Over 100 commercial businesses, some of them large manufacturing concerns, were destroyed. On April 10, 1979, a devastating tornado struck Wichita Falls in North Texas. 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. After moving out of Faith Village, the tornado flattened several businesses, including a restaurant, on Kemp Boulevard. However, widespread high winds from the parent supercell thunderstorm also produced extensive damage in the Wichita Falls, Iowa Park and Burkburnett areas. Non Precipitation Warnings Three people were injured in a mobile home near the beginning of the path. 3 Comanche County, OK. 17:05 F3. FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 0 10 19 . 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 Wichita Falls storm produced a third and final tornado about 2000 CST (8:00 PM) near Pruitt, OK. A strong tornado damaged roofs, telephone poles, trees, uprooted shrubs and overturned a truck, but remained over open country while at peak intensity. Skywarn Storm Spotters Hazardous Weather Outlook 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). 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). 1979-04-10 Wichita Falls. Below are some quick facts about the event from the NWS Norman: This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Submit a Spot Forecast 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. 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 . While photographing this shot I began to feel vibration in the camera. April 26, 1991. A deepening low pressure system formed in Colorado as a warm front lifted north pulling warm, moist, unstable air. Thanks to Bob Davies-Jones from NSSL we saw another tornado as the storm moved into Wichita Falls. among them is this still life with tornado that can be your partner. Other homes, barns, and outbuildings were damaged. Total damage in the city was estimated at $400 million; five thousand families (or about 20,000 people) were left homeless. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Two reports can be found on this web site. Ben Faltinowski. Graphical Forecasts The following text comes from Chapter I of the NOAA Natural Disaster Report 80-1, "The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. One somewhat unique characteristic of the damage was the wide swath F4 damage; many violent tornadoes produce only a narrow swath of their most intense damage. 44 homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. 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. Total damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400 million (in 1979 dollars). Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. For example, the police chief called the city manager out of a meeting with county commissioners. After the tornado left Wichita Falls and travelled northeast, it entered Clay County and changed its appearance. "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. No fatalities or injuries occurred. Interview She and her family couldn't find their dog. 1964, and another in 1979. Averages and Records 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). Pat Blacklock, View looking northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. More Observations The intense damage averaged between one quarter and one half of a mile in width. Heavy lake effect snow, strong winds, and reduced visibilities continue downwind of the Great Lakes. US Dept of Commerce There was much scientific discussion and debate concerning the possibility that the some of the damage was severe enough, and wind speeds high enough, for the tornado to be rated F5. (Rated F2 by the NWS. Fortunately, its long path on the ground was mostly over open farmland so that it caused relatively few casualties and small total property damage. About Our Office Overall, the outbreak produced nearly 30 tornadoes and a large number of damaging wind and severe hail reports. Then the supercell spawned one that killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. 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. 45 people died in the Wichita Falls tornado. 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. Historic tornado in Wichita KS McConnell AFB 1991. They survived! By the way, here's a USA Today article about the 1979 tornado with a photo of that monster. He later moved to Oklahoma City where he worked in TV weather before working for the federal government. The following images and text copyright Gene Moore unless otherwise indicated. This followed an earlier warning at 5:08 pm, due to the Rocky Point tornado. While the leading edge of the moist, tropical air had already surged northward across the Red River, giving Wichita Falls a vigorous southeasterly wind and a climbing dew point (Figure 16), the advancing edge of much drier, continental air swept eastward out of the High Plains and undercut the less dense and more moist tropical air. The most recent exceptionally destructive storm to hit the Wichita Falls area occurred on April 3, 1964, when a tornado killed 7 people, injured 111, and caused $15 million in damages, including 225 homes that were completely destroyed. One F4 tornado impacted Vernon, Texas. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. This was especially true of the Wichita Falls tornado, whose more than 1-mile-wide path of damage is one of the biggest on record. The formation of the tornado and its movement toward the Memorial Stadium and McNiel Junior High School were captured by Wolfgang Lange from the front of his apartment complex which was across the street from school building (Tornado Track Figure; Location #2). Flood/Flash Flood Safety 2 All times in Central Standard Time. 