Sirens blew as the tornado bore down on Vernon. ", "Early on April 10, NWS forecasters became aware of the threat of severe weather. Flood/Flash Flood Safety A sharp temperature gradient immediately preceded the movement of the drier air into the region at 850 mb (Figure 20), while at 700 mb the axis of maximum winds was positioned directly overhead the upper Red River valley (Figure 21) and appreciable vertical motion was evident (Figure 22). This was especially true of the Wichita Falls tornado, whose more than 1-mile-wide path of damage is one of the biggest on record. Wayne Collamore, View looking northwest east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:20 pm CST. National Weather Service auto-related; 16 of that total died while in their autos trying to flee the storm, and 11 of that number abandoned homes not touched by the tornado. As the first violent tornado on record to hit the Wichita Falls area, [18] it left seven dead and more than 100 injured. Averages and Records According to the American National Red Cross, 7,759 families suffered losses in the storms (Table 1). The highly unsettled atmosphere out ahead of the advancing dry air is illustrated by the sounding taken at Stephenville just as the gargantuan tornado was hitting Wichita Falls; the lowest 300 mb of the atmosphere was highly convectively unstable (Figure 24). According the Weather Bureau from the time, "The large funnel alternately dipped and soared, and was followed by trailer funnel, 2 funnels touched ground; witnesses reported spotting a third." One somewhat unique characteristic of the damage was the wide swath F4 damage; many violent tornadoes produce only a narrow swath of their most intense damage. A home was badly damaged, losing a large portion of its front side. The tornado cut through a field and went into a housing addition on the southwest edge of Sheppard AFB. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. Elizabeth Lee Burk Newton 82 of Wichita Falls Tx. This most damaging tornado in Texas history was not finished, however. This thunderstorm spawned a tornado with a continuous ground track of almost 60 miles. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products One of the most infamous of Texas tornadoes, this day would go on to be known as "Terrible Tuesday". The video includes survivor accounts and safety information. April 3, 1964 - A violent tornado struck the northwest section of Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base, killing 7 persons and injuring 111 other people. A thunderstorm that pelted the Coleman area with golfball-size hail also generated a tornado that caused considerable damage to power lines and outbuildings north of the city. Had we gotten stuck in the damage of the town the chase would have been over. The tornado expanded in size as it crossed Southwest Parkway, throwing automobiles about and leveling a number of businesses, including a bank and a fire station. Does Wichita Texas get tornadoes? Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. Hail ranged in sizes "from mothballs to pineapples." Eyewitnesses described details of the storm differently, but they were unanimous on one point -- it was an awesome, terrifying experience beyond anything they had encountered before. Childress lay in the path of the advancing low pressure center, as surface pressure fell drastically and winds backed during the afternoon before the much drier continental air enveloped the region in the evening (Figure 17). Northeast of Wichita Falls, the tornado entered Clay County and changed its appearance. Damage as severe as F4 was found along most of the track across the city. 1979-04-10 Wichita Falls. The tornado's first fatalities were recorded in the apartment complex and adjoining housing area. After moving out of Faith Village, the tornado flattened several businesses, including a restaurant, on Kemp Boulevard. 15:25 F4. It was a large, but distant funnel that may have been the beginning of the horrific tornado that moved through that city. Although roughly 4,000 homes were struck by the tornado, there were only five fatalities of people inside homes along the path of the tornado. Eddie complained, but kept fighting the wheel. Severe damage in the Pruitt City area. A wind maximum gusting to 65 knots moved over Guadalupe Peak recording station in far southwest Texas; this triggered our departure. The tornado just missed two busloads of students who were returning from a game in Burkburnett. With an east-northeast movement, it entered Wichita County and damaged a few rural homes and a string of metal high-voltage towers. Mr. Molet continued to take photographs until the wind blew him into his garage. FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 0 10 19 . among them is this still life with tornado that can be your partner. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at approaching tornado. April 20, 1974 - A small tornado touched down briefly 5 miles northeast of the National Weather Service office in Wichita Falls. The formation of the tornado and its movement toward the Memorial Stadium and McNiel Junior High School were captured by Wolfgang Lange from the front of his apartment complex which was across the street from school building (Tornado Track Figure; Location #2). Witnesses say the several distinct, small vortices were visible during the formative stage of the tornado as it moved along the Fort Worth and Denver railroad into Wichita County. Each parallelogram on the map below represents the approximate aerial coverage shown in each photo. To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. The most notable tornado was another F4 tornado that destroyed most of the southern part of Wichita Falls, Texas, and is commonly referred to as "Terrible Tuesday" by many meteorologists. Vehicles (cars, pickups, and trucks) are poor protection and should be avoided during tornado situations in larger cities where travel is congested and tornado escape routes are not readily available and open for use. The Wichita Falls tornado cut a wide swath of dam. April 3, 1964 - A violent tornado struck the northwest section of Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base, killing 7 persons and injuring 111 other people. All Nature. (Rated F2 by the NWS.). In the Wichita Falls area, damage occurred to ~75 homes, 15 trailer homes, high school, and numerous outbuildings. However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. As the tornado crossed Kemp Boulevard in Wichita Falls, several commercial businesses, including a restaurant, were destroyed with several additional fatalities. To the north of Southwest Parkway, the tornado destroyed many houses in the Western Hills Addition. The last siren from the city's warning system sounded around 5:50 p.m. the same time that storm spotters reported seeing the tornado . (This tornado was documented and rated F2 by Tom Grazulis in his book, Significant Tornadoes. An estimated 20,000 persons were left homeless by this storm. Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Waco, and of course Fort Worth come to mind, even Austin had one dancing around over the Capitol dome in 1922. Anyone can read what you share. The tornado slung mud across the inside of the windshield which made it difficult to drive. Thus, the tornado damage/intensity was officially rated as a strong F4 tornado. Would we have seen the tornado and diverted? In the upper atmosphere, the nose of an extremely strong jet stream wind maximum was moving eastward through northern Mexico, preparing to turn northeastward and take aim on Texas and Oklahoma. As it turned out we would have driven into Vernon just before a major tragedy unfolded with injuries and death. Today. The following severe weather account is by Gene Moore. The tornado then destroyed several industrial plants before moving into Clay County just south of TX State Highway 79. To A powerful tornado tore through the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday night, leveling dozens of structures in the city of Andover, according to officials. The northeastern mesocyclone in the mesocyclone pair was the occluding parent circulation of the Seymour tornado while the southwestern mesocyclone in the pair was the developing parent circulation of the Wichita Falls tornado. In the early afternoon hours, three supercell thunderstorms formed. Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs As the tornado crossed Kemp Boulevard., several commercial businesses, including a restaurant, were destroyed with several additional fatalities. Two barns were also destroyed and scattered across a field. He was great at identifying cloud structures. 5) The Wichita Falls Tornado - April 10, 1979. Each lasted for an hour or more and left a continuous track of ground damage 35 miles or longer. One thousand and 62 apartment units and condominiums were destroyed, and 93 mobile homes were demolished. Averages and Records 3. Just after 5:00 p.m., another tornado spawned by the same thunderstorm system crashed into Lawton, Oklahoma. The width of the F1 damage was generally as wide as one mile, and the extent of the F0 damage was even wider, but so widespread that it was not mapped. The giant tornado was a massive black column extending from the low striated base of the inky clouds to the ground. Historical weather events. The funnel was quite close at this time and large black crows were caught up in the outer circulation. We also assessed the protective measures taken by a representative sample of community residents who suffered no major injury in order to estimate the relative risk of injury to people directly in the tornado's path . During its life, radar-derived storm tops exceeded 50,000 feet and reflectivities were higher than 50 dBZ. The first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas, at around 3:05p.m. About 35 minutes later, the first killer one of the outbreak ripped through Vernon and killed 11 people. Other homes in the area were damaged. Only 5 of the homes that were left actually incurred damage. WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - April 10th, 1979, a day forever ingrained in the minds of those who lived through it. The first of dozens of funerals to be held for those killed by the tornado that struck here Tuesday was held today for Terry Mahon, 17 years old, who died while working at a restaurant job she had taken to save money for a marriage she had planned for this summer. Several trailers were destroyed. Winston Wells, Current Hazards The following images and text copyright Gene Moore unless otherwise indicated. The spring of 1979 was a very active tornado period for the plains states. More. Tuesday, April 10, 1979 seemed like a perfect spring day - right up until a tornado appeared seemingly out of nowhere, cutting a path through Wilbarger County and Vernon that left 11 dead, dozens injured and millions of dollars of property destroyed. ", "At Vernon, reports of earlier damage to the southwest