed opinion in their submitted report, which was atypical compared to common practice. On 24 April, the Quebec Ministry of Justice stated they would not press criminal charges against the Quèze children, ruling that though they were responsible for the deaths, this responsibility was mitigated by the fact they had been drugged. They also noted the "culture of a cult that nurtures psychological destabilization annihilates the critical spirit and creates a break with generally accepted references", and that the children had experienced a "complete psychological drift".
The coroner investigating the case was Yvon Naud. In his report on the deaths, released 8 October 1997, his single recommendation was the establishment of a committee to study and understand cults, and how to recognize and stop ones that became dangerous. This recommendation was not followed. The four adults (besides Druau) were found to have died from asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation, before the fire reached their bodies. There were no signs of other violence or poisoning, though the dead were found to have consumed significant quantities of tranquilizing drugs.


This was the only OTS transit that left behind survivors (with the possible exception of Thierry Huguenin, who claimed to have escaped the first massacre); it was also the only one that was purely voluntary for those that died. Reflecting on the case, religious historian Jean-François Mayer called the fact there were witnesses left behind the most noticeable aspect of the case compared to the others, allowing the exact sequence of events to be known, which showed that it was done purely out of the conviction of the followers. He further called it extraordinary that a group of members had persevered through both the prior transits, only to do the same thing; he said this showed the degree of conviction some of them had reached. After this third suicide, the total number of people dead in incidents related to the OTS stood at 74.
The three children returned to France to live with their grandparents about two months after the deaths. During the trial of composer Michel Tabachnik for his alleged responsibility in the OTS deaths in 2001, one of the teenagers testified about her experiences; she expressed how she had thought of dying with her parents, stating "My parents didn't want to stay alive. I still don't understand why, but I know there wasn't much we could do about it. Before he died, my father simply said to me: watch out for vultures." Interviewed 15 years after the suicide, one of the three teenagers to have survived stated he did not blame his parents. He expressed his desire to move on, stating: "It doesn't make any difference whether it's been 5 years, 10 years, 15 years. The page is turned, I've understood what happened, I don't blame my parents. Enough ink has been spilled on that now. That's it." Their former neighbor and guardian, who kept in contact with them, reported they were doing well.
The house where the suicides occurred at was put up for sale by Didier Quèze's estate after the deaths. It was bought by a volunteer firefighter who had been the first person to arrive at the scene, then a neighbor who had seen the fire through the window. The house was renovated following the sale. He had known the three Quèze children well prior to the incident, as they were friends with his children. He was one of the only people in the village who knew of the Quèzes' connection to the OTS, though he believed they were no longer members. He became their guardian until they returned to France, as they had no family in Canada. In 2012, he stated that many people had offered to pay him for a visit to the house, which he refused, or asked if the house had ghosts. People also visited the house in the years after the deaths, but according to him this eventually ceased.
In 2012, religious scholar Alain Bouchard said there were few warning signs of the suicide – the only clear one being their continuous agreement with the Order's beliefs. The coroner who had investigated the case, Yvon Naud, argued that the event could not have been predicted. He stated: "Can we lock someone up just in case, because of their beliefs? These are people we can rub shoulders with every day, there isn't something in their face that says, 'I'm part of the Order of the Solar Temple and I have to fly to Sirius on a cosmic journey'." Bouchard noted that the letter they sent had not been taken seriously, which may have been the only tangible sign of their intentions. The lead Sûreté du Québec investigator into the OTS, Jacques St-Pierre, said he had known since the 1994 transit that another could occur in Canada, given many members were disappointed they had not been included in the initial mass suicide. Arnaud Bédat stated he had been given "very specific information" that something would happen near Quebec City.
It was the final suicide linked to the group. In 2000, the religious scholar Massimo Introvigne wrote that further suicides could not be excluded "as long as even one single person still shares the OTS's ideology". Bouchard believes that the group continues to exist and still has members, but Bédat said it was the "last journey of the last fanatics, those who were frustrated at not having left with the others". Though many former members continued to have contact, he said they no longer adhered to OTS ideology and that there was no more danger. He believed there was no OTS left, and that the remaining members had "returned to real life".


In a two-day period on July 27–28, 1997, heavy rainfall caused an overflow of the Spring Creek near Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. Stalled convection over the city produced heavy rainfall of up to 14.5 inches (370 mm) across western portions of Fort Collins, causing a flash flood which damaged areas along Spring Creek. Numerous buildings at Colorado State University were inundated by floodwaters, sustaining over US$100 million in damage. Five people were killed, 62 were injured, and damage totaled in excess of $250 million, including more than 2,000 businesses and homes being damaged or destroyed. The flood is the worst natural disaster to impact the Fort Collins, Colorado, area.


Spring Creek is a 12.7-mile-long (20.4 km) tributary of the Cache La Poudre River in the state of Colorado in the United States. It begins at Spring Canyon Dam, and flows into Horsetooth Reservoir, and through Fort Collins. Before the floods, moist atmospheric conditions occurred due to an unusually strong flow of monsoon moisture, despite the area experiencing drought conditions for six weeks. A $5-million mitigation plan was also implemented before the flood. The average precipitation annually in the Fort Collins area near a Spring Creek drainage was 14 inches (360 mm) before the disaster.


On July 27, a cold front moving southward entered portions of northern Colorado as cooler air was pushed toward the state from a high-pressure area centered over southern Canada. Moisture also pushed into Colorado from the south, above the approaching cold front, as easterly winds pushed into eastern portions of the state moist, extremely humid surface air that was previously located over Kansas. The humid surface air then moved and saturated into the Front Range, resulting in the development of slow-moving thunderstorms into the next day. While this occurred, convection developed over Fort Collins, producing heavy rainfall of up to 14.5 inches (370 mm) across western portions of the city, including 10 inches (250 mm) of rain falling within five hours. The heavy rainfall overwhelmed drains and caused debris to block a railroad passage, resulting in a flash flood across Fort Collins. After the floods, moist air remained for several days over the state, eventually resulting in more convection developing that missed impacting already-impacted areas in Fort Collins and Larimer County, Colorado, instead inundating farmlands and portions of Sterling and Atwood, Colorado. A Colorado State University climatologist, Nolan Doesken, compared the meteorological conditions in Spring Creek to the 1976 Big Thompson River flood.


Most of the rain fell across western portions of Fort Collins, near Spring Creek. At Colorado State University, 40 buildings were inundated by floodwaters, including the law enforcement department and television station at the university, causing over $100 million in damage. In a basement in one of the buildings, damages to textbooks totaled up to $1 million, along with an additional 425,000 books kept at a nearby library damaged. A 15-foot (4.6 m) railroad embankment overflowed after being hit with approximately 8,250 cubic feet (234 m3) of water per second, which caused a train to derail. The floods killed five people, injured 62 people, and caused property damage in excess of $250 million, including more than 2,000 businesses and homes being damaged or destroyed. Four of the five fatalities occurred at a mobile home park, where floodwaters increased over 5 feet (150 cm) in three minutes, destroying the mobile home park and another trailer park. Several of the injured were transported to Poudre Valley Hospital for medical treatment, including hypothermia from the floodwaters and lacerations sustained from broken windows. The rainfall in Fort Collins on July 28 was the heaviest in an urban area in the state, and also set three, six, and twenty-four hour-rainfall records. Additionally, across the Fort Collins area, the flood was the worst natural disaster ever there.


