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. A wind maximum gusting to 65 knots moved over Guadalupe Peak recording station in far southwest Texas; this triggered our departure. Despite passing north of the Sikes Senter Shopping Mall, intense winds from the outer circulation of the tornado heavily damaged a few stores and blew many cars in the mall's parking lot some distance away from where they originated and stacked on top of each other. A small home was swept away in the affected area, and factories and warehouses were unroofed. Hail ranged in sizes "from mothballs to pineapples." He later moved to Oklahoma City where he worked in TV weather before working for the federal government. More Observations It then became calm before the winds began to pick up. Small buildings were damaged or destroyed, and roofs, signs, oil field derricks and tanks were damaged. For the most part, however, rainfall amounts were modest, with only a few points collecting more than 1 inch (Figure 27). Several deaths in the Vernon tornado occurred because persons were caucht in autcmobiles that were tossed There is no doubt that hundreds of lives were saved by the news media and siren warnings. I can't say for sure, chasing was different back then. Final totals across three states were 181 killed and 970 injured. 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. 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. Earlier on the same day, several tornadoes hit farther west. 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). Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs The tornado killed 42 Wichita Falls residents and caused over $200 million in damages, leaving 20 percent of the city's population homeless. 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. Strong inflow winds associated with the tornado and the larger-scale mesocyclonic winds rotating around the tornado produced light damage over almost all of the city. This report is an attempt to describe thoroughly but concisely the noteworthy elements of the Texas weather scene throughout 1979. While the families and friends of the victims mourned, National Guard troops manned barricades outside devastated neighborhoods and stopped people who tried to enter the area, turning back any without essential business. I didn't want to move. We examined the circumstances of death and injury among victims of the tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, on 10 April 1979. Pat Blacklock, View looking north-northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. Beyond the shopping mall, the tornado crossed a greenbelt area, skirted Midwestern University on its south side, and severely damaged several more housing additions (Colonial Park, Hursh, Southmoor, Southwinds, and Southern Hills). 44 homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. The Wichita Falls area has been visited by tornadoes many times over the course of its history. He is now self-employed and lives with his family in San Antonio, Texas. The tornadoes pictured here were part of the Red River Valley Outbreak, the biggest event of that year. A fourth tornado touched down just outside of Seymour an hour later, but again damage was comparatively minor. FAQ A total of 2 people were seriously injured along the tornado's path, but most of injuries people received were minor. We were rushed to get into position. More widespread home destruction occurred in Colonial Park and several more apartment complexes were demolished. 10. 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). Then the supercell spawned one that killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. 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 to keep sightseers and looters away. ", "Early on April 10, NWS forecasters became aware of the threat of severe weather. This line raced northeastward, spilling heavy rains, hail and high winds on numerous communities. Tornadoes are capable of completely destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees, and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles. The formation of the tornado and its movement toward the stadium and junior high were captured by Wolfgang Lange from the front of his apartment complex which was located across the street from the junior high (location #2). Wichita Falls has had three major tornado strikes in its history. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (location #3). Select western north Texas tornado statistics by decade, county or city from the menus or maps below. Tornado Understand a Tornado: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground. Current Hazards 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. The tornado destroyed 2 homes north-northwest of Wichita Falls, and damaged 3 homes near Thornberry. This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1979, primarily in the United States. 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. North Texas County DA to seek death penalty for Tanner Horner, man accused of killing Athena Strand. -56 NWS WFO, Norman, OK. The giant tornado was a massive black column extending from the low striated base of the inky clouds to the ground. 