One F4 tornado impacted Vernon, Texas. 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. It damaged several homes and businesses before going into Wichita Falls where it . 3 Comanche County, OK. 17:05 F3. A detailed mapping of each house and public/commercial building in the city led to the construction of an F-scale map. Dr. Ted Fujita of the University of Chicago used these surveys to estimate the F-scale and probable wind speeds associated with the tornado. The twister moved east-northeastward across the northern part of the city, and continued into Clay County before lifting at 6:10 pm CST near the town of Dean. The first tornado formed near Seymour at around 4:53 pm. By afternoon, the warm front had lifted to the vicinity of the Red River, and a new low pressure area had formed near Childress. 38 On April 10, 1979, a series of deadly tornadoes broke out near the Texas-Oklahoma border. Overall, the outbreak produced nearly 30 tornadoes and a large number of damaging wind and severe hail reports. -56 NWS WFO, Norman, OK. It first destroyed an apartment complex, where the first fatalities took place, as it moved along Southwest Parkway. In many years at least some portions of the Lone Star State experience destruction or severe damage from an untimely freeze, a debilitating drought, or a lengthy spell of excessive rains. About Our Office Upper Air Maps Storm Pictures. Multiple locations were found. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Used by permission of author Don Burgess. It seems that almost every major Texas city has had to deal with a tornado at least once. See the article in its original context from. Bulletin American Meteorological Society, 61, 1033-34. Joe Landon Haney. A woman was injured when her truck rolled into the ditch in which she was taking cover. There were scattered remains of destroyed structures on either side of the road. The deadliest tornadoes to strike in Texas in 26 years ravaged parts of four communities near the Red River on April 10, taking 53 lives, injuring 1808, and causing damage worth $427 million1. National Severe Storms Laboratory storm chasers photographed the tornado, which formed beneath the southwest flank of the severe thunderstorm. Past Weather Events Eddie complained, but kept fighting the wheel. It was spectacular to watch! 3. Please Contact Us. According to the American National Red Cross, 7,759 families suffered losses in the storms (Table 1). Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Mr. Carter also dispatched a special assistant, Jack H. Watson Jr., to this city of 125,000 people in northern Texas to survey the tornado damage. ", "About the time the Vernon tornado was moving across the Red River into Oklahoma, 20 miles to the south another funnel cloud was dropping out of the thunderstorm clouds approaching Harrold, Texas. Upper Air Maps As the much drier air whipped eastward out of the southern High Plains just after noon, thunderstorms, some of which were very heavy, boiled up in parts of the eastern High Plains and quickly spilled over into the Low Rolling Plains. Fortunately, the tornado moved through rural areas and did not affect any housing at this stage. The tornado just missed two busloads of students who were returning from a game in Burkburnett. The following images and text have been provided by permission of the author are to be used for informational purposes only. Daily Weather History (For instance, this was in a 1964 edition of The Guinness Book of Records .) Additionally, the tornado caused roughly $15 million in property damage with about 225 homes destroyed and another 250 damaged. 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. Inevitably each year some sector of Texas suffers from the effects of a tornado strike, a blinding snowstorm, a violent hail-bearing thunderstorm, or a raging sand- or dust storm. A small home was swept away in the affected area, and factories and warehouses were unroofed. In addition, the author hopes that the analyses will serve as a handy source of reference to those who seek to recall the past and those whose research work attempts to relate the weather to other aspects of human existence. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. among them is this still life with tornado that can be your partner. This huge F4 first touched down about 3 miles northeast of Holliday. The clouds would roll over like they were collapsing into a deep hold. Stones as large as two inches were reported further to our northeast. Would we have seen the tornado and diverted? Those who were caught in automobiles and trucks made up a high percentage of the fatalities. The lights of wichita shone bright now. Thus, the tornado damage/intensity was officially rated as a strong F4 tornado. We proceeded southwest toward Seymour witnessing a small tornado near Lake Kemp that was accompanied by golf ball size hail. The middle supercell, the Harrold-Grandfield storm, produced the longest-track tornado of the outbreak (64 mile path length) at 1555 CST (3:55 PM). Satellite Imagery, Forecasts These are 40 before/after pairings, as he shot dramatically injured locations . ", "Storm spotter networks were alerted. Sep 18, 2004. No one was killed and only several major injuries occurred among the approximately one thousand shoppers who were in the mall. High winds in Burkburnett toppled several large trees and damaged limbs, signs, and fences throughout town. The tornado was about a half-mile wide when it struck Memorial Stadium, snapping light standards and causing heavy damage to the field house. We examined the circumstances of death and injury among victims of the tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, on 10 April 1979. One mobile home was completely destroyed on Bobby Point Road, prompting an F1 rating. (Colonial Park, Hursh, Southmoor, Southwinds, and Southern Hills) A number of people tried to flee as the tornado moved along US 281 and 287 by driving east on Southwest Parkway. Homes were unroofed and barns were destroyed. The other times were outbreaks on June 8, 1974 and May 3, 1999. Elizabeth Lee Burk Newton 82 of Wichita Falls Tx. The number of reported injuries approached 1,800 although hundreds of additional minor injuries were never recorded. 