After the flood, 400 people were rescued. A documentary film was made detailing the flood and the reconstruction after the disaster. A high water marker was erected at Colorado State University designating the water level during the flood at Spring Creek, and flood-height poles were also built. Following the flood, flood management projects and further mitigation measures were enacted, which cost $50 million. A system used for flood warnings was also initiated, which was supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. New structures were also built in Fort Collins as improvements, which included channels and retaining walls being situated. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network was also created as a result of the floods, first beginning in Larimer County in 1998. Events were also set up to commemorate 20 years after the disaster in 2017.


On November 3, 2002, an MQ-1 Predator operated by the CIA launched an airstrike on a vehicle travelling through the al-Naqaa desert of Marib Governorate, Yemen. The strike destroyed the vehicle and killed six suspected militants, including its target Abu Ali al-Harithi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen. The operation was the first drone strike conducted by the United States outside of Afghanistan.
Harithi had been wanted for several years by both the Yemeni and American government for involvement in the USS Cole bombing. After Yemeni special forces failed to capture him in a raid in December 2001, the Yemeni government allowed the US to fly surveillance drones over the country to search for his location. A joint US-Yemeni intelligence team had been tracking down Harithi for months prior to the operation. He was pinpointed to a farm in Marib on the day of the strike after the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted the signal of his phone. CIA agents stationed in Djibouti routed a Predator armed with two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles to the location and began monitoring the target before Harithi and a group of companions left in two vehicles. The NSA confirmed that Harithi was in the backseat of one car after hearing him giving directions to the driver. With permission from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as CIA Director George Tenet and CENTCOM Gen. Michael DeLong, who were viewing the situation through the Predator's video feed, the CIA drone operators fired a missile at the car, destroying it and killing six of its seven occupants, including Harithi.
The strike was consistent with the Bush Doctrine, which commits to preemptive strikes against terrorist targets. It was the first instance of a drone killing an American citizen as authorities later found that Kamal Derwish, ringleader of the Lackawanna Six, had died in the vehicle alongside Harithi. The CIA initially maintained that it did not know Derwish was in the vehicle, but an official later claimed in 2009 that it did know but justified his death as "collateral damage". American and Yemeni officials remained silent on the operation until it was confirmed by a US State Department official days later, angering the Yemeni government which intended to hide its cooperation with the US in order to avoid criticism. The operation prompted discussion over the strategic and legal implications of the US attacking terrorist targets in countries considered at peace with it, and killing American citizens deemed terrorists. It also lead to discussion over the American government adopting the tactic of targeted killing.


Abu Ali al-Harithi, al-Qaeda's chief of operations in Yemen, had been wanted by the US and Yemen since October 2000 for the investigation of the USS Cole bombing, his involvement being described as "widely accepted within intelligence and law enforcement circles" by a US official. After being tipped off, Harithi alongside senior Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Muhammad al-Ahdal went into hiding in the remote village of Hosun al-Jalal in Marib Governorate from August to November 2001. Under pressure from the US, Yemeni special forces launched a raid on the town in December in an attempt to capture the two, which lead to the deaths of 18 soldiers and six local tribesmen. The raid was the first military operation launched against al-Qaeda outside of Afghanistan. In the aftermath of the failed raid, the Yemeni government permitted the US to fly surveillance drones over the country in order to gain further intelligence on the location of the militants.
In January 2002, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi stated that the Yemeni government knew where Harithi and Ahdal were, but could not arrest them in fear of tribal resistance. In February, Yemeni officials suspected that the two had escaped to the local section of the Rub al Khali. US intelligence determined in mid-2002 that Harithi was residing somewhere in Yemen. Despite drones and Joint Special Operations Command searching for him for several months and sharing their information with Yemen, the US had been coming up short.
US ambassador Edmund Hull and the CIA believed that Harithi was still residing in Marib due to occasional phone calls of his intercepted and traced by a joint US-Yemeni intelligence team. Harithi kept on him up to five phones, each suspected to have been equipped with multiple SIM cards to throw off any spies. The NSA had set up an automatic system which would sound an alarm at their headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, if one of his recorded phone numbers was ever in use. Hull had arranged meetings and payments to local tribesmen and tribal sheikhs in exchange for potential information on Harithi's whereabouts.
On October 23, 2002, senior Yemeni officials confirmed that US surveillance drones were flying over the Rub al Khali in order to locate the militants, specifically searching for "unusual movements" such as cars within the mostly unpopulated area. Presidential advisor Abdul Karim al-Iryani said the militants may have evaded searches by placing a tent on the top of their pickup truck and having a native Bedouin familiar with the land drive them.


On September 17, 2002, local authorities in Lackawanna, New York, publicly identified Kamal Derwish as the ringleader and recruiter of the Lackawanna Six, a group of Yemeni-Americans charged with materially supporting al-Qaeda and training at a terrorist camp in Afghanistan. Derwish had left Lackawanna by early 2001 after convincing the six men to train with al-Qaeda. Authorities learned in the spring of 2002 that Derwish utilized several aliases and was in communication with Saad bin Laden and Walid bin Attash, and intercepted "assessment calls" between Derwish and Lackawanna Six members in the summer. They believed that Derwish, along with fellow American militant Jaber Elbaneh, were hiding somewhere in Yemen. FBI agents were deployed to the country in late September in order to arrest the two.


The strike on Harithi was completed "through a combination of human intelligence, aerial surveillance by Predator drones, and efforts by the National Security Agency (NSA) to track his cell phone use." During the afternoon of November 3, 2002, a Yemeni ground agent on the US ambassador's payroll spotted Harithi among a group of people entering two cars; a black Toyota Land Cruiser for him and five men in his entourage, and a separate vehicle for the women. The spy then contanced the CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia to share his information.
Simultaneously, a US Army Trojan satellite stationed at Camp Doha, Kuwait, intercepted the signal of one of Harithi's phones. A Cryptologic Support Group (CSG) unit of the NSA, part of the joint team in Yemen, pinpointed the signal using GPS tracking to a farm in Marib Governorate. Yemeni officials stated that Harithi's farm had been under their surveillance for months, with information being relayed to the US. Almost immediately, CIA drone operators from the Special Activities Division (SAD) in Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, directed an MQ-1 Predator armed with two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles to the location. The NSA's information was being shared to the CIA and was their means of tracking the targets.
The drone pilots contacted CIA director George Tenet, who was viewing a live video feed from the Predator at the Counterterrorism Center at Langley. He informed CENTCOM Gen. Michael DeLong via telephone that the CIA had found its target. According to DeLong, who was viewing the Predator's video feed from the UAV room in MacDill Air Force Base, US forces were "preparing to storm in when Ali exited with five of his associates. They got into SUVs and took off." The drone proceeded to follow the convoy.
An NSA analyst in Fort Meade tapping into the call noted that the person on the phone, who was seemingly speaking to another al-Qaeda operative to arrange a meeting, was not Harithi. However, he later recognized that Harithi was in the back seat of the Land Cruiser after hearing a six-second conversation of him giving directions to the driver, confirming it with a colleague. Also determined was Derwish's presence in the vehicle. The NSA relayed their information to the CIA, whose pilots had a lock on the target. Tenet requested and was granted final permission to fire from DeLong and from President Saleh, though the latter's approval was based on the condition that the operation would be kept a secret.
As the Land Cruiser made its way from the main road to an open desert track, the Predator fired a missile at it, instantly destroying it and killing six occupants. A seventh passenger managed to escape the vehicle before the missile struck and survived the attack injured. US officials blamed the severity of the destruction on an "unexplained secondary explosion," suggesting that the vehicle held some sort of flammable or explosive material. Authorities found traces of weapons, ammunition, explosives and communications equipment within the remains of the car, and later took it away for inspection. A helicopter carrying Yemeni security officials had been standing by at the location soon after, removing the occupants and transporting them to a hospital in Sanaa, where US officials collected DNA samples which were sent to a laboratory for identification.
The victims were identified as Harithi, who was recognized in the debris by a distinct mark on his severed leg, four members of the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, a local militant group linked to al-Qaeda, and an individual identified as Ahmed Hijazi. US and Yemeni officials later deemed Hijazi to be an alias for Derwish, but the CIA maintained that it did not know he was in the vehicle at the time of the strike. A US official in later claimed in 2009 that the CIA did know of Derwish's presence in the vehicle but justified his killing as "collateral damage" at the time because he "was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."