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. About the time the tornado entered town, it changed appearance, becoming one large black cloud of condensation and debris. Storm Pictures. Apr 20, 2012 - The April 10, 1979 tornado in Wichita Falls. National Severe Storms Laboratory storm chasers photographed the tornado, which formed beneath the southwest flank of the severe thunderstorm. Those sources of meteorological data used in this report consist of: official rainfall, snowfall, temperature, wind, sunshine, and moisture data as provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the publications, "Climatological Data: Texas," "Local Climatological Data" (for selected cities), "Storm Data, and "Daily Weather Maps;" weather teletype reports (circuits "A" and "C") from the National Weather Service surface and upper-air observing network; surface and upper-air facsimile charts provided by the National Meteorological Center of NOAA; newspaper accounts; and photographic data obtained by the author. Additionally, the tornado caused roughly $15 million in property damage with about 225 homes destroyed and another 250 damaged. However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. Three houses were destroyed and several others were damaged. The tornado exited Texas about 4 miles east of Byers, uprooting over 200 trees along the Red River. A 368-foot radio antenna and 2 others antennas were blown down, and multiple power lines were downed. 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. At Sheppard Air Force Base, winds up to 70 mph tore countless limbs from trees and knocked out windows on some base housing units. The tornado originated from a weak thunderstorm with a radar top of only 16,000 feet. Continuing east-northeast, the tornado severely damaged commercial building along Southwest Parkway, including total destruction of the Southwest National Bank Building except for its vault (location #4). The tornado has widened and intensified at this stage. One tree near a house fell onto a power line, causing an electrical surge that set the kitchen of the house on fire. The clouds would roll over like they were collapsing into a deep hold. As we drove south on the H.E. 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. Pinterest. Below are some quick facts about the event from the NWS Norman: These figures include 12 counties. During this interval, the tornado was photographed by Professor Joe Henderson of Midwestern State University from the Ligon Coliseum (location #7). Flash Flood Warnings Weather Radio, About Us He died on July 16, 1979 in El Arenal, Spanje (Palma de Mallorca). A woman was injured when her truck rolled into the ditch in which she was taking cover. Skywarn Storm Spotters Elizabeth Lee Burk Newton 82 of Wichita Falls Tx. 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. About Our Office 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). One mobile home was completely destroyed on Bobby Point Road, prompting an F1 rating. Widespread downburst winds and hail brought damages of $200,000 to the town of Iowa Park alone. (Rated F5 by the NWS.). The thunderstorm that fostered that tornado also produced hail up to 3 inches in diameter west of Harrold. We think this was the early stages of the Vernon tornado. 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, radar-derived storm tops exceeded 50,000 feet and reflectivities were higher than 50 dBZ, a core of greater than 50 dBZ and two mesocyclones, tornado-associated mesocyclone and hook echo in the right rear portion of the echo, its movement toward the stadium and junior high, >many cars in the mall parking lot were blown some distance and stacked on top of each other, Map of the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak in North Texas and southern Oklahoma by (Fujita and Wakimoto), Map of Significant Weather Events which occurred between 6 AM CST April 10, 1979 and 6 AM CST April 11, 1979 (Burgess), Tornado Watch Box #67 issued by the National Severe Storms Forecast Center - valid 230 PM to 700 PM CST, April 10, 1979, Storm Track of the Wichita Falls, Texas Supercell on April 10, 1979 (Burgess), Time/Height Profile of the Wichita Falls, Texas Supercell on April 10, 1979 (Burgess), Map of Radar Reflectivity and Mesocyclone Positions of the Wichita Falls, Texas Supercell at 530 pm CST, April 10, 1979 (Burgess), Map of Radar Reflectivity and Mesocyclone Position of the Wichita Falls, Texas Supercell at 600 pm CST, April 10, 1979 (Burgess), Approximate Damage Path of the Wichita Falls Tornado on April 10, 1979 (, Map of the Red River Valley Area of Oklahoma and Texas Showing Communities and Counties Affected by the April 10, 1979 Tornadoes (NOAA Natural Disaster Report 80-1), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Rated F3 by the NWS. The Ohio National Guard was dispatched to the scene within nine hours to help with rescue work, caring for . 25 of those deaths were vehicle related. We didn't get phone guidance and it was before on-board equipment. It first destroyed an apartment complex, where the first fatalities took place, as it moved along Southwest Parkway. (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. The school building was totally destroyed by the tornado. 