of the city had alerted spotters and city officials. A storm appeared on the horizon that had developed far to our south near Abilene. The Red River Valley tornado outbreak of April 10, 1979 is one of the most significant tornado outbreaks that ever occurred in western north Texas and southern Oklahoma. Apr 8, 2009 #1 NWS OUN has put up a nice page for the 30th anniversary of this monster: . For example, the police chief called the city manager out of a meeting with county commissioners. US Dept of Commerce Air Quality After extensive engineering analysis of the winds necessary to produce the observed structural failure to those buildings, it was concluded that all of the damage could have been produced by winds in the upper part of the F4 range (230 - 260 mph). "Automobiles are a steel death trap in a tornado . A fourth tornado touched down just outside of Seymour an hour later, but again damage was comparatively minor. Another tornado swept the community of Harrold soon thereafter, causing much less extensive damage. One tree near a house fell onto a power line, causing an electrical surge that set the kitchen of the house on fire. Galvanized roofing and 2x4 rafters from the barn were thrown along a 100-yard path for 3/4 of a mile. Still other tornadoes struck the communities of Lockett and Seymour a short time later, killing one inhabitant in Lockett. Local Climate Data Earlier in the day around daybreak, low-level moisture from the Gulf was observed pouring northward through the heart of the State while much drier air was surging eastward across the Pecos River (Figure 10). (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Nationwide, Current Conditions Stones as large as two inches were reported further to our northeast. 6. The second supercell spawned one that moved 74 miles (119km). Caused a total of $449,000 in damage. 45 people died in the Wichita Falls tornado. I had never witnessed anything of this magnitude. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. During this interval, the tornado was photographed by Professor Joe Henderson of Midwestern State University from the Ligon Coliseum (Tornado Track Figure; Location #7) and by Troy Glover from the roof of the Bethania Hospital (Tornado Track Figure; Location #8). 1979 tornado outbreak leaves massive damage and 57 dead in Texoma. The twister cut a swath through one-third of the city and killed. While the leading edge of the moist, tropical air had already surged northward across the Red River, giving Wichita Falls a vigorous southeasterly wind and a climbing dew point (Figure 16), the advancing edge of much drier, continental air swept eastward out of the High Plains and undercut the less dense and more moist tropical air. Interview She and her family couldn't find their dog. Continuing east-northeastward, the violent tornado destroyed a large portion of a residential neighborhood before heavily damaging a commercial building along Southwest Parkway. A large number of cars were smashed and some people were killed along U.S. Highway 287. More than 1700 injuries occurred within Wichita Falls. All who have looked at and studied the event agree that the death toll would have been much larger had there not been not been such systems in place and functioning on April 10. This was the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed to date. This report is an attempt to describe thoroughly but concisely the noteworthy elements of the Texas weather scene throughout 1979. The Terrible Tuesday video can be viewed via the NWS Norman YouTube Channel or below. A mobile home was destroyed near Faxson, resulting in two serious injuries. Barely one week later, phenomenally great amounts of rainfall poured on the southeastern sector of the State, taking 4 lives and inundating parts of numerous communities. At the Iowa Park Fairgrounds, wind damage covered a 4-block area. 2. Wildfire Safety The tornado moved to the north-northwest during its life before lifting 2 miles from Burkburnett. Aloft, the strong wind maximum was over the Red River area, producing significant vertical wind shear. Several buildings were torn apart and a cemetery was damaged. 3 Comanche County, OK. 17:05 F3. After taking his last picture of the approaching tornado, Mr. Lange retreated to the apartment complex laundry room and hid between heavy commercial washers and dryers, escaping with only minor injuries. Witnesses saw several small twisters during the formation. We Thunderstorm winds blew a sheet metal roof off a horse barn just east of Sheppard Air Force Base, tore off part of the roof of a radio station 6 miles southwest of Wichita Falls, tore a patio roof off a house in Wichita Falls. There is no doubt that hundreds of lives were saved by the news media and siren warnings. The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of 10 April 1979 Location Help Wintry and Cold Conditions Continue Across Much of the U.S. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products Although high numbers of deaths have occurred in vehicles during tornadoes, the occurrences are rare. It inflicted additional F0-F2 damage south of Dean and Byers, but no more fatalities occurred. April 26, 1962 - This tornado initially touched down at 10:45 pmCST on the Sheppard Access Road near Sheppard AFB, damaging several cars, and destroying a a 100 x 30 foot metal building at a motor company. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the time of tornado touchdown. Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. Total damage in the city was estimated at $400 million; five thousand families (or about 20,000 people) were left homeless. It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. . A total of 10 people received injuries due to the high winds. Flash Flood Warnings Please select one of the following: Local Enhanced Radar (Central Oklahoma-KTLX), Local Standard Radar (KTLX-low bandwidth), Local Enhanced Radar (Southwest OK/Western North TX-KFDR), Local Standard Radar (KFDR-low bandwidth), Local Standard Radar (KVNX-low bandwidth), Averages and Records for OKC, Wichita Falls & Lawton, NOAA Tech Memo NWS SR-209 (Speheger, D., 2001: "Corrections to the Historic Tornado Database"), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Near Kamay - Wichita Valley Airport - Sheppard AFB, NW Wichita Falls (FM-369/ Seymour Highway)- Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls (near Midwestern University), 3 ENE Holliday- Wichita Falls- 4 E Byers- NNE of Waurika OK, Wichita Falls (4 SSW - 1 E center of town). We give still life with tornado and numerous ebook collections from fictions to scientific research in any way. All NOAA. I didn't want to move. Last year the Wichita Falls Museum of Art featured a show by the acclaimed American landscape photographer Frank Gohlke of his photographs of Wichita Falls in the aftermath of a massive tornado that destroyed so much of the town in 1979. In slightly more than 10 minutes, the tornado passed across the southern tip of the city leaving 11 dead, more than 60 injured, and several hundred homes destroyed or damaged. View looking west-northwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at wall cloud on the southwestern edge of the thunderstorm. Numbers for 1979 were similar to that of 1980. He died on July 16, 1979 in El Arenal, Spanje (Palma de Mallorca). Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes. April 10th, 1979 started out like any other day in Texoma. Six barns and two homes were destroyed. Every year in the United States the threat of a catastrophe looms whenever tornadoes approach large gatherings of people. Major damage in the. Wichita Falls Tornado 1979. Summer Weather Safety Current Hazards Damage to city property totaled $5 million while Sheppard AFB had $10 million in damages. The mall was on the north side of the tornado path and appeared to escape the most violent winds. No fatalities or injuries occurred. Frank Gohlke's portfolio of 40 black and white photographs, which capture the devastation of the 1979 Wichita Falls Tornado and the landscape a year later, will be on exhibition to mark the anniversary of Terrible Tuesday, April 10, 1979. February 18, 2023 (64 years old) View obituary. In this stage, the tornado did extensive damage just south of Dean and near Byars, destroying a large number of rural homes, but causing no more fatalities. Small buildings were damaged or destroyed, and roofs, signs, oil field derricks and tanks were damaged. Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs Although his house was completely destroyed, Mr. Molet escaped with only minor injuries as his pickup truck was blown over him, protecting him from the worst winds and debris. 1970s. The twister did level a number of telephone poles along Highway 283, before dissipating just east of 283 near Maybelle. Hail the size of golf balls preceded the touchdown and continued for approximately 15 minutes. June 16, 1997 - A survey conducted by a National Weather Service meteorologist confirmed that an F1 tornado touched down briefly about 5 miles southeast of Burkburnett (or 1.5 miles north of the north end of Sheppard AFB). We were rushed to get into position. May 30, 2001 - This tornado was observed at 6:30 pm CST by three people over northern portions of Lake Wichita, or 6 miles southwest of Wichita Falls. The Wichita Falls tornado formed several miles southwest of the city in Archer County, and traveled over mostly open terrain. The tornado finally ended near Waurika, OK after traveling 47 miles. Additionally, the tornado caused roughly $15 million in property damage with about 225 homes destroyed and another 250 damaged. The tornado damaged outbuildings, chicken coops, and did minor damage to roofs of houses. Barns were destroyed and livestock was killed, including horses on two farms. Wayne Collamore, Approaching Harrold, Texas from the southeast on Highway 287 - view is looking west at about 4:05 pm CST. Here we goa hymn request from Erlene: Great Is His Faithfulness, sung by the Collingsworth Family. The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. 25 of the 42 fatalities from the tornado were vehicle related, 16 of which were of people who left their homes to evade the massive tornado. All the storms this day exhibited violent cloud motions. There we hoped the dryline and warm front would intersect with a strong jet stream. Upper Air Maps We decided to make a break for it to the east which was not a smart move. An explanation of both the causes and effects of the many and varied weather systems that affected Texans during the year has been the central objective of this endeavor. The thunderstorm that fostered that tornado also produced hail up to 3 inches in diameter west of Harrold. At 1730 CST (5:30 PM), a core of greater than 50 dBZ and two mesocyclones were seen with the storm. A very intense spring storm shifted out of the Rocky Mountains on April 10, generating lines of severe thunderstorms that swept across the northern portion of the State. Dr. Ted