A few hours earlier that day, another tornado tore through Vernon, killing 10 residents and injuring more than 60 others. ), 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. 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. They survived! The trees on the southwest edge of the city were denuded of limbs and bark. FAQ The electrical power to local stations was down from the storm which prevented the gas pumps from operating and us from getting more gas. CoCoRaHS Several got extra protection by covering themselves with mattresses and pillows. The tornado has widened and intensified at this stage. About the Artist: Frank Gohlke is a leading figure in American landscape photography. April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado in Texas' history hit Wichita Falls. We continued to drive east on a dirt road from Mabelle, Texas which is basically an intersection with a couple of old buildings. Fortunately, on April 10, 1979, McNiel Junior High was almost totally unoccupied when the tornado struck and a worse catastrophe was avoided. Hazardous Weather Outlook By the way, here's a USA Today article about the 1979 tornado with a photo of that monster. ), June 6, 1936 - A tornado touched down at 5:20 pm CST and moved southeastward over a path of 440 yards wide by four miles long caused damage of $50,000 in Wichita Falls and injured two people, although one person may have been hurt due to a lightning strike. Severe Weather Safety It damaged several homes and businesses before going into Wichita Falls where it . The wide swath of damage can also be seen by viewing the NASA aerial photographs (aerial photos 1-10 on the damage photo tab) and the other aerial photographs (photos 7 & 8 on the damage photo tab). The tornado leveled a mobile home park on the north side of U.S. Highway 287, but residents had evacuated that area and no fatalities occurred in the park. Minor wind damage and hail to 2 inches in diameter occurred north of the tornado track in Wichita Falls, in conjunction with its parent supercell. Non Precipitation Warnings The event would put Wichita Falls in the national news and history books, while almost taking it off of the map. 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. Air Quality Three people were injured in a mobile home near the beginning of the path. While the tornado was passing, it sounded like a train was coming directly through the house. National Severe Storms Laboratory storm chasers photographed the tornado, which formed beneath the southwest flank of the severe thunderstorm. This line raced northeastward, spilling heavy rains, hail and high winds on numerous communities. Texas was extremely unstable early in the evening (Figure 25). 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. Several deaths in the Vernon tornado occurred because persons were caucht in autcmobiles that were tossed 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). Amateur radio storm spotters turned in the first report of the storm, which allowed 5 to 10 minutes of valuable warning time. Wichita Falls plagued by tornadoes on April 10, 1979 A tornado set down at 5:50 p.m. about three miles east-northeast of Holliday. Aug 23, 2005 163 3 0 58 Norman Ok www.chasestories.com. A destructive and deadly tornado outbreak impacted the Red River Valley on April 10, 1979. 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 . Property damages to both civilian properties and Sheppard were set at over $15 million. Also, the second story of the press box at the high school football stadium was blown off and scattered across the playing field. 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. Fifty mph sustained inflow winds were occurring at this time. There were a total 42 tornado fatalities in Wichita Falls, of which 25 were vehicle related. ), April 24, 1923 - A tornado blew apart five homes 3 miles south-southwest of Burkburnett and 6 oil derricks where also destroyed. 1. Storm Data, Weather Safety Two trailers were destroyed, and three homes were damaged. The tornado was also captured on film by Troy Glover from the roof of the Bethania hospital (location #8). The sun had set, and the moon was now a crescent. Rivers and Lakes Tornado was well documented on film and by NSSL storm researchers. He later moved to Oklahoma City where he worked in TV weather before working for the federal government. This followed an earlier warning at 5:08 pm, due to the Rocky Point tornado. At the time I had a 16 mm film camera and I set up shop on a fence post and started shooting. A woman was injured when her truck rolled into the ditch in which she was taking cover. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Further eastward, most houses in the Faith Village Addition were destroyed, and Ben Milam Elementary School was severely damaged (location #6). The other times were outbreaks on June 8, 1974 and May 3, 1999. Satellite Imagery, Forecasts The late afternoon lighting was much different on this storm giving a yellowish cast as we looked southwest. At the end of the outbreak, 54 people lost their lives in Texas, three were killed in Oklahoma and one was killed in Indiana. February 21, 1994 - Thunderstorms developed in the western part of north Texas during the afternoon hours of February 21st and produced a small weak tornado, hail up to nickel size and damaging winds. A storm appeared on the horizon that had developed far to our south near Abilene. While only on the ground for 35 minutes, the 800-foot-wide twister killed seven people, injured 111, and destroyed 225 homes. 