Both the US and Yemen were initially adamant towards maintaining the operation a secret. Both sides developed a cover-up story for Yemen to follow: the Land Cruiser was carrying weapons, explosives and other flammable materials to be used by the militants and had accidentally exploded. CIA and Department of Defense officials initially refused to discuss the strike publicly, only stating that the US military was not responsible. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld refused to directly acknowledge any US involvement, but told reporters regarding the death of Harithi that "it would be a very good thing if he were out of business". During a rally for the upcoming midterm elections, President George W. Bush told supporters that al-Qaeda would be treated as "international killers" and would be hunted down wherever.
Despite the agreement, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz revealed that the US had conducted the drone strike and praised it during an interview with CNN on 5 November, labeling it a success against al-Qaeda which would pressure it to change its tactics. Wolfowitz's public acknowledgement of the strike was likely intended to serve as a victory for the Bush administration's war on terror the day midterm elections were set to take place. The Telegraph reported that the disclosure provided a boost in popularity for the Republican Party during the election.


Internally, the US intelligence and special operations communities, which had specifically intended for the strike to remain confidential, were angered by the public claim of responsibility. CIA official complained that due to the leak, other countries would be more hesitant of allowing the organization to operate their Predator drones. Regardless, the Bush administration publicly defended the strike and claimed that it was unrepresentative of a broader shift in policy. State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher stated that the US would maintain its position on targeted killing in regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during a press conference two days after the strike. During an appearance on Fox News Sunday a week later, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice maintained that the strike did not violate the constitution and was a defensive act in "a new kind of war". In December, US officials stated that the strike fell under a secret presidential finding which authorized the CIA to attack al-Qaeda targets anywhere in the world regardless of whether the targets are Americans or not.


In contrast to the Western world, the strike produced outrage in Yemen, where sentiment critical of the US and sympathetic to Islamists already ran high among some parts the populace. Nationwide anti-American protests led to authorities evacuating and temporarily shutting down the US embassy in Sanaa. Local religious leaders and tribesmen vowed revenge for Hairthi's death, though his own tribe did not claim a wrongful killing by the government, as is common in Yemeni tradition.
The Yemeni government was angered by US officials violating their agreement on maintaining the secrecy of the strike. President Saleh was enraged by the leak, and complained to US General Tommy Franks during a later meeting that it would cause major problems for himself. He felt as though he was betrayed and embarrassed by the US after risking his reputation locally and in the region, particularly with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Brigadier-General Yahya al-Muttawakil, deputy secretary-general of the ruling General People's Congress, was the first Yemeni official to publicly discuss the strike on November 12. He told an interviewer that the situation was an example as to why Yemen was reluctant to cooperate closely with the US as "They don't consider the internal circumstances in Yemen." The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), a coalition of various major opposition parties, issued a statement condemning the strike as a violation of Yemen's national sovereignty, and criticized the government for remaining silent. On 19 November, Interior Minister Rashad al-Alimi acknowledged Yemen's cooperation in conducting the strike, and claimed that they were intending to release a joint statement with the US before the leak. Saleh admitted that he authorized the strike a year after it took place. From thereon, the US was banned from being able to fly Predator drones over the country's airspace. Despite this, US military action was permitted by Yemen in 2009, while drone again began flying over the country in 2011 as Saleh's control weakened amid the Yemeni revolution.
On 4 March 2004, the seventh passenger and sole survivor from the strike, Abdul Raouf Naseeb, was apprehended by security forces in Abyan governorate after having been besieged in the mountains with a group of militants the previous day. He was suspected of planning the April 2003 prison break in Aden which freed several al-Qaeda suspects involved in the USS Cole bombing. Naseeb was tried for an alleged minor role in the Cole bombing, but was later acquitted. He was rearrested in 2012 as an al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander.


After the strike was made public, it prompted outcry and condemnation from several figures in the international community. Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh called it a summary execution and a violation of international law, and warned that it could set a precedent where "any country can start executing those whom they consider terrorists". The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Asma Jahangir, expressed the same sentiment, calling it "a clear case of extrajudicial killing." Amnesty International, in a letter directed to Bush, urged the US to publicly condemn extrajudicial killings and hold any officials involved in them accountable, though in contrast, Human Rights Watch believed the killing of Harithi to be "a legitimate wartime action." The open adoption of a targeted killing operation led to accusations of the US holding a double standard on the matter, as it routinely condemned Israel's targeted killings against Hamas leaders. Furthermore, revelation that an American citizen was killed in a strike outside of a defined battleground led to additional opposition from civil liberties and human rights groups.


Through the strike faced criticism for its tactics, American legal experts did not challenge its legality. An anonymous US official stated that President Bush had authorized the killing of American citizens working for al-Qaeda through a presidential finding signed after the September 11 attacks. The finding "directs the CIA to covertly attack al-Qaeda anywhere in the world", and made no distinction between Americans and non-Americans.
Suzanne Spaulding, an official in the American Bar Association and former deputy general counsel for the CIA, claimed that the strike did not qualify as an assassination proper as it was "viewed as a military action against enemy combatants which would take it out of a realm of assassination,". Federation of American Scientists director Steve Aftergood called the strike "necessary and appropriate", and stated that it did not violate the executive order signed by President Gerald Ford prohibiting assassinations. Robert K. Goldman, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, said "If you assume the U.S. can be at war against non-state actors," al-Qaeda members can be considered "combatants who are susceptible to direct attack at all times". He considered the operation to not be an assassination but rather one of self-defense against the threat from al-Qaeda. Anthony D'Amato, international law professor at Northwestern University, said the consent of the Yemeni government "would probably not affect the legality of the attack."
However, several commentators claimed that the strike could set a precedent allowing the US to assassinate terrorists in any situation, even by violating the sovereignty of a foreign nation. Duke University law professor Scott Silliman said that since the Bush administration had defined their war against al-Qaeda as a global conflict, any place with al-Qaeda activity could be considered a combat zone by the US government. He called the precedent "the most vulnerable aspect of the theory," theoretically allowing them to launch airstrikes on al-Qaeda targets anywhere, even in the United States. M. Cherif Bassiouni compared the situation to "if a US drug agent killed a narcotics trafficker rather than arresting him and putting him on trial". He said the attack "is a dangerous precedent" and "puts governments at the same level as terrorists." Former Pentagon counsel and Tufts University law professor Alfred P. Rubin called the strike "a very foolish thing to do", noting that the US had previously refrained from assassinations against their enemies during the Cold War as "It was not consistent with our vision of where the world should be going."


