Photographs indicated that it was a large, cylindrical tornado with a well organized debris cloud. Wayne Collamore, Approaching Harrold, Texas from the southeast on Highway 287 - view is looking west at about 4:05 pm CST. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the approaching tornado. A Doppler radar view of the three supercells is available. 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). In 1978 Wichita Falls was the host of the first NCAA Division I-AA championship game. Then the supercell spawned one that killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. Thread starter Rob Satkus; Start date Apr 8, 2009; Forums. February 16, 2023. A short time later, the same tornado invaded Vernon, taking the lives of 10 inhabitants and injuring 67 others. 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. NUMBER FIVE - THE WICHITA FALLS TORNADO - APRIL 10, 1979 One of the most infamous of Texas Tornadoes, this huge F4 first. Some or all of the walls remained for well-built homes (photos 4-6 on the damage photo tab) and bathrooms in particular provided good protection. Multiple locations were found. On April 10, 1979, a devastating tornado struck Wichita Falls in North Texas. Satellite Imagery, Forecasts This line raced northeastward, spilling heavy rains, hail and high winds on numerous communities. Pat Blacklock, View looking northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. Graphical Forecasts Three homes were destroyed and others were damaged. We were rushed to get into position. US Dept of Commerce The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. However, widespread high winds from the parent supercell thunderstorm also produced extensive damage in the Wichita Falls, Iowa Park and Burkburnett areas. Continuing at F4 intensity, the now massive wedge tornado, which was at its maximum 1.5 miles (2.4km) wide, cut a 2.5-mile (4.0km) swath of destruction through the south side of town. The F5 storm tore through Wichita and Andover, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. 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. The Wichita Falls storm produced a third and final tornado about 2000 CST (8:00 PM) near Pruitt, OK. 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. Sixteen of these 25 were people who entered their cars trying to evade the tornado. The Ohio National Guard was dispatched to the scene within nine hours to help with rescue work, caring for . (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. Summer Weather Safety 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. Ashley found that 69.2% of all tornado fatalities from 1985 to 2005 occurred in either mobile or permanent homes, illustrating the enhanced vulnerability of these particular housing structures. Wrecked cars were smashed against bridge abutments, a power plant was knocked out, and part of a high school was destroyed. Weather Bureau records. 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. 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. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration No fatalities or injuries occurred. Mr. Molet continued to take photographs until the wind blew him into his garage. The Southwest National Bank Building was totally destroyed except for its concrete vault, a proxy for an above-ground shelter. Also, tornado survivors said that some golf ball size hail fell prior to and immediately after the tornado. Tornado Warnings, Climate and Past Weather All NOAA. Casualty data were supplied by the Texas and Oklahoma NWS offices. Averages and Records The atmosphere in the Low Rolling Plains was highly unstable (with a Totals Index above 50 and a strong positive K Index extending southward out of western Oklahoma); very vigorous lifting of such unsettled air by the advancing dry line seemed sure to trigger violence (Figure 14). In addition, the damage paths of all three were wider than normal. When was the last time there was a tornado in Wichita? Three thousand and ninety-five homes were destroyed and 600 were damaged. As we drove south on the H.E. On September 25th, 2000, 11 year old Christopher Morris was found in the dishwasher of his family home which was in Sheppard Air Force Base base housing. Today. The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. Living in Tornado Alley, I'm most familiar with tornados. 25 of those deaths were vehicle related. 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. Our path across the Red River was always through Lawton; then we usually took a short cut on OK 36 and OK 5 through open wheat country to Fredrick and Vernon. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. To the north of Southwest Parkway, the tornado destroyed many houses in the Western Hills Addition. Burgess, D. W., 1982. Wichita Falls has had three major tornado strikes in its history. A total of 10 people received injuries due to the high winds. More widespread home destruction occurred in Colonial Park and several more apartment complexes were demolished. For example, the police chief called the city manager out of a meeting with county commissioners. Meanwhile, strong gusty winds associated with the eastward progression of an intensifying upper atmospheric storm out of New Mexico made travel hazardous in. Hail ranged in sizes "from mothballs to pineapples." They were flying by faster than I thought any bird could go; I wonder what they thought After this scene the tornado became wrapped in the rain and difficult to photograph. Tornado Watch #67 was issued at 1:55 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST)2 calling for tornadoes, large hail, and damaging thunderstorm winds in portions of a 30,000-square-mile area in north central Texas and southwest Oklahoma. After dark, another jet stream wind maximum moved northeastward into west central and northern Texas, sparking a second round of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Tornadoes are capable of completely destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees, and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles. Deaths An Estimated 42 people died It was a large, but distant funnel that may have been the beginning of the horrific tornado that moved through that city. Twenty-five of the deaths were. View looking west-northwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at wall cloud on the southwestern edge of the thunderstorm. Caused over $300,000 in damage to homes, barns, and a rock crushing plant. 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. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Dr. Ted Fujita of the University of Chicago used these surveys to estimate the F-scale and probable wind speeds associated with the tornado. Non Precipitation Warnings 45 people died in the Wichita Falls tornado. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. Well-built modern houses, in general, offer fairly good protection from tornadoes. 