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. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (location #3). (Rated F3 by the NWS. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. The heaviest damage in the apartments occurred in the second story of two-story buildings. ", "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. The tornado moved to the north-northwest during its life before lifting 2 miles from Burkburnett. During this period, large hail was occurring in the central and northern portions of Wichita Falls as the tornado devastated the southern portion of the city. Overall, the outbreak produced nearly 30 tornadoes and a large number of damaging wind and severe hail reports. Well-built modern houses, in general, offer fairly good protection from tornadoes. 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). February 18, 2023 (64 years old) View obituary. 2. Flood/Flash Flood Safety Past Weather Events Maximum path length was about 3/4 mile and the width was 50 to 60 yards. 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. The Wichita Falls tornado, with how black . Final totals across three states were 181 killed and 970 injured. Does Wichita Texas get tornadoes? 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. (This tornado was documented and rated F2 by Tom Grazulis in his book, Significant Tornadoes. 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. We continued south passing a damage path across the highway from the Harrold tornado. 128 followers. Toggle navigation. The injury count for this tornado was 1,740, the most injuries ever recorded for an F4/EF4 tornado. More Observations One F4 tornado impacted Vernon, Texas. Major damage in the. Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. Six cross-country steel transmission towers were destroyed just east of Farm Road 2650. Non Precipitation Warnings Please try another search. About $15 million of damage occurred as the tornado destroyed homes immediately south of TX State Highway 79, from Wichita Falls into the Dean and Petrolia areas. Three thousand and ninety-five homes were destroyed and 600 were damaged. About the time the tornado entered town, it changed appearance, becoming one large black cloud of condensation and debris. The first tornado formed near Seymour at around 4:53 pm. 25 of those deaths were vehicle related. All the storms this day exhibited violent cloud motions. Flood/Flash Flood Safety 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. apartments in dallas that allow airbnb Uncovering hot babes since 1919. Damage as severe as F4 was found along most of the track across the city. Wichita Falls, Texas, on April 10, 1979. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. That supercell was in progress just to our northeast, although there was no direct route to catch the fast moving storm. 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. Overall, the outbreak killed 58 people and injured 1,927 others. Elizabeth was born on January. 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. All NOAA. FAQ To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. At the Iowa Park Fairgrounds, wind damage covered a 4-block area. ", "Storm spotter networks were alerted. The North Texas town of Wichita Falls has seen three major tornadoesin 1958, 1964, and another in 1979. The tornado finally ended near Waurika, OK after traveling 47 miles. Local Storm Pictures. Precipitation was to our west through southwest and wrapped around the tornado. One mobile home was completely destroyed on Bobby Point Road, prompting an F1 rating. Tornado tore a large section of roof from an elementary school near. Tornado Understand a Tornado: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground. The tornadoes caused 32 injuries, 29 deaths, and an estimated $20 million in personal and commercial insured losses. Home; Exhibits and Displays The destructive and deadly tornado outbreak impacted the Red River Valley on April 10, 1979. Per the SPC Database, 25 tornadoes occurred mainly in TX and OK with one lone tornado in KS. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. Then the supercell spawned one that killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. On that day, at least 13 separate tornadoes touched down in the Texas/Oklahoma area, striking Wichita Falls, Vernon, Seymour, and a number of other towns. Wolfgang Lange. Ingredients for a devastating severe weather event were beginning to come together on the morning of April 10. Twenty-five of the deaths were. 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. The tornado exited Texas about 4 miles east of Byers, uprooting over 200 trees along the Red River. ", "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. Wildfire Safety 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. The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. (Rated F2 by the NWS. More Observations The damage was quite hit and miss. have just been raked by debris from rear flank downdraft surge wrapping around the tornado - tornado now in a sunlit position relative to us - getting really spectacular! (Rated F1 by the NWS. Wayne Collamore, View looking northwest east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:20 pm CST. The publication was written and prepared by George W. Bomar of Weather Modification & Technology Section of the Texas Department of Water Resources. At about the time the tornado was developing at Harrold, 1.5 to 3 inch diameter hailstones were reported 7 miles west of Harrold. 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