Harithi's killing was the first drone strike launched by the US outside of the War in Afghanistan. The operation was noted as being in line with targeted killing tactics often deployed by Israel against Palestinian militants. According to a former CIA agent, the operation represented the end of a long debate within the organization as to whether or not it should adopt the strategy. US official said that the President was not required to personally authorize the assassination of al-Qaeda leaders, the responsibility rather being assigned to military and intelligence leaders. The precedent was established by Bush through a presidential finding signed after the September 11 attacks.
Publicly, State Department spokesperson Richard A. Boucher stated during a press conference that "Our policy on targeted killings in the Israeli-Palestinian context has not changed." and "If you look back at what we have said about targeted killings in the Israeli-Palestinian context, you will find that the reasons we have given do not necessarily apply in other circumstances." However, other government officials said privately that the only real difference between US and Israeli usage of targeted killing would be "one of scale and frequency", with al-Qaeda leaders being assassinated as a last resort. Israeli scholars and academics rejected Bourcher's distinction, seeing the airstrike as "tantamount to a US endorsement of the Israeli policy of preemptive attacks on militant foes". The scholars stated that the airstrike represented a rejection by the Bush administration of previous norms maintained by the US government against targeted killings out of fear for retaliatory violence.


Harithi's death has been retrospectively described as a "devastating blow" to al-Qaeda's operational capacity within Yemen. In the aftermath of the strike, chief financial officer Muhammad al-Ahdal was deemed his replacement by the group. Ahdal was later arrested in Sanaa by Yemeni authorities on 25 November 2003. By the end of 2003, al-Qaeda in Yemen was regarded as mostly defeated, remaining mostly inactive until the 2006 Sanaa prison escape.


The 2002 Van Wert–Roselms tornado was a violent tornado that struck the city of Van Wert and the community of Roselms, Ohio on November 10, 2002. The National Weather Service rated the worst of the damage F4 on the Fujita scale, near and within the Van Wert area. In Van Wert, hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, with several homes and businesses sustaining F4 damage. Among these businesses, a movie theater, was leveled by the tornado, but the sixty people attending the feature inside the theater survived. In Roselms, only one single structure was left standing. The tornado killed four people, injured seventeen others, and was credited for over $30 million in damages.


The tornado touched down approximately four miles (6.4 km) northeast of the village of Willshire, Van Wert County, Ohio, and began moving northeast towards the city of Van Wert. Immediately after touching down, the tornado rapidly intensified to F4 on the Fujita scale as it crossed Zook Road approximately five miles (8.0 km) southwest of Van Wert. Around Zook Road, a 75-year-old man was killed when the tornado destroyed his house at F4 intensity. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), he was attempting to shield his wheelchair-bound wife when the tornado struck. As the tornado continued into Van Wert, it maintained F4 intensity. In Van Wert, 43 homes and five businesses were destroyed, and 164 homes and 27 businesses were damaged. The Twin Cinemas and five buildings at an industrial park sustained F4 damage. In Twin Cinemas, 60 people, mostly children, were watching a movie when the tornado destroyed the building. Vehicles from the cinema's parking lot were thrown into its seats. An 18-year-old man was killed when the car, which he had been driving near the cinema, was thrown into the cinema's seats. The tornado destroyed three county engineering buildings in Van Wert. After passing through the industrial park, several homes and business in Van Wert sustained F3-to-F4 damage.
After leaving Van Wert, the tornado continued northeast and crossed into Paulding County, where it struck the community of Roselms. Only one building in Roselms remained standing after the tornado. Every structure in Roselms sustained up to F3 damage, and the NWS entire nine-mile (14 km) track of the tornado through Paulding County was rated F3 by the NWS. According to Dayton Daily News, 23 homes, 32 barns, and a church in Paulding County were completely leveled, and 19 more homes were damaged. The tornado also leveled the Washington Township building, and continued northeast at F3 intensity as it crossed into Putnam County. In Putnam County, the tornado destroyed a mobile home in Continental, killing two people. After traveling seven miles (11 km) through the county, the tornado rapidly weakened to F0 intensity just before it crossed into Defiance County. While traveling three miles (4.8 km) through Defiance County, the tornado skipped, and caused F0 damage to five homes and some outbuildings before crossing into Henry County, where it continued to skip, and caused F0 damage to outbuildings and trees along a 12-mile (19 km) path. The tornado then lifted approximately two miles (3.2 km) southeast of Malinta.
In total, the tornado killed four people and injured seventeen others along its 53-mile (85 km) path, and reached a peak width of 880 yd (800 m). It caused at least $30 million (2002 USD) in damage in Van Wert.


The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) later stated that of the entire Veterans Day weekend tornado outbreak—which consisted of 76 tornadoes—the Van Wert–Roselms tornado was the most remembered due to:


the heroic efforts of [Scott Shaffer] at the Van Wert Cinemas. After hearing the tornado warning that was broadcasted over the county's warning system, the manager led sixty patrons to interior hallways and restrooms. This was only a few minutes before the tornado destroyed the theater. Besides leveling the building, three cars were tossed into the seats that were previously occupied by moviegoers, many of which were children.
Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy was able to give the city a 26-minute lead time for the tornado by continuously running Van Wert's tornado sirens for 26 minutes. In the aftermath of this tornado, Van Wert County gave a NOAA Weather Radio to every business in the county.


The 2009 National Football Conference (NFC) Wild Card playoff game was a National Football League (NFL) Wild Card playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals on January 10, 2010. The game, which was contested at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, became notable due to its high score, which set numerous NFL playoff records, as well as its dramatic conclusion in overtime. The Cardinals, who went to the Super Bowl the previous season, hosted the Packers after winning the NFC West, with the Packers making the playoffs as a Wild Card team. It was the first playoff start for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Cardinals dominated early, jumping to a 17–0 lead in the first quarter after two Packers turnovers. The Packers finally responded in the second quarter with their first score, a short rushing touchdown. However, the Cardinals struck back, with Kurt Warner throwing his second touchdown pass of the game to restore the Cardinals' 17-point lead. The Packers kicked a short field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 24–10. Each team scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, all on touchdown passes. The Packers, down by 14 going into the fourth quarter, tied the game at 38–38 after a successful onside kick helped them score back-to-back touchdowns. Each team exchanged touchdowns again, leaving the score tied, 45–45. Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers missed a short field goal at the end of the fourth quarter, forcing overtime.
The Packers received the ball first in the overtime period. On the first play of overtime, Rodgers overthrew an open Greg Jennings on what could have been a game-winning score. One play later, Rodgers snapped the ball and was sacked by Cardinals defensive back Michael Adams as he was about to throw. The ball came loose, bounced off of Rodgers' foot and fell right to Karlos Dansby, who returned the fumble 17 yards for a touchdown to win the game. There was some controversy on the final play, with replays showing Adams grabbing Rodgers' face mask during the sack, although the play stood and the Cardinals won. At the time, the game set the NFL playoff record for most points (96), touchdowns (13), and first downs (62), while ranking third in total yards (1,024). In 2019, on the occasion of the NFL's 100th anniversary, the league ranked this game as the 47th best in its history.

2009 NFC Wild Card playoff game (Green Bay–Arizona)


The Green Bay Packers made the playoffs in Aaron Rodgers' second season as the team's starting quarterback. After starting the season with a record of 4–4, the Packers went 7–1 in their last 8 games, finishing in second place in the NFC North with a record of 11–5. This included a 33–7 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the last game of the regular season. Their record was good enough to earn them the fifth seed in the playoffs, a Wild Card spot. The Packers finished the season in the top 10 for offense and defense, with Rodgers throwing 30 touchdowns and over 4,400 passing yards. Charles Woodson anchored the defense, winning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while being named to the Pro Bowl and selected as first-team All-Pro.
The Cardinals, who lost Super Bowl XLIII the previous season, won the NFC West for the second consecutive year with a record of 10–6. Their record was good enough for the fourth seed in the playoffs, and as the division winner, the right to host the Wild Card playoff game. The Cardinals were led by quarterback Kurt Warner, who had two wide receivers, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, reach 1,000 yards receiving for the season. As the host, the Packers and Cardinals Wild Card game was scheduled to be played on January 10, 2010, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Packers were favored to win by one point.