Fujita of the University of Chicago used these surveys to estimate the F-scale and probable wind speeds associated with the tornado. To put the deaths and property damage in perspective, it should be noted that as many as 42 people have not been killed in the United States by a single tornado in the 20 years since the event, and the total property damage of $400,000,000 still stands as the most costly tornado in American history. Further statistics reveal that 25 of the deaths were auto-related. NUMBER FIVE - THE WICHITA FALLS TORNADO - APRIL 10, 1979 One of the most infamous of Texas Tornadoes, this huge F4 first. Overall, mobile homes and permanent homes lead fatality location totals with 44.8% and 26.2% of all deaths occurring in these structures, respectively. While photographing this shot I began to feel vibration in the camera. No damage was reported from this small, weak tornado and it was rated F0. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (location #3). We would like to give special recognition to Don Burgess of the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) in Norman for compiling and archiving most of the information contained within these web pages. Over 100 commercial businesses, some of them large manufacturing concerns, were destroyed. Unlike Mr. Lange, Mr. Molet did not have an unobstructed view of the western horizon and did not immediately recognize that the threatening cloud was a tornado. Please Contact Us. They survived! A number of people were also killed or injured in the parking lot of Sikes Senter (sic) Mall, also on Kemp Boulevard. In the latter Blacklock photographs, the gust front and associated strong west winds to the south of the tornado can be seen producing waves on Lake Wichita and kicking up spray from the lake. The Wichita Falls tornado of April 10, 1979 was one of thirteen tornadoes which rampaged across parts of north Texas and Oklahoma that "Terrible Tuesday." This over one mile-wide beast. The tornado then weakened slightly, but remained at F3 intensity, destroying the Sun Valley housing area, the Sunnyside Heights Mobile Home Park, and several large commercial businesses, including the Levi Strauss Plant, before exiting the east side of town. Historic tornado in Wichita KS McConnell AFB 1991. One of the tornadoes, having a width that varied from 1/2 to 1 1/2 miles, cut a swath of devastation across the southern sector of Wichita Falls in less than 30 minutes, killing 42 persons, injuring more than 1700, and burying dozens of city blocks under tons of debris. As we drove northeast on US 70, debris was still falling to the ground. Sixteen of the 25 got in vehicles to evade the tornado, and 11 of the 16 homes which were left did not incur damage by the tornado. The path length was 9 miles in Texas and 55 miles in Oklahoma. April 10, 1979 by James R Mcdonald _ Joseph E. Minor April 20, 1979 . Barns were destroyed and homes sustained roof damage. For the first time in years we altered that route. April 10, 1979 - The tornado, which was part of a tornado outbreak in the Red River valley area, began at 5:50 pmCST on the southwest flank of its parent supercell thunderstorm about 3 miles east-northeast of Holliday. The storm that produced an EF-4 tornado a mile wide would ultimately leave over fifty people dead, displace one fifth of Wichita Falls' population, and change the landscape of our city forever. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. During this interval, the tornado was photographed by Professor Joe Henderson of Midwestern State University from the Ligon Coliseum (location #7). The following text comes from Chapter I of the NOAA Natural Disaster Report 80-1, "The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Frost Tornado. The tornado was about a half-mile wide when it struck Memorial Stadium, snapping light standards and causing heavy damage to the field house. The most notable tornado was another F4 tornado that destroyed most of the southern part of Wichita Falls, Texas, and is commonly referred to as "Terrible Tuesday" by many . Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. Fortunately, the tornado moved through rural areas and did not affect any housing at this stage. Numerous other thunderstorms trekked across the area between Abilene, Wichita Falls, and Brownwood during the early evening, as the surface front, now occluded in the Panhandle, pushed relentlessly eastward. Some of these people attempted to run to their cars from the mall. A concrete block building was destroyed, and another was partially destroyed. Non Precipitation Warnings The tornado was preceded by strong winds, and then followed at once by heavy rain and hail, which covered a 200-square mile area. Air Quality I'm surprised he got the tornado in the frame. The tornado continued into Clay County, resulting in no deaths, but 40 additional injuries. My chase partner for the day was Eddie Sims who had chased for years with Jim Leonard. Residents of Seymour reported that the tornado was preceded by very heavy rain and hail almost 2 inches in diameter. The tornado then moved east-northeast into the Western hills neighborhood, south of Southwest Parkway. I had a good full frame shot of the suction spots rotating about the base of the funnel. Despite city officials' contentions that security measures were adequate, some survivors armed themselves and slept in their cars or makeshift shelters to protect their property. 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