The tornado was also captured on film by Troy Glover from the roof of the Bethania hospital (location #8). To avoid getting trapped, it's been my policy to avoid blasted cities when ever possible. 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. The Wichita Falls tornado cut a wide swath of dam. Most of the destroyed homes had some of these interior walls still standing after the tornado. Then the supercell spawned one that killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. Still other tornadoes struck the communities of Lockett and Seymour a short time later, killing one inhabitant in Lockett. 16 of those 25 vehicle related deaths were from people leaving their homes to escape the. I didn't want to move. Continuing east-northeastward, the violent tornado destroyed a large portion of a residential neighborhood before heavily damaging a commercial building along Southwest Parkway. A detailed mapping of each house and public/commercial building in the city led to the construction of an F-scale map. Even though lesson #3 (above) is true in a violent tornado, the only complete guarantee of safety comes from an underground shelter, an above-ground shelter, or an extremely strongly-built building. Fifty mph sustained inflow winds were occurring at this time. Cool Pictures. About the time the tornado entered town, it changed appearance, becoming one large black cloud of condensation and debris. The tornado dissipatedtwo minutes later and caused no damage. About the Artist: Frank Gohlke is a leading figure in American landscape photography. Frost Tornado. Sep 18, 2004. CoCoRaHS Winston Wells, Current Hazards Graphical Forecasts This route took us in front of the advancing vortex and provided a pretty exciting ride. Sixteen of these 25 were people who entered their cars trying to evade the tornado. Tornado data and F-scale ratings for tornadoes from 1950 to the present are referenced from NWS records. We sat up to photograph to the east of the tornado and shot back west and north as it passed. Tornado Understand a Tornado: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground. Jeanine V. Wolff. Using spotter and radar reports, Lawton officials sounded the siren system to warn the people of the approaching storm. Over 100 commercial businesses, some of them large manufacturing concerns, were destroyed. 2. Severe Weather Safety The North Texas town of Wichita Falls has seen three major tornadoesin 1958, 1964, and another in 1979. March 3, 1973 - The Wichita Falls police department reported a small tornado touching down briefly in the vicinity of Midwestern University. ), 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. But before the day's end, three very large, devastating tornadoes swept across the area leaving scores dead and hundreds injured. Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs The tornado was eventually rated F5 and was the first violent tornado on record to strike the Wichita Falls area. The event would put Wichita Falls in the national news and history books, while almost taking it off of the map. The messages were fanned out by NOAA Weather Wire, NOAA Weather Radio, and by direct phone calls to media outlets for radio and TV broadcasters to the public. The Wichita Falls tornado alone killed 42 people and caused $400 million in damage ($1.93billion in today's dollars). The tornado then swept through the Southmoor area, destroying homes and a shopping center. The maximum F-scale rating was F1, however most damage was rated F0. Along the 5.6-mile-long tornado path, the area of total destruction was 100 to 200 yards wide with lesser damage occurring up to 500 yards in width. In New York, Ernest W. Brinkman, vice president of the Underwriters Adjusting Company, said that most of the families affected by the tornadoes were getting substantial advance payments from insurance companies for emergency shelter and repairs. We To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. Local The two worst damage points appeared to be McNiel Junior High (location #1 on the damage path diagram; photos 9-15 on the damage photo tab) and the Southwest National Bank (location #4; no close-up photographs available). Thus, the tornado damage/intensity was officially rated as a strong F4 tornado. 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 tornado was preceded by strong winds, and then followed at once by heavy rain and hail, which covered a 200-square mile area. 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. They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. ", "At Vernon, reports of earlier damage to the southwest of the city had alerted spotters and city officials. The brick building at the water works plant was heavily damaged, and a woman suffered a broken back when her home was destroyed 3 miles south of Burkburnett. We were under an extensive rain free updraft area on the southeast side of the storm. those all. Local Storm Reports Prior to its touchdown, a funnel was first observed about 10 miles to the west-southwest. "The common notion, born in the aftermath of the 1979 Wichita Falls tornado, that being in a vehicle during a tornado warning is synonymous with injury and death can no longer be assumed or promoted. Tornado Database Major damage in the. Tornado Pictures. The storm intercept teams noted that the tornado developed from a rotating wall cloud in the Seymour area. A short time later, the same tornado invaded Vernon, taking the lives of 10 inhabitants and injuring 67 others. Witnesses saw several small twisters during the formation. (Rated F5 by the NWS.). It was the remains of her home. No injuries or deaths occurred during this tornado. WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - April 10th, 1979, a day forever ingrained in the minds of those who lived through it. 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). Only 5 of the homes that were left actually incurred damage. Although high numbers of deaths have occurred in vehicles during tornadoes, the occurrences are rare. Winter Weather Warnings 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 tornado damaged outbuildings, chicken coops, and did minor damage to roofs of houses. NWS 4. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. We were rushed to get into position. A number of people were also killed or injured in the parking lot of Sikes Senter (sic) Mall, also on Kemp Boulevard. These are 40 before/after pairings, as he shot dramatically injured locations . Several got extra protection by covering themselves with mattresses and pillows. One F4 tornado impacted Vernon, Texas. High winds in Burkburnett toppled several large trees and damaged limbs, signs, and fences throughout town. Eddie was trying to tell me something; finally with some tugging, he got my attention. Large tornado destroyed several barns and scattered debris over a large area. . US Dept of Commerce 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). Barely one week later, phenomenally great amounts of rainfall poured on the southeastern sector of the State, taking 4 lives and inundating parts of numerous communities. For the most part, however, rainfall amounts were modest, with only a few points collecting more than 1 inch (Figure 27). FAQ Tornado Warnings, Climate and Past Weather 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). |. Lighter damage occurred outside of the AFB and no hail was observed. View obituary. The second supercell spawned one that moved 74 miles (119km). ", 1 The Storm Prediction Center is now located in Norman, Oklahoma The width of the F4 damage in the Wichita Falls tornado approached 0.5 miles in the area of Faith Village and Ben Milam Elementary School (location #6). Very often, those features of Texas weather having the most import-such as the continuation or cessation of damaging drought, occurrences of flash-flooding rains, sharp changes in temperature, and incidences of tornadoes and hurricanes, cannot be discerned from the volumes of meteorological data that are published periodically. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. The tornado was about a half-mile wide when it struck Memorial Stadium, snapping light standards and causing heavy damage to the field house. February 20, 2023 (92 years old) View obituary. Select western north Texas tornado statistics by decade, county or city from the menus or maps below. The Wichita Falls tornado formed in Archer County and moved northeast and damaged a few rural homes and high voltage towers at F1-F2 intensity. Beyond the shopping mall, the tornado crossed a greenbelt area, skirted Midwestern State University on its south side, and severely damaged several more housing additions (Colonial Park, Hursh, Southmoor, Southwinds, and Southern Hills). Maximum path length was about 3/4 mile and the width was 50 to 60 yards. Winter Weather He died on July 16, 1979 in El Arenal, Spanje (Palma de Mallorca). (For instance, this was in a 1964 edition of The Guinness Book of Records .) 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. The tornado moved to the north-northwest during its life before lifting 2 miles from Burkburnett. Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma University who photographed storms when he lived in Norman, Oklahoma during the 1970s. Total damage in the city was estimated at $400 million; five thousand families (or about 20,000 people) were left homeless. Tornado warning and preparedness systems are worth the time and effort it takes to maintain them. Soon thereafter tornadoes were spotted near Crosby ton and Plainview and golfball size hail fell near Tulia, Afton, and Washburn (High Plains). April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado in Texas' history hit Wichita Falls. After moving northeast of Seymour, the tornado intensified. 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). #1. This image was taken as the tornado widened and approached our position. 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). Tours. This was the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed to date. Satellite Imagery, Forecasts They survived! The sun had set, and the moon was now a crescent. A few intense thunderstorms erupted at about the same time in the northwestern portion of North Central Texas; small hail and high winds raked Gainesville and Decatur during the noon hour. Additional tornadoes were reported across the Southern Plains as well as in the Mississippi River Valley on April 1112. As the tornado crossed Kemp Boulevard in Wichita Falls, several commercial businesses, including a restaurant, were destroyed with several additional fatalities. ), March 31, 1892 - A tornado hit parts of Iowa Park where a house was moved 30 feet and destroyed, injuring 3 occupants. Meteorologists still refer to that day as Terrible Tuesday because of the immense devastation and the sheer numbers. The storm spawned a second tornado that moved through the south and east sides of Wichita Falls at around 6:00 pm. Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Waco, and of course Fort Worth come to mind, even Austin had one dancing around over the Capitol dome in 1922. It was the costliest tornado in history until the F5 Moore-Oklahoma City tornado struck in 1999. . We knew the storms were coming, but didn't want to meet fast moving cells head-on in the low visibilities north of the warm front. The injury count for this tornado was 1,740, the most injuries ever recorded for an F4/EF4 tornado. That supercell was in progress just to our northeast, although there was no direct route to catch the fast moving storm. Meanwhile, strong gusty winds associated with the eastward progression of an intensifying upper atmospheric storm out of New Mexico made travel hazardous in. The tornado cut through a field and went into a housing addition on the southwest edge of Sheppard AFB. Is it curse or coincidence? The late afternoon lighting was much different on this storm giving a yellowish cast as we looked southwest. The third member of the family formed near Waurika, Oklahoma, at around 8:00p.m. The night time tornadoes, although strong, were not as devastating as the ones that occurred in the Red River Valley during the afternoon. David Ehrenfeld read the 23d Psalm over the pearl white coffin. Aug 23, 2005 163 3 0 58 Norman Ok www.chasestories.com. After the tornado left Wichita Falls and travelled northeast, it entered Clay County and changed its appearance. 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. In the upper atmosphere, the nose of an extremely strong jet stream wind maximum was moving eastward through northern Mexico, preparing to turn northeastward and take aim on Texas and Oklahoma. We received the following letter from Joel Manes, who was living in Wichita Falls, Texas on April 10, 1979. For the first time in years we altered that route. 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. 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 . Three thousand and 95 homes were destroyed while roofs of many other buildings were sheared away. Forty-two peoples were killed and over 1700 injured. 44 homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. Amateur radio storm spotters turned in the first report of the storm, which allowed 5 to 10 minutes of valuable warning time. These figures include 12 counties. More than 40 died, and about 1,700 were injured. The twister, which had a wide funnel, shrouded the community in darkness as it swept eastward south of Vernon and along the east side of the city, resulting in millions of dollars in damage and 11 directly killed by the tornado (10 in Vernon and 1 in Lockett, TX). Daily Weather History The Wichita Falls tornado formed several miles southwest of the city in Archer County, and traveled over mostly open terrain. Weather Radio, About Us The path length was 9 miles in Texas and 55 miles in Oklahoma. 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. This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1979, primarily in the United States. Weather he died on July 16, 1979 well as in the Mississippi River Valley on April 10,:., at around 6:00 pm we were under an extensive rain free updraft area on the edge! 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