The Packers started the game with the ball. On the first play of the drive, Rodgers threw an interception to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. On the ensuing drive, the Cardinals drove from mid-field to score the game's first touchdown, with Tim Hightower scoring on a one-yard rush. The Packers got the ball back, with Ryan Grant rushing 10 yards for a first down on the first play of drive. The next play though, Rodgers threw a short pass to Donald Driver, who fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Cardinals. With a short field, the Cardinals scored a second touchdown in just two plays, with Early Doucet catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Warner. After a penalty on the kick-off return, the Packers started their third drive on the eight-yard line. The Packers only gained 20 yards before being forced to punt. On the next drive, the Cardinals quickly drove down into Packers territory, before the defense finally got a stop at the five-yard line, forcing a short field goal attempt. The successful attempt increased the Cardinals lead to 17–0. The Packers had an early 27-yard catch from Rodgers to Greg Jennings, but their drive stalled and they attempted a 54-yard field goal, which Mason Crosby missed, wide right. The Cardinals had a 28-yard rush from Steve Breaston, but on the third play of the drive Warner threw a short pass to Fitzgerald, who fumbled the ball. Clay Matthews III recovered it and advanced the ball to mid-field.
The Packers scored six plays later, with a defensive pass interference penalty on third down extending their drive, allowing Rodgers to score on a one-yard rush. The Cardinals got the ball back and drove 61 yards in 8 plays, finishing off the drive with another touchdown pass from Warner to Doucet. The touchdown brought the Cardinals lead back to 17 points, with the score at 24–7. The Packers got the ball with just over two minutes left in the half. On the third play of the drive, Rodgers completed back-to-back passes to Jermichael Finley, with the first going for 44 yards and the second going for 17 yards. The Packers had a first down and goal on the nine-yard line with just under a minute left until halftime. Rodgers completed two short passes, before being sacked on third down. The Cardinals were called for a penalty for horse-collar tackle, which gave the Packers a first down. But with only four seconds left in the half, the Packers settled for a field goal attempt, which was successful. The score was 24–10 at halftime.


The Cardinals began the second half with the ball and drove down for a quick touchdown, with Warner throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald. The extra point extended the Cardinals lead to 31–10. The Packers executed a similar drive, going 80 yards in 10 plays, with Rodgers attempting nine passes on the drive. Rodgers completed a 6-yard pass to Jennings for the score, bringing the Cardinals lead back to 14 points. On the ensuing kick-off, the Packers executed an onside kick, which was recovered by Brandon Underwood and allowed the Packers to retain possession of the ball. During their drive, the Packers faced fourth down with one yard to go and converted for a first down. They scored with another Rodgers touchdown pass, this time to Jordy Nelson. The score cut the Cardinals' lead to 31–24. The Cardinals struck back quickly though, with Beanie Wells executing a 42-yard run in the middle of the drive. The Cardinals scored again on a Warner-to-Fitzgerald touchdown pass, bringing the score to 38–24. On the ensuing drive, the Packers, still leaning heavily on the passing game, drove down 80 yards in 8 plays, capped off by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to James Jones. With the score at 38–31, the Packers defense finally forced a punt on the next Cardinals drive. After the punt, Rodgers connected on back-to-back passes to Finley and Drive for 38 yards and 28 yards, respectively. On the third play of the drive, John Kuhn ran in a one-yard rush for a touchdown, tying the game at 38–38. The teams exchanged touchdown drives, with the Cardinals going 80 yards in 11 plays and Packers going 71 yards in 7 plays. Each team scored on a touchdown pass, with Breaston scoring for the Cardinals and Spencer Havner scoring for the Packers. With under two minutes left in the game and the score tied at 45–45, the Cardinals quickly drove down into field goal range. With 14 seconds on the clock, Neil Rackers attempted a 34-yard field goal. The kick went wide left and the Packers knelt the ball to force overtime.


The Packers won the coin flip and chose to receive the ball. On the first offensive play, Rodgers threw a deep pass towards Jennings, who was open and had a chance to breakaway for a walk-off touchdown. However, Rodgers overthrew Jennings and the ball fell just a few yards in front of him. On third down, Rodgers snapped the ball and was pressured by Michael Adams as he was about to throw the ball. The ball was knocked loose, bounced off of Rodgers' foot, and fell right to Karlos Dansby, who returned the fumble 17 yards for a walk-off touchdown.


Post-game analysis focused on the record-setting offensive output by both teams. The 96 combined points, 13 combined touchdowns and 62 combined first downs set NFL playoff records at the time. The 1,024 combined total yards was the third most in NFL playoff history. The Packers also set numerous playoff team records, including most points (45), yards (493), and first downs (32). Each quarterback excelled, with Rodgers throwing for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Warner threw for 379 yards and 5 touchdowns. Warner did outperform Rodgers on the turnover battle; Rodgers had a fumble lost and threw the aforementioned interception while Warner did not turn the ball over (the Packers had three total turnovers compared to just one by the Cardinals). A number of commentators noted the surprising failure of the Packers defense, which ranked second in total yards allowed, fifth in passing yards allowed, and recorded the most interceptions (30) of any team in the NFL that season. The Packers rush defense, which only gave up 83 yards a game on average, allowed the Cardinals to rush for 156 yards. They also had Woodson, the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2009 season, three defensive Pro Bowlers, and two defensive All-Pros.
Specific plays were also highlighted in post-game analysis. The aforementioned turnovers, which were uncharacteristic for the team, led to the Packers' early deficit. The Packers became more aggressive, including executing a successful onside kick and multiple fourth down conversions. The onside kick took the Cardinals by surprise, with no Cardinals player close to recovering the ball. The Packers offensive line also faltered, especially when it mattered most. On the second play of overtime, Daryn Colledge committed a costly penalty negating a long gain and likely first down. The Packers allowed Adams to rush free on Rodgers on the final play, forcing the game-winning fumble recovery. It was the Cardinals fifth sack of Rodgers in the game, the same amount that Rodgers was sacked in the Packers' previous four games combined. Although it did not end up impacting them, Rackers' miss at the end of the game was shocking, as it was relatively short and Rackers had only missed one field goal all season. Rodgers' overthrow of Jennings on the first play of overtime was also highlighted. A completion would have at least given the Packers the ball at mid-field and likely would have been a walk-off touchdown. Lastly, there was some controversy with a possible face mask penalty against the Cardinals on the final play that would negated the walk off touchdown and given the Packers a first down. The NFL noted after the game that the contact to Rodgers' face mask was incidental and determined that it did not include "twisting, turning or pulling" that would have justified a 15-yard penalty.