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. Flash Flood Warnings 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. Driving north on Texas 267 we witnessed the Thalia tornado. Note that the 50 dBZ core was no longer evident. Galvanized roofing and 2x4 rafters from the barn were thrown along a 100-yard path for 3/4 of a mile. The twister did level a number of telephone poles along Highway 283, before dissipating just east of 283 near Maybelle. Local Brenda Lee Whitehead. Local Climate Data Historic tornado in Wichita KS McConnell AFB 1991. WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - April 10th, 1979, a day forever ingrained in the minds of those who lived through it. ", "Early on April 10, NWS forecasters became aware of the threat of severe weather. Eddie was trying to tell me something; finally with some tugging, he got my attention. As seen in the photographs by Winston Wells (location #10), the tornado became multi-vortex, displaying as many as five satellite vortices rotating around the center of circulation. Wichita Falls(/wtt/WITCH-i-tah) is a city in and the seat of governmentof Wichita County, Texas, United States. Winston Wells, Current Hazards Within 30 minutes the tornado, with a track that varied between 1/2 and 1 1/2 miles wide and 8 miles long, had sped across the southern portion of Wichita Falls. Casualty data were supplied by the Texas and Oklahoma NWS offices. In addition, approximately 140 mobile homes were destroyed, two schools were demolished and 11 others sustained serious damage. The tornadoes destroyed the press box and lights at Memorial Stadium, which lead to the Pioneer Bowl being. Two Oklahoma University meteorology students (including Wayne Collamore) photographed the large tornado, which descended from a rotating wall cloud under the southwest flank of the severe thunderstorm. (Rated F2 by the NWS.). The majority of the fatalities were in vehicles, and a number of those victims left homes that were undamaged by the tornado only to be caught in its deadly path as they tried to flee. The intense damage averaged between one quarter and one half of a mile in width. Composed of three funnels fused into one and powerful winds exceeding 250 mph, this F4-rated tornado remained on the ground for an hour, destroying over a fifth of the city, lifting cars into the air, tearing buildings apart, and destroying 2,000 homes. A total of 2 people were seriously injured along the tornado's path, but most of injuries people received were minor. Wolfgang Lange. One of the most infamous of Texas tornadoes, this day would go on to be known as "Terrible Tuesday". Several other mobile homes in the area sustained minor damage, and homes to the east on Carriage Lane also received minor damage. At the end of the outbreak, 54 people lost their lives in Texas, three were killed in Oklahoma and one was killed in Indiana. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured by the tornado. It is estimated that 5,000 families, containing 20,000 residents, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. The tornado then crossed a short span of open fields before moving into the Colonial Park area. Around 3:05 in the afternoon, the first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas. Tornado Database 2. While the tornado was passing, it sounded like a train was coming directly through the house. Tornado warning and preparedness systems are worth the time and effort it takes to maintain them. One tree near a house fell onto a power line, causing an electrical surge that set the kitchen of the house on fire. It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. After crossing U.S. Highway 281, the twister then struck the Sun Valley neighborhood and destroyed additional homes, apartments, and businesses on the south side of U.S. Highway 287. The tornado dissipatedtwo minutes later and caused no damage. A tool shed was blown away, trees uprooted, and utility poles damaged, and the Pontiac Company building was destroyed. Terrible Tuesday - Wichita Falls, Texas Tornado 1979 ILovestorms 705 subscribers 713 40K views 2 years ago This is a documentary that focused on the Wichita Falls, Texas F4 tornado of April. First indications of tornado damage were near Harrold, which is located approximately 16 miles southwest of Vernon. Hail ranged in sizes "from mothballs to pineapples." To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. Please select one of the following: Table 1 -- Casualty and Property Losses -, GOES Visible Satellite Images (1530Z 4/10/1979 - 0014Z 4/11/1979), GOES Infrared Satellite Images (0000Z - 0600Z 4/11/1979). 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. 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. Neighbors took shelter together while federal and local groups assembled. The sun had set, and the moon was now a crescent. ", "Despite excellent warning lead-time and multiple soundings of the sirens, some people of Wichita Falls either did not hear the warnings or failed to take prescribed lifesaving actions. Overall, mobile homes and permanent homes lead fatality location totals with 44.8% and 26.2% of all deaths occurring in these structures, respectively. However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. Questions? NOAA Disaster Survey Report 80-1, Chapter 1. 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. All but one of the 12 large glass windows in the tower were blown out, and control tower personnel had only abandoned their tower posts 4 minutes before. Daily Weather History A concrete block building was destroyed, and another was partially destroyed. Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma University who photographed storms when he lived in Norman, Oklahoma during the 1970s. April 10, 2001 - This tornado developed on the south side of Wichita Falls at 11:46 pmCST, a short distance from Lake Wichita. The tornado moved eastward, was a visible as a column of dust that extended from the ground to the base of its parent thunderstorm, and was probably a landspout tornado. Several homes were demolished, and a number of barns were partially destroyed. View looking west-northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. We continued to drive east on a dirt road from Mabelle, Texas which is basically an intersection with a couple of old buildings. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products Horner was . April 2, 1958 - A funnel was first spotted 8 miles southwest of Wichita Falls before touching down at 5:40 pmCST near the intersection 4th Street and Lamar Street near the Wichita River. Damage also occurred to machinery, homes, and outbuildings. On the evening of April 10th 1979 an F4 tornado touched down outside Wichita Falls TX and carved a 47 mile long path of destruction that would become the costliest Tornado in United States History. They went back inside before it was too late, and all took shelter in the master bedroom closet. Historic data, especially before 1950, are likely incomplete. #1. By noon, all doubt was gone. Flood/Flash Flood Safety ), May 26, 1955 - A small tornado touched down briefly at 1:38 am CST, moved northeastward along a narrow, 1-mile path and demolished a "washateria" and produced severely damaged several utility poles, business structures, homes, and trees. A strong tornado damaged roofs, telephone poles, trees, uprooted shrubs and overturned a truck, but remained over open country while at peak intensity. This report is an attempt to describe thoroughly but concisely the noteworthy elements of the Texas weather scene throughout 1979. Wayne Collamore, View looking west just east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:15 pm CST. The tornado moved northeastward as was described as a "dirty green funnel." We The trees on the southwest edge of the city were denuded of limbs and bark. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Simon Cornelis Maria Vermeij was born on March 26, 1959 in Amsterdam, son of Hendrikus Gerardus Vermeij and Henritte Christina Maria Steur. Dallas Times Herald photo by Mark Perlstein Almost 40 years ago, a massive F4 tornado tore through Wichita Falls, in an event that the Dallas Times Herald and Wichita Falls Times labeled Terrible Tuesday. 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. The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. Interview She and her family couldn't find their dog. All NOAA. Winter Weather Warnings The clouds in the flanking lines exploded up the back of the storm through the back-sheared anvil to the overshooting top. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. -11 Wilbarger County, TX. Fifty mph sustained inflow winds were occurring at this time. Further eastward, most houses in the Faith Village Addition were destroyed, and Ben Milam Elementary School was severely damaged (location #6). During the morning, closely monitored air mass movements, temperatures, dew points, and winds had all been shifting towards critical values indicative of severe thunderstorms and potential tornadoes. About Our Office A powerful tornado tore through the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday night, leveling dozens of structures in the city of Andover, according to officials. Rampaging killer tornadoes and devastating floodwaters brought unparalleled tragedy to groups of communities in the Low Rolling Plains and the Upper Coast of Texas during April. 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. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. ", 1 The Storm Prediction Center is now located in Norman, Oklahoma They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. [7] It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. The second supercell spawned one that moved 74 miles (119km). The police chief and sheriff later said the approaching storm did not look like a normal twister, but appeared as a thick, dark mass of clouds low to the ground and difficult to see because of the heavy rain, hail, and low cloud base. Miss Mahon's parents and five brothers and sisters wept as the Rev. By mid-afternoon the surface low had migrated northeastward toward the northern Low Rolling Plains, where steep pressure falls of up to 8mb or more in three hours were observed (Figure 16 insert). February 16, 2023. Scary stuff. No fatalities or injuries occurred. 8. Aerial Reconnaissance photos- Source Don Burgess; Credit: NASA, Mission 399; Roll: #3; Film Type: 50-397; Frames: 041 to 050; Date: 4/12/1979, Damage photos - Source: Don Burgess; Credit: NSSL; Institute for Disaster Research, at Texas Tech University, Harrold, TX photos - Credit: Wayne Collamore, Doppler Radar images - Source: Don Burgess; Credit: NSSL, Satellite images - Source: Dennis McCarthy, Former MIC, NWSFO OUN; Credit: NOAA/NWS. The tornado continued into Clay County, resulting in no deaths, but 40 additional injuries. 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). The warnings were being broadcast repeatedly by two local TV stations and three local radio stations which were receiving continuously updated information over the emergency hotline connecting them with the Wichita Falls WSO. 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. ), November 11, 1958 - A small tornado touched down at 7:00 amCST 4 miles west of Wichita Falls and moved northeastward, striking a large new barn, unroofing one home, and scattering sheets of metal along highway for several miles. We were rushed to get into position. The northern supercell, the Vernon-Lawton storm, produced its first tornado at 1505 CST (3:05 PM) south of Crowell, TX. 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