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. . Radar warnings and alerts from the Weather Bureau office were credited with saving many lives. Note that the 50 dBZ core was no longer evident. However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. The Wichita Falls area has been visited by tornadoes many times over the course of its history. Bulletin American Meteorological Society, 61, 1033-34. 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). A mobile home was destroyed near Faxson, resulting in two serious injuries. 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). Several other mobile homes in the area sustained minor damage, and homes to the east on Carriage Lane also received minor damage. One F4 tornado impacted Vernon, Texas. Apr 20, 2012 - The April 10, 1979 tornado in Wichita Falls. NWS The injury count for this tornado was 1,740, the most injuries ever recorded for an F4/EF4 tornado. 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. We examined the circumstances of death and injury among victims of the tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, on 10 April 1979. Only 5 of the homes that were left actually incurred damage. I didn't want to move. Storm Data, Weather Safety 4. If McNiel Junior High had been fully occupied by students and teachers at the time of the tornado, there would have been hundreds of additional casualties and many more deaths. The Wichita Falls tornado cut a wide swath of dam. 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. About 65 people attended the funeral. 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. Lawton had been alerted by Tornado Watch #67 and had received a tornado warning issued by WSFO Oklahoma City. Museum of the Kansas National Guard . 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. A total of 2 people were seriously injured along the tornado's path, but most of injuries people received were minor. 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." 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. Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Waco, and of course Fort Worth come to mind, even Austin had one dancing around over the Capitol dome in 1922. 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. Tornado Database Rivers and Lakes This means that those people who moved to the center part of their houses, got down low, and covered themselves, by-in-large escaped with their lives, sustaining injuries instead of death. Damage to city property totaled $5 million while Sheppard AFB had $10 million in damages. Robert Molet. 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. The school building was totally destroyed by the tornado. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. Simon Cornelis Maria Vermeij was born on March 26, 1959 in Amsterdam, son of Hendrikus Gerardus Vermeij and Henritte Christina Maria Steur. 5) The Wichita Falls Tornado - April 10, 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. 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 following text comes from Chapter I of the NOAA Natural Disaster Report 80-1, "The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. Wichita Falls Tornado 1979. Storm Data, Weather Safety April 17, 1977 - A "freak tornado" moved from east to west across a 2-mile path in the western sections of Wichita Falls. among them is this still life with tornado that can be your partner. ", "The three main storms in the Red River Valley outbreak were giant tornadoes. Nationwide, Current Conditions 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. It looked killer from the beginning. 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. Deaths were near normal . Local Storm Reports Losses eligible for Federal disaster relief totaled $63 million, but Federal disaster assistance did not cover additional millions in damages. As the storm bore down, those who sought the safest refuge in their immediate surroundings generally fared well. The tornado dissipatedtwo minutes later and caused no damage. Nationwide, Current Conditions By 1800 CST (6:00 PM), the storm had taken on a very classic supercell look with the tornado-associated mesocyclone and hook echo in the right rear portion of the echo. April 26, 1991. 10. View looking west-southwest at the approaching tornado from Ligon Coliseum at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. Elizabeth Burk Newton. All Nature. Soon thereafter tornadoes were spotted near Crosby ton and Plainview and golfball size hail fell near Tulia, Afton, and Washburn (High Plains). About the time the tornado entered town, it changed appearance, becoming one large black cloud of condensation and debris. (For instance, this was in a 1964 edition of The Guinness Book of Records .) 1979 tornado outbreak leaves massive damage and 57 dead in Texoma. Aviation Weather 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. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Wolfgang Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (Tornado Track Figure; Location #3). 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 destruction in Wichita Falls resulted in 42 dead, 1,740 injured, over 3,000 homes destroyed and damage of approximately $400 million. Skywarn Storm Spotters Other homes in the area were damaged. The large Wichita Falls F4 tornado moving through town. ), March 27, 1939 - This tornado touched down north-northwest of Wichita Falls and moved northeastward into Clay County. (This tornado was documented and rated F2 by Tom Grazulis in his book, Significant Tornadoes. It was roaring down the hill fairly fast and my chase partner was concerned that we couldn't get out of the path. 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. Thus, he stood in his backyard driveway and photographed the destruction of the apartment complex and the beginning of destruction in his neighborhood. The North Texas town of Wichita Falls has seen three major tornadoesin 1958, 1964, and another in 1979. An estimated 20,000 persons were left homeless by this storm. 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. Lighter damage occurred outside of the AFB and no hail was observed. So they adopt the religion of Christianity. July 21, 1961 - A small, weak tornado touched down briefly in the eastern part of Wichita Falls, about 3 miles from the airport. Wayne Collamore, View looking northwest east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:20 pm CST. ), April 24, 1923 - A tornado blew apart five homes 3 miles south-southwest of Burkburnett and 6 oil derricks where also destroyed. By RAEGAN SCHARFETTER, ANNIE GIMBEL. Multiple locations were found. Data modified as described in NOAA Tech Memo NWS SR-209 (Speheger, D., 2001: "Corrections to the Historic Tornado Database"). Rivers and Lakes A furniture warehouse was also destroyed when severe winds tore the back wall and roof off of the building. Tours. 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