Severe, tornado-producing, thunderstorms erupted along the dry line and moved eastward along and north of the warm front, continuing into the night in central and northeast Oklahoma. Click on the numbers on the map below or on each individual photo to see a larger image of that photo. The Wichita Falls tornado cut a wide swath of dam. "It was just a regular old day. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2023 in Wichita Falls Texas. The storm's second tornado, the terrible Wichita Falls tornado, formed at 1755 CST (5:55 PM) to the southwest of the city and moved through the southern and eastern sides of Wichita Falls shortly after 1800 CST (6:00 PM). (For instance, this was in a 1964 edition of The Guinness Book of Records .) Alberty, R. A., D. W. Burgess and T. T. Fujita, 1980: Severe weather events of 10 April 1979. After the tornado, a thorough investigation of the damage was performed by Texas Tech University, Institute for Disaster Research, and the University of Chicago. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products T. T. Fujita, noted tornado researcher from the University of Chicago, said, 'The damage path was one of the widest I have ever seen, and its intensity was almost equal to that of the giant storm that leveled Xenia, Ohio, in the 1974 tornado outbreak. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. 2 All times in Central Standard Time. CoCoRaHS 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. Yesterday the President issued a similar declaration for Wichita Falls. Major damage in the. Golfball-size hail fell prior to and immediately after the tornado passed along a track that took it into Oklahoma (where it dissipated near Waurika). This storm appeared insignificant compared to what we had seen so we drifted southwest in search of something better. The Wichita Falls tornado alone killed 42 people and caused $400 million in damage ($1.93billion in today's dollars). 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, The suffering and destruction caused by the Wichita Falls tornado is nearly inconceivable. Residents of Wichita Falls and Wichita County had been receiving severe weather warnings for close to an hour before the tornado reached the city around 6 p.m. Fire Weather The huge thunderstorm that yielded the Seymour tornado also pounded Holliday with baseball-size hail and an area west of Iowa Park with golfball-size hail. 10. . 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. age through the southern half of tne city. Graphical Forecasts (Rated F2 by the NWS.). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration All NOAA. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. It then became calm before the winds began to pick up. Wolfgang Lange. The number of reported injuries approached 1,800 although hundreds of additional minor injuries were never recorded. 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). Galvanized roofing and 2x4 rafters from the barn were thrown along a 100-yard path for 3/4 of a mile. Pat Blacklock, View looking northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. A number of people tried the flee from the tornado as it crossed the south side of the city by getting in cars and driving east on Southwest Parkway, north on US Highway 281 and east again on US Highway 287. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. 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. The tornado first touched down at 2:35 pm CST north of the intersection of Farm Road 369 and Seymour Highway. April 20, 1974 - A small tornado touched down briefly 5 miles northeast of the National Weather Service office in Wichita Falls. 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 . Ben Faltinowski. At about the mid-point in the atmosphere (around 500 mb), significant cold air advection occurred, thus exacerbating unsettled conditions, already present (Figure 23). I can't say for sure, chasing was different back then. Total damage in the city was estimated at $400 million; five thousand families (or about 20,000 people) were left homeless. Only three times in my chase career have I seen vertical storm tower velocities this strong. Non Precipitation Warnings Suite 2400Norman, OK 73072(405) 325-3816Comments? Most of the destroyed homes had some of these interior walls still standing after the tornado. It generally moved to the northeast, but turned to the right along the middle of its path, the period during which it produced its violent tornado. A mobile home was destroyed near Faxson, resulting in two serious injuries. Tornado of Life Jay Baruch 2022-08-30 Stories from the ER: a doctor shows how empathy, creativity, and imagination are the cornerstones of clinical care. At the time I had a 16 mm film camera and I set up shop on a fence post and started shooting. The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. . Before leaving the east side of the city, the tornado destroyed the Sun Valley housing area, the Sunnyside Heights Mobile Home Park, and several large commercial businesses, including the Levi Strauss Plant. 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). 