The Packers playoff appearance began a streak of eight straight seasons making the playoffs, all with Rodgers as the starting quarterback. The next season, the Packers made the playoffs as a Wild Card team again, however they strung together four straight victories in the playoffs to win Super Bowl XLV. The Cardinals advanced to the Divisional Round to play the New Orleans Saints. The Saints blew the Cardinals out, winning 45–14 in what would be the last playoff game for the Cardinals until 2014 and the last game of Warner's career.
The game is best remembered for its high score and dramatic finish in overtime. It was only the second NFL playoff game to end on an overtime walk-off, defensive touchdown (the first such game also included the Packers in 2003). In honor of the NFL's 100th anniversary, the league recognized the game as the 47th best game in the league's history. The game also ended up being the last victory in Warner's Hall of Fame career, with his retirement coming during the following offseason after the Cardinals' blow-out loss to the Saints.
The Cardinals and Packers met again in the Divisional round six years later, with Rodgers still leading the Packers. That game, which was also hosted by the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, ended in a similarly dramatic fashion, with the Cardinals scoring on a walk-off touchdown in overtime. In what became known as the Hail Larry game, Rodgers completed a Hail Mary pass to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter. In overtime, Fitzgerald caught a short pass from Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer and ran to the five-yard line for a 75-yard catch. Two plays later, Fitzgerald scored the walk-off touchdown to send the Cardinals to the NFC Championship Game.


The 2013 Washington, Illinois, tornado was an unusually powerful and violent tornado that caused catastrophic damage to the city of Washington and several farmsteads in rural central Illinois during the early afternoon of Sunday, November 17, 2013. The tornado resulted in three fatalities and injured 125 people. This tornado was one of the two violent tornadoes in the tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013, and was the strongest, costliest, and longest-tracked tornado. It was tied for the deadliest tornado of the outbreak, tied with another intense tornado that went through Brookport, Illinois. The tornado was the eighth violent tornado of the below-average yet destructive year of 2013.
The intense supercell responsible for the tornado first produced at 10:59 a.m. CST 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of North Pekin; it crossed I-474, intensifying to a strong EF2 tornado. The tornado crossed I-74, where it strengthened to an EF3; some homes suffered severe damage north of the interstate, fluctuating between EF2 and EF3 strength as it passed near East Peoria. As it entered Washington, the tornado became violent as some homes in the Woodridge Trace subdivision were leveled; the tornado continued northeast, destroying an apartment complex and leveling an auto parts store before intensifying to a peak intensity of 190 mph (310 km/h). Numerous well-built homes were demolished, and rows of houses were leveled and swept away. The tornado maintained a high-end EF4 intensity through Washington. The tornado maintained its intensity after leaving the city, obliterating farmsteads north of Washington. Eventually, the tornado would weaken, fluctuating between EF2 and EF3 strength; some homes either received minor to significant damage as the tornado passed near the towns of Roanoke, Minonk, and Dana. The violent tornado dissipated 48 minutes after touching down east of Long Point at 11:47 a.m. CST, covering a path length of approximately 46.2 miles (74.4 km) and reaching a maximum peak width of 0.5 miles (880 yd; 0.80 km).
The tornado caused $935 million (2013 USD) in damages ($1.23 billion adjusted for inflation); it caused $800 million in damage in Washington alone, becoming one of the costliest tornadoes of all time. The tornado was also the strongest to occur in November in the state of Illinois since records began in 1950. Following the tornado, the city of Washington and other communities devastated by the tornado outbreak received massive amount of aid from charity organizations. Additionally, a controversy began as Federal Emergency Management Agency declined federal aid to the state of Illinois after the tornado outbreak, leading to outrage from the mayor of Washington and other state officials.


Based on computer models, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) began to assess the possibility of a widespread severe weather event for November 17 as early as November 12, though too much uncertainty existed at the time to delineate the probability and scale of the event. As models gained a more accurate consensus, the SPC later anticipated substantial increase in atmospheric instability along the periphery of a potential cold front, indicating the risk of damaging wind gusts and tornadoes. Additional confidence over the next 24 hours resulted in a substantial expanding of this risk area into the lower Great Lakes on November 14, valid for Day 4. The overlap of increasing moisture in the atmosphere, wind shear, and high levels of CAPE were expected to contribute to the possible severe weather. The development of supercells and later squall lines was anticipated and was also expected to impact the Mid-Atlantic states. At around midday on November 15, the SPC issued a slight risk for severe weather for the 16th in regions concentrated primarily around Iowa and Missouri, forecasting the possibility of storms particularly during the evening to overnight hours of November 16. The system associated with those storms was to track eastward and strengthen; as a result, the SPC also issued a Day 3 slight risk earlier on November 15 for a large swath of the Eastern United States in effect for November 17. The slight risk included a 30% chance of severe thunderstorm activity for an area concentrated on Indiana and Ohio.
With the overall upper-level system expected to track eastward across the High Plains on November 17, the SPC issued a slight risk for severe thunderstorm activity for an area surrounding the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, valid for the early morning of the day on November 17. Model data indicated the weakening of the capping inversion coinciding with increasing instability and wind shear, which would lead to the enhanced potential for storms and tornadoes as the night progressed and the low-level jet strengthened. This overnight severe weather largely failed to develop, leading to only a very few isolated reports. However, at 0600 UTC on November 17, the SPC upgraded to a high risk for severe weather on the 17th (the second latest date in the year a high risk has been issued since 2000, and the latest in the Midwest) for regions of Illinois, Indiana, southwestern Michigan, and western Ohio, in anticipation of conditions becoming increasingly favorable for a significant tornado outbreak; this area of high risk was expanded at 1300 UTC to encompass a roughly circular region of the United States Midwest containing nearly 19 million people. Those same regions were listed as having at least a 30% chance of tornadoes, coupled with a 45% chance for wind. The issuance of a high-risk zone reflected the anticipation of an intense upper-level trough and a strong mid-level jet stream producing highly conducive conditions for the development and prolonging of severe weather.


This long-lived supercell produced five tornadoes near Pekin, Washington, Dana, Coal City, Manhattan, and Frankfort, the strongest and longest-tracked being the Washington, Illinois, tornado.
The supercell developed a mesocyclone and maintained it for over 50 miles (80 km). Then, at 10:52 am CDT, the supercell produced a strong but short-lived EF2 tornado over at Pekin. The tornado touched down north of State Highway 9, mainly uprooting trees and downing power lines before it crossed the Illinois River. The tornado made it across the river into the residential side of Pekin. It rapidly strengthened to mid-range EF2 intensity; roofs were ripped off of brick homes, and an apartment complex suffered significant roof damage. Afterward, it weakened down, causing EF0-EF1 damage to trees and infrastructures before dissipating. The tornado was on the ground for two minutes and reached a width of 100 yards; no one died, but the tornado caused ten injuries and $45 million in property damage. After the dissipation of the Pekin tornado, the super-cell quickly recycled and soon dropped the Washington tornado.
After the Washington tornado dissipated, the supercell recycled and produced another tornado near Coal City at 12:22 pm CDT. The tornado traveled northeast, uprooting several softwood trees at EF0 intensity. It crossed E Reed Road where a home sustained minor roof damage at EF1 strength; a nearby metal building also received some damage to its roof and exterior walls. The tornado crossed Berta Road; along this road, it intensified to an EF2 as a home suffered significant damage. Crossing E Spring Road, the tornado entered a subdivision of homes at mid-range EF2 strength; several homes in this subdivision either sustained partial roof loss or the second story walls of the home collapsed. Along State Route 113, many businesses suffered considerable damage. An RV dealership had numerous vehicles damaged and flipped over; a two-story home had its roof ripped away and portions of the walls collapsed; a model home was shifted off its foundation; and a manufactured home lost its roof. As the tornado moved northeast approaching I-55, it caused widespread tree damage that occurred near the road. The tornado lifted northwest of Symerton at 12:33 pm CDT. The tornado traveled 12.4 miles (20.0 km) and had estimated peak wind speeds of 125 mph (201 km/h), reaching a peak width of 200 yd (180 m) and inflicting $12.75 million in damages. At least 100 homes and businesses were damaged and four injuries were reported by the tornado.