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. Members of the Wichita Falls Repeater Club Weather Spotters manned their pre-planned command post on the NWS Office (WSO) and deployed radio-equipped members to vantage points that assured good observation coverage southwest of the city. Damage to city property totaled $5 million while Sheppard AFB had $10 million in damages. A killer tornado, which spread death and destruction through Wilbarger County and the city of Vernon during the mid afternoon on Tuesday, April 10, 1979, is pictured here as it formed near the Five-In-One Community. . The inner hallways would have been the only relatively safe shelter in the building. 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. As the tornado crossed Kemp Boulevard., several commercial businesses, including a restaurant, were destroyed with several additional fatalities. National Weather Service Most of the homes in Faith Village were demolished. StormReady - May 31st, 2010 . Click on the numbers on the map below or on each individual photo to see a larger image of that photo. On Saturday, June 28, 1924, a deadly F4 tornado struck the Lake Erie shoreline communities of Sandusky and Lorain, Ohio. WICHITA FALLS The tenth day of April is a day that will be forever etched in the history of the city of Wichita Falls.42 years ago, on April 10, 1979, a severe weather outbreak in North Texas . Precipitation was to our west through southwest and wrapped around the tornado. Total damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400 million (in 1979 dollars). Surface Maps Assuredly, no two years weatherwise in Texas are even remotely similar, for the community that reeled one year from a capricious dry spell likely is the recipient of plenty of rain in the following year, while a not-too-distant neighboring locale that hurt from a disastrous hailstorm one Spring experiences relative calm during the following year's storm season. These are 40 before/after pairings, as he shot dramatically injured locations . One thousand and sixty-two apartment units and condominiums were demolished and 130 damaged. 5. Thread starter Rob Satkus; Start date Apr 8, 2009; Forums. One more more brief tornadoes occurred within a larger area of straight-line wind damage in Lauderdale County. Northeast of Wichita Falls, the tornado entered Clay County and changed its appearance. All the storms this day exhibited violent cloud motions. Local Climate Data Tornado F-scale ratings prior to 1950, as well as most tornado data are referenced from Significant Tornadoes, 1680-1991 by T. P. Grazulis. The intense damage averaged between one quarter and one half of a mile in width. Averages and Records Forecasters at the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City1 had to decide only how soon tornadoes would develop and how large an area would be threatened. Winter Weather Wayne Collamore, Approaching Harrold, Texas from the southeast on Highway 287 - view is looking west at about 4:05 pm CST. One group of violent thunderstorms roared across the northern Low Rolling Plains late that afternoon and spawned a series of tornadoes that ripped through four Texas communities. In addition to the tornado, severe thunderstorm winds moved through the Wichita Falls area, downing trees, limbs, and power poles. 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. Radar warnings and alerts from the Weather Bureau office were credited with saving many lives. Robert Molet. US Dept of Commerce 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. Damage also occurred to machinery, homes, and outbuildings. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings Huge pieces of debris thrown high in the air were clearly visible from miles away as the storm cut a swath of destruction through the city. No fatalities or injuries occurred. They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. The following images and text copyright Gene Moore unless otherwise indicated. At about the mid-point in the atmosphere (around 500 mb), significant cold air advection occurred, thus exacerbating unsettled conditions, already present (Figure 23). Three people were killed in the restaurant. It began at 4:57 p.m. about a mile-and-a-half south of Clearwater. There was strong upper level dynamics all coming together to produce strong tornado-producing supercells. View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the approaching tornado. February 16, 2023. The tornado was coming down, but getting photography was difficult. Wichita Falls Tornado. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Losses eligible for Federal disaster relief totaled $63 million, but Federal disaster assistance did not cover additional millions in damages. Air Quality The lights of wichita shone bright now. The sun had set, and the moon was now a crescent. 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. Violent weather became more widespread as the afternoon progressed. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. April 26, 1991, saw one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tornadoes in Wichita history. McNiel Junior High, a new concrete/steel-reinforced building was not built well enough to provide safe shelter from the tornado. Why the Red River Valley between Childress and Bowie received the most severe outbreak of thunderstorms is explained by Figures 19-26. At the end of the outbreak, 54 people lost their lives in Texas, three were killed in Oklahoma and one was killed in Indiana. Texas was extremely unstable early in the evening (Figure 25). This tornado was part of a widespread outbreak of tornadoes that occurred in the Great Plains area including the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. As the storm bore down, those who sought the safest refuge in their immediate surroundings generally fared well. The northern supercell, the Vernon-Lawton storm, produced its first tornado at 1505 CST (3:05 PM) south of Crowell, TX. Wichita Falls Buries the First of 44 Tornado Victims, https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/14/archives/wichita-falls-buries-the-first-of-44-tornado-victims.html. All NOAA. The siren system for the city was sounded three times, the last around 5:50 p.m., just as the storm spotters reported the tornado approaching Memorial Stadium in the southwestern suburbs of Wichita Falls. The storm intercept teams noted that the tornado developed from a rotating wall cloud in the Seymour area. 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. (Rated F2 by the NWS. Rain was beginning to rotate totally around the funnel at this time and the tornado was producing an audible roar so loud it was hard to communicate. About 1540 CST (3:40 PM), a tornado devastated the southeastern portion of Vernon, TX (11 fatalities). Six cross-country steel transmission towers were destroyed just east of Farm Road 2650. Following the deadly Red River Valley tornado outbreak, the National Weather Service, in partnership with FEMA and the American Red Cross, produced a documentary called "Terrible Tuesday" that chronicled the events in Wichita Falls on April 10, 1979. ), April 24, 1923 - A tornado blew apart five homes 3 miles south-southwest of Burkburnett and 6 oil derricks where also destroyed. The storm spawned a second tornado that moved through the south and east sides of Wichita Falls at around 6:00 pm. Watch on. The third member of the family formed near Waurika, Oklahoma, at around 8:00p.m. ", "To the people of the Red River Valley in Texas and Oklahoma, nothing about the weather appeared unusual during the early hours of April 10, 1979: it was business as usual. Graphical Forecasts A few hours earlier that day, another tornado tore through Vernon, killing 10 residents and injuring more than 60 others. The mall was on the north side of the tornado path and appeared to escape the most violent winds. 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. As the tornado neared the road it began to shrink in size and slowed a little, aiding our hasty retreat. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings The tornado moved northeastward as was described as a "dirty green funnel." The third supercell was the one that formed the Seymour and Wichita Falls tornadoes as part of a three-member tornado family. 15:55 F2. Sep 18, 2004. Would we have seen the tornado and diverted? Galvanized roofing and 2x4 rafters from the barn were thrown along a 100-yard path for 3/4 of a mile. By afternoon, the warm front had lifted to the vicinity of the Red River, and a new low pressure area had formed near Childress. ), August 11, 1953 - This summertime tornado touched down at 7:00 pm CST in Wichita Falls and moved northeastward through the suburbs of the city. 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. It is interesting to note that the Seymour and Wichita Falls tornadoes both formed during periods of relative decline in storm-top height and reflectivity values, a characteristic that has been noted for a number of supercell storms that have produced several cycles of tornadoes. That supercell was in progress just to our northeast, although there was no direct route to catch the fast moving storm. Weather Radio, About Us (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. 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. The tornado was photographed from the south during this period by Pat Blacklock location #5). Wayne Collamore, View looking west about 3-4 miles east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:15 pm CST. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. The southern supercell, the Wichita Falls storm, produced its first tornado at 1653 CST (4:53 PM) near Seymour, TX. The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of 10 April 1979 Location Help Wintry and Cold Conditions Continue Across Much of the U.S. Severe Weather Safety . Past Weather Events (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. -11 Wilbarger County, TX. In addition, approximately 140 mobile homes were destroyed, two schools were demolished and 11 others sustained serious damage. 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