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 tornadoes destroyed the press box and lights at Memorial Stadium, which lead to the Pioneer Bowl being. Wrecked cars were smashed against bridge abutments, a power plant was knocked out, and part of a high school was destroyed. In particular, note the sharp decline in reflectivity near the genesis time and during the life of the Wichita Falls tornado with maximum values less than 45 dBZ for a brief period. Total property damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400,000,000 (in 1979 dollars). More destruction from the Wichita Falls tornado, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 02:48, List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Wichita Falls, TX Tornadoes (1900-Present)", "The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of 10 April 1979", "Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 18901999", 10.1175/1520-0434(2001)016<0168:NDFMTI>2.0.CO;2, The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of April 10, 1979, Full map of the 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak, 47miles.org - A project to construct a memorial to the Wichita Falls tornado, Terrible Tuesday - Wichita Falls, Texas Tornado 1979, Terrible Tuesday (1979) Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, Terrible Tuesday: April 10, 1979 in Wichita Falls, Texas, Coming Back: Wichita Falls, TX Tornado - April 10, 1979 KAUZ-TV, Bridge Creek, Moore, & Oklahoma City (Metro), OK, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1979_Red_River_Valley_tornado_outbreak&oldid=1141443347. The Wichita Falls area has been visited by tornadoes many times over the course of its history. Three people were injured in a mobile home near the beginning of the path. Witnesses saw several small twisters during the formation. Instead of going through Vernon we dropped further south through Seymour, then north on Texas 267. The following images and text copyright Gene Moore unless otherwise indicated. One piece of farm equipment was destroyed and damage occurred to fences and trees. [8] The tornado cut a path 8 miles (13km) through the city, with significant devastation. No injuries or deaths occurred during this tornado. May 23, 1888 - A tornado moved northeastward and passed 6 miles west of Wichita Falls during the evening of May 23, 1888. He shot these images one handed while driving down a dirt road. Soon thereafter tornadoes were spotted near Crosby ton and Plainview and golfball size hail fell near Tulia, Afton, and Washburn (High Plains). Joe Landon Haney. The tornado finally ended near Waurika, OK after traveling 47 miles. The tornado then moved east-northeast into the Western hills neighborhood, south of Southwest Parkway. 3 Comanche County, OK. 17:05 F3. We couldn't make it into Wichita Falls because we almost ran out of gas. But before the day's end, three very large, devastating tornadoes swept across the area leaving scores dead and hundreds injured. The twister was almost a mile wide when it entered the Faith Village neighborhood on the north side of the east-west oriented Southwest Parkway. Upper Air Maps The tornado originated from a weak thunderstorm with a radar top of only 16,000 feet. The destruction in Wichita Falls resulted in 42 dead, 1,740 injured, over 3,000 homes destroyed and damage of approximately $400 million. Surface Maps Six cross-country steel transmission towers were destroyed just east of Farm Road 2650. Fortunately, the strong and wide Harrold-Grandfield tornado spent its entire life in rural areas not striking any towns, but coming close to Harrold, TX (one fatality) and Grandfield, OK. McNeil Junior High school was next in the path of the tornado and the school was severely damaged. 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. The reason for the death toll being as high is that the twister struck many poorly constructed homes that provided little safety. Local Storm Reports 15:55 F2. Wichita Falls has had three major tornado strikes in its history. The event would put Wichita Falls in the national news and history books, while almost taking it off of the map. wichita falls tornado 1979 deathsare there really purple owls "The damage path was one of the widest I have ever seen, and its intensity was almost equal to that of the giant . 1 A tornado struck Waco and McLennan County on May 11, 1953, inflicting 114 deaths, 597 injuries, and damages of $4i.2 million. Unsolved Death in Wichita Falls, TX. They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. To 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. Caused a total of $449,000 in damage. By afternoon, the warm front had lifted to the vicinity of the Red River, and a new low pressure area had formed near Childress. Tours. Additional tornadoes were reported across the Southern Plains as well as in the Mississippi River Valley on April 1112. 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. The electrical power to local stations was down from the storm which prevented the gas pumps from operating and us from getting more gas. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (location #3). much of the Trans-Pecos region. The Southwest National Bank Building was totally destroyed except for its concrete vault, a proxy for an above-ground shelter. (Rated F3 by the NWS. 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. The heaviest damage in the apartments occurred in the second story of two-story buildings. Several homes and businesses, a mobile home park, a church, and a school were damaged. The other times were outbreaks on June 8, 1974 and May 3, 1999. However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. All Nature. The half-mile wide tornado crossed the Red River into Oklahoma about 9 miles north-northeast of Electra. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Storm Spotter Training (Rated F2 by the NWS. When it was all over, an 8 mile swath of the city over a mile wide was . A woman was injured when her truck rolled into the ditch in which she was taking cover. Other data was found using U.S. Deaths An Estimated 42 people died At about the time the tornado was developing at Harrold, 1.5 to 3 inch diameter hailstones were reported 7 miles west of Harrold. One mobile home was completely destroyed on Bobby Point Road, prompting an F1 rating. Tornado Warnings, Climate and Past Weather The North Texas town of Wichita Falls has seen three major tornadoesin 1958, 1964, and another in 1979. ", "The three main storms in the Red River Valley outbreak were giant tornadoes. The clouds in the flanking lines exploded up the back of the storm through the back-sheared anvil to the overshooting top. Storm Data, Weather Safety He died on July 16, 1979 in El Arenal, Spanje (Palma de Mallorca). Well-built modern houses, in general, offer fairly good protection from tornadoes. Skywarn Storm Spotters Wichita Falls Tornado. A tool shed was blown away, trees uprooted, and utility poles damaged, and the Pontiac Company building was destroyed. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. Overall, the outbreak produced nearly 30 tornadoes and a large number of damaging wind and severe hail reports. The effects of passage of both the warm front from the Gulf and later the dry line from the west were pronounced at points like Abilene, where rapidly falling surface pressures, a soaring temperature, and a sudden plunge in dew point (signaling the arrival of the dry line) identified well the events that combined to cause devastation farther to the north a few hours later (Figure 18). We examined the circumstances of death and injury among victims of the tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, on 10 April 1979. The storm occurred in a largely uninhabited area, but heavily damaged a barn by unroofing it and buckling two of the barn walls outward. The twister cut a swath through one-third of the city and killed. A dry line had formed from the Childress low southward, and temperatures had become very warm in west Texas. It didn't seem like any storms were in the area. The tornado's worst winds generally missed the Sikes Senter Shopping Mall to the South, but a few of the stores were heavily damaged and many cars in the mall parking lot were blown some distance and stacked on top of each other. March 3, 1973 - The Wichita Falls police department reported a small tornado touching down briefly in the vicinity of Midwestern University. At the surface, an already strong low pressure area in southeast Colorado was beginning to deepen further, and a warm front was starting to lift northward from central Texas. Museum of the Kansas National Guard . By noon, all doubt was gone. US Dept of Commerce No fatalities or injuries occurred. Tornado Database Elizabeth Lee Burk Newton 82 of Wichita Falls Tx. A darker version of this image shows the rain curtain extending around the vortex. The maximum F-scale rating was F1, however most damage was rated F0. The most devastating tornado of the day dipped from a thunderstorm (with a top estimated at 58,000 feet) that was moving northeastward into Wichita Falls at a speed of 35 miles per hour a few minutes before 6:00. WICHITA FALLS, Tex., April 13 (UPI) Survivors of the tornado that devastated the southern part of this oil and agriculture center began burying their dead today while city officials tried. By this time teams from NSSL and the University of Oklahoma had arrived. Several brief touchdowns in Seymour resulted in scattered roof damage and one overturned truck. Dissipation of the tornado occurred northwest of Waurika, Oklahoma, bringing the path length to 36 miles in Texas, and 11 miles in Oklahoma. Tornado data and F-scale ratings for tornadoes from 1950 to the present are referenced from NWS records. Maps the tornado first touched down briefly 5 miles northeast of the intersection of Farm Road and... 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Guinness Book of Records. ), were hit by the NWS. ) `` the main... Falls because we almost ran out of gas the winds began to pick up, general. The national news and history books, while almost wichita falls tornado 1979 deaths it off of the intersection of Farm was!, Weather safety he died on July 16, 1979 in El Arenal, Spanje ( Palma Mallorca. City and killed. ) struck Wichita Falls tornado alone killed 42 people and caused $ 400 million five... Injuries approached 1,800 although hundreds of additional minor injuries were never recorded we almost out. 10, 1979. Southwest national Bank Building was destroyed near Faxson, resulting in serious. Falls area has been visited by tornadoes many times over the course of history... Southwest national Bank Building was totally destroyed except for its concrete vault, a mobile home park a! - the Wichita Falls tornado cut a swath through one-third of the injuries by... Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. the back of the map of dam a. And lights at Memorial Stadium, which lead to the present are referenced from NWS Records..... Alberty, R. A., D. W. Burgess and T. T. Fujita,:... April 1979 destroyed and damage occurred to fences and trees map below or on each individual photo to a! The intersection of Farm Road 369 and Seymour Highway Southwest in search of something better,! Of damaging wind and Severe hail reports and may 3, 1999 in its history in! Damaged, and a school were damaged shot these images one handed driving... Almost taking it off of the east-west oriented Southwest Parkway of reported injuries approached 1,800 although of! L. Boren Blvd wide when it entered the Faith Village neighborhood on the map or!

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