The supercell produced its final tornado at 12:42 pm CDT southeast of Manhattan. Upon touching down, the tornado rapidly intensified to mid-range EF2 strength. A home on W Burns Road sustained major roof loss, with walls partially collapsing. On S Schoolhouse Road, four high-tension power line towers were bent, and near W Draffle Road, two houses and a barn received heavy damage, with large portions of their roofs sheared away. The tornado weakened to high-end EF1 intensity, impacting a farm and causing significant roof damage. The tornado lifted at 12:48 pm CDT after traveling 5.4 miles (8.7 km) with a peak width of 200 yards (0.18 km). The tornado caused $750,000 in damages and no casualties were reported. The tornado had estimated peak winds of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h). The supercell was eventually absorbed by a squall line and dissipated over Lake Michigan.


The supercell produced the tornado at 10:59 a.m. CST, causing minor roof damage to homes paralleling W Muller Road. After crossing the road, the tornado quickly intensified to high-end EF1 strength, uprooting multiple trees and causing the bedroom walls of a home to collapse due to flying debris from a roof, compromising the structure. The tornado then crossed I-474 and moved onto Harris Road, causing light roof damage to homes along the road. The tornado abruptly intensified to high-end EF2 strength, snapping power poles and causing significant roof damage to homes on Marla Street. The tornado slightly weakened to mid-range EF2 intensity, with estimated wind speeds up to 120 mph (190 km/h), snapping power poles and continuing to cause significant roof damage to homes along Pinecrest Drive. After crossing I-74, the tornado uprooted and snapped many trees. It then intensified to mid-range EF3 intensity with wind speeds up to 150 mph (241 km/h), causing the roof of a house to collapse into itself. The tornado completely leveled a poorly built home along Helene Court. One house suffered major damage as the upstairs exterior walls collapsed, along with some of the interior walls. A long row of trees was uprooted and fell into a ravine as the tornado continued to travel northeast at around 55 mph (89 km/h).
Soon, the tornado significantly weakened to mid-range EF2 strength, continuing to uproot trees and strip away roofs from homes along Pleasant Hill Road before quickly strengthening to high-end EF2 intensity as a trailer was destroyed. A car was rolled into a home along Veterans Road, and significant roof damage was noted as the tornado continued to snap trees. It then suddenly intensified back to mid-range EF3 strength, almost completely leveling a well-built home at 150 mph (240 km/h). Another home suffered major roof damage and loss of exterior walls, and the garage of a home was completely blown away along Farmdale Road. Intense tree damage was also noted in this area, with a large debris field downstream from the location. The tornado briefly weakened back down to EF2, causing major roof damage, before strengthening back to low-end EF3 as multiple homes along School Road lost their exterior walls, and an electrical transmission tower was completely crumpled by the tornado. Numerous trees in and around Farm Creek were snapped and uprooted. A 51-year-old man was killed in this area. Around the same time, the National Weather Service at Lincoln issued a Particularly dangerous situation tornado warning for Tazewell County and Woodford County at 11:06 a.m. CST. Overall, the tornado caused $110 million in damages in East Peoria.


The tornado rapidly intensified to low-end EF4 strength as it entered the city of Washington, leveling and partially sweeping away a couple of homes along English Oak St in the Woodridge Trace subdivision at 170 mph (270 km/h). Nearby homes suffered major structural damage; an 84-year-old man suffered severe injuries here and later died from his injuries. The tornado intensified further to mid-range EF4 strength as it struck the Georgetown Commons apartment complex along Georgetown Road; the top two stories were destroyed, and nearby apartment buildings suffered major roof damage. A truck in the parking lot was lifted and wrapped violently around a tree. The sixteen apartment buildings and a nearby restaurant that also sustained heavy damage were torn down. Now moving at 65 mph (105 km/h), the tornado directly hit the Hillcrest Golf Course, which was closed for two years following the tornado. A building on the course property was leveled as the tornado shredded trees and tore off the carpeting on the minigolf course.
The tornado crossed Washington Road into Washington Estates, sustaining estimated wind speeds of 180 mph (290 km/h). An Advance Auto Parts store alongside Washington Road was leveled by the tornado; multiple employees were inside when the building was flattened, but no one was injured. On Fayette Avenue, the tornado caused destructive damage to numerous homes at EF4 intensity, killing an 82-year-old woman who initially survived but died from her injuries a week later. The tornado slightly weakened to low-end EF4 strength alongside Elgin Avenue; some homes on Flossmoor Avenue were swept away. On the Trail Edge subdivision, the tornado abruptly intensified to high-end EF4 strength with estimated wind speeds up to 190 mph (310 km/h). The most violent damage to occur from the tornado happened alongside Mackenzie Street, where a row of well-constructed homes was completely obliterated and all debris was swept away, leaving only bare foundations; along Bishops Court, another home was demolished and had all debris swept clean from the foundation and wind-rowed. On Kingsbury Road, Our Savior Lutheran Church received considerable damage. All the windows were blown out, and the roof sustained moderate damage; the doors to the walkout basement were ripped away, and the church's garage was demolished. A $50 bill from Washington was found 100 miles (160 km) away in Minooka.


Entering Devonshire Estates, the tornado maintained high-end EF4 intensity, leveling or sweeping away another row of homes on Coventry Drive while traveling northeast at around 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). Four rows of homes on Holborn Court were leveled; debris was partially swept off of their foundations. Along Westminster Drive, another row of homes was leveled and either partially swept away or completely swept away from their foundations, and trees were shredded and debarked. Around the same time, at 11:07 a.m. CST, a debris ball appeared on Doppler radar north of Washington accompanied by an intense velocity couplet. The tornado continued to travel northeast, leveling or sweeping away more homes from their foundations before leaving the city proper of Washington after crossing W Cruger Road.
The tornado scattered debris over the farmlands north of the road and carved deep spirals into the soils called cycloidal marks. A farmstead on N Main Street was destroyed, and debris was partially swept off its foundation. Still maintaining 190 mph (310 km/h) winds, the tornado crossed Duluth Lane, where an entire farmstead was destroyed: the farmhouse was leveled and swept away, some outbuildings on the farmstead were destroyed and reduced down to their foundations, and some grain bins lost their tops. Around this time, the National Weather Service issued another particularly dangerous situation tornado warning for northeast Tazewell, most of Woodford and the southern fringes of Marshall counties at 11:12 a.m. CST. The tornado eventually left Tazewell County, causing $800 million in damage in the city of Washington and $910 million in damage in the county. Three people were killed and another 121 injured.


The tornado weakened to EF3 intensity as an old, poorly built farmhouse along Mennonite Road was leveled by the tornado alongside. It further weakened to mid-range EF2, causing substantial damage to the roof of a home on County Road 1300 southeast of Metamora. The tornado made a close approach to the Parsons Company Inc. west of Roanoke, which was initially destroyed by another violent tornado nine years earlier, ultimately missing the plant by a few hundred yards. Just north of the plant, the tornado intensified to high-end EF2 with estimated wind speeds of 135 mph (217 km/h); a farmhouse lost all of its exterior walls along County Road 1500, and an outbuilding had all of its walls collapse. The tornado maintained EF2 intensity and continued northeast, snapping multiple wooden power poles at low-end EF2 strength. Two homes north of Roanoke sustained substantial damage; one had lost its exterior walls, destroyed at near EF3 intensity, while the other lost most of its roof. On Illinois 117 northwest of Benson, the tornado restrengthened to EF3 intensity, causing a farmhouse to lose its exterior walls. As the tornado traveled further northeast, a cell phone tower was crumpled and a home was shifted off of its foundation at high-end EF2 intensity; a well-built home had its roof ripped off on County Road 2300; and trees in the area were snapped and uprooted.

Weakening phase through Woodford, La-Salle, and Pontiac County


As the tornado approached I-39, it crossed Illinois 117, where it regained EF3 intensity. A poorly constructed home was swept away, the station wagon in the garage was lofted and dropped into the basement, and a nearby free-standing pole collapsed. The tornado crossed I-39 and directly impacted the Road Ranger truck stop northwest of Minonk, overturning several semi-trucks and damaging hundreds of other vehicles; there were no fatalities but three truck drivers were injured. The tornado slightly weakened to high-end EF2, causing a home to lose its roof and the wall to partially collapse. Cars were displaced, a cell tower was completely crumpled, and trees and power poles were snapped along Base Road before the tornado left Woodford county. The tornado caused $25 million in damages and four injuries.
The tornado maintained EF2 intensity as it stripped away a large portion of a home's roof along E 7th Road. Small outbuildings were destroyed and several power poles were snapped. 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of Dana, a machinery shed was destroyed as the tornado weakened to EF1 strength. South of Long Point, the tornado restrengthened back to EF2 intensity, demolishing several outbuildings and snapping numerous power poles. The tornado produced a satellite tornado, rated an EFU due to being in open fields, and it traveled for 2.6 miles (4.2 km). The main tornado caused extensive tree damage; a large shed containing a fire engine was destroyed, the fire engine tipping onto its side. Eventually, the tornado dissipated a few miles east of Long Point.


The tornado caused nearly $1 billion in damage, $800 million of that in Washington and another $110 million in East Peoria. Final estimates, revised upwards twice, revealed that 1,484 homes were damaged or destroyed; in addition, multiple businesses were destroyed in Washington and East Peoria. Though the tornado tracked through rural areas in Woodford County, it inflicted $25 million in damage, and 24 homes were affected, seven of those were destroyed. Thousands of residents were left homeless and 23,000 people lost power.


Three people died from the tornado, and 125 more were injured. At the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and Medical Methodist Center, both in Peoria, treated dozens of patients, but none has been confirmed to be severe. On December 5, the Mayor of Washington, Illinois, Gary Manier, revealed that the city had an estimated 47% loss in property tax value due to the thousands of homes damaged or destroyed by the tornado. Even though the tornado went through densely populated neighborhoods, only three people died. National Weather Service forecasters attributed the low death toll to the already highly publicized threat of a tornado outbreak; people being away from their homes, either at church or shopping, on a Sunday morning; the local prevalence of basements or storm shelters for those at home; and increased dissemination of weather warnings.


On January 23, 2025, Anthony W. Lyza with the National Severe Storms Laboratory along with Harold E. Brooks and Makenzie J. Kroca with the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology published a paper to the American Meteorological Society, where they stated the tornado in Washington was an "EF5 candidate" and opined that the EF5 starting wind speed should be 190 mph (310 km/h) instead of 201 mph (323 km/h).


State politicians including governor Pat Quinn and senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk visited Washington. President Barack Obama authorized disaster funding for 15 counties in Illinois, while Governor Quinn declared seven counties as disaster areas. Pat Quinn declared seven counties as disaster areas. The Illinois National Guard dispatched ten firefighters and three vehicles to assist in searching for survivors from the tornado, with reports about people being trapped under rubble. On November 23, Governor Quinn announced the opening of a Multi-Agency Resource Center in Washington so survivors affected by the tornado could have easier access to relief services from 20 state and local agencies, and departments like the Department of Insurance helped cover insurance issues.
Ten 182nd Airlift Wing firefighters from the Illinois Air National Guard were dispatched to the city, searching through a total of 36 leveled structures, clearing debris, and shutting off six gas lines. The American Red Cross held a relief drive in Annawan to help victims from the Washington tornado, accepting cash donations and supplies like bottled water; volunteers also helped with the cleaning effort. The city of Washington was placed under a 6 p.m. curfew for a week. Army Reserve soldiers from the 724th Transportation Company, stationed at Bartonville, Illinois, came to assist after the Fire Chief of Washington requested help to set up blockades that lead into and out of the city; the soldiers set up blockades at four locations around Washington, using semi-trucks and Humvees. The team of soldiers stayed to support law enforcement until civil services arrived.
The Salvation Army donated over 20,000 supplies to communities in Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa, and over 100 people received emotional and spiritual care. Over 500 volunteers from All Hands and Hearts visited Washington, Illinois to help with debris removal despite the cold temperature from November to December 2013. Rock to the Rescue, a non-profit organization, raised more than $400,000 in a benefit concert in Bloomington for affected communities. Six days after the tornado passed, a caravan of fire trucks and ambulances from all around central Illinois waited to welcome the football team Washington Panthers, who were returning from the Illinois 5A state football semifinals. The motorcade carrying the team drove along Main Street, with dozens of residents lining up on the sideline to cheer and support the team. One week after the tornado struck, baseball player Jim Thome—a Peoria native—donated $100,000 to tornado relief for Washington.


Operation BBQ Relief spent over six days in Washington, making over 25,600 meals for the victims of the tornado. The Washington Tornado Relief Fund, later renamed the Washington Illinois Area and the Washington Community Foundation, was created in the wake of the EF4 tornado to benefit the residents of the city through assistance to local charities and governmental entities. Samaritan's Purse dispatched a disaster relief unit onto Washington the day after the tornado, establishing a base in Morton, Illinois; two days later, a total of 854 volunteers worked on clearing debris and tarping roofs that were damaged. Peoria Brick Company offered hundreds of red Washington Strong brick free of charge to residents who lost their homes, generating $2,570 that was later donated to Washington Illinois Area Foundation tornado relief, with the bricks valued at $7,000.
Reach Out Worldwide came to Washington to help with the clean-up effort, assisting a power company in cutting down an old power pole and removing tree debris from their yard, they cleared out trees and power poles off of roads and lands and cutting them. Immediately after the tornado, students from Illinois State University set up a donation drive to send supplies like bottled water and money to devastated communities in Central Illinois. On December 9, 50 students from the university traveled to Washington to help with the tornado cleanup. McCormick Foundation partnered with the Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV, and WGN radio to create the Illinois Tornado Relief Effort campaign; 7,200 people donated more than $880,000, which with matching funds from the foundation and donated expenses was boosted to $1.1 million. The funds were granted to five non-profits in communities hardest hit by the tornadoes, including Washington.


On December 19, 2013, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency requested $6.1 million in federal assistance for the local governments and electrical cooperative in the nine counties that were affected by the tornadoes of November 17. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responded on January 9, 2014, stating how the devastation in Washington was not "severe" enough to merit federal help. Governor Quinn and U.S. senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk voiced their disappointment in the decision.
On February 6, 2014, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency appealed the denial of aid, citing $21.4 million in disaster-related expenses for the local governments in the nine counties that it believed were eligible for 75% reimbursements. On March 3, 2014, FEMA denied an application from the mayor of Washington, Gary Manier, for $26 million in aid. In a press conference, Manier told reporters,