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). 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. Damage as severe as F4 was found along most of the track across the city. Driving north on Texas 267 we witnessed the Thalia tornado. 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. 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. April 3, 1964 - A violent tornado struck the northwest section of Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base, killing 7 persons and injuring 111 other people. Winston Wells, Current Hazards In addition, the damage paths of all three were wider than normal. We were rushed to get into position. I had a good full frame shot of the suction spots rotating about the base of the funnel. He was great at identifying cloud structures. - May 31st, 2010 . Wildfire Safety At about the time the tornado was developing at Harrold, 1.5 to 3 inch diameter hailstones were reported 7 miles west of Harrold. Sirens blew as the tornado bore down on Vernon. The tornado was about a half-mile wide when it struck Memorial Stadium, snapping light standards and causing heavy damage to the field house. Small buildings were damaged or destroyed, and roofs, signs, oil field derricks and tanks were damaged. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. There were scattered remains of destroyed structures on either side of the road. Final totals across three states were 181 killed and 970 injured. At Sheppard Air Force Base, winds up to 70 mph tore countless limbs from trees and knocked out windows on some base housing units. All the storms this day exhibited violent cloud motions. ", "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 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. I often read in more general reference books as well as a handful of weather books that a tornado at Wichita Falls, TX, on April 2, 1958 had a wind gust recorded at 280 mph. 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. The strongest wind measurement logged on the USWB equipment located 1 mile south of the air base was a 55-knot peak gust. View looking west-southwest at the approaching tornado from Ligon Coliseum at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. Fire Weather 1979 tornado outbreak leaves massive damage and 57 dead in Texoma. Perennially the State perseveres through frequent bombardments of hail, high winds, and flash floods, often with the accompaniment of tornadoes-as well as the threat of being struck on its coastal flank by a hurricane or intense tropical cyclone. Suite 2400Norman, OK 73072(405) 325-3816Comments? The President decided last night to send Mr. Watson to express his personal concern about the disaster, in which at least 58 persons were killed in four communities along the TexasOklahoma border 44 in Wichita Falls, 11 in nearby Vernon and Harrold, Tex., and three others in Lawton, Okla., 60 miles north of here. 38 On April 10, 1979, a series of deadly tornadoes broke out near the Texas-Oklahoma border. Property damages to both civilian properties and Sheppard were set at over $15 million. '", "When the day had ended, the tornadoes had left in their wake a tragically high toll -- 56 dead and 1916 injured. 10. Wayne Collamore, View looking west just east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:15 pm CST. Three people were killed in the restaurant. February 20, 2023 (92 years old) View obituary. Apr 8, 2009 #1 NWS OUN has put up a nice page for the 30th anniversary of this monster: . Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma University who photographed storms when he lived in Norman, Oklahoma during the 1970s. The event would put Wichita Falls in the national news and history books, while almost taking it off of the map. Satellite Imagery, Forecasts That supercell was in progress just to our northeast, although there was no direct route to catch the fast moving storm. 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. 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. After taking his last picture of the approaching tornado, Mr. Lange retreated to the apartment complex laundry room and hid between heavy commercial washers and dryers, escaping with only minor injuries. 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. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. With surface pressures in the southern High Plains plunging rapidly, a low pressure center formed in the vicinity of Lubbock around noon (Figure 15). Two barns were also destroyed and scattered across a field. 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. View looking southwest at the approaching tornado northeast of Wichita Falls, Texas. This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1979, primarily in the United States. Severe damage in the Pruitt City area. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. More than 1700 injuries occurred within Wichita Falls. A small home was swept away in the affected area, and factories and warehouses were unroofed. Current Hazards Special Weather Statements Six barns and two homes were destroyed. The Wichita Falls tornado formed several miles southwest of the city in Archer County, and traveled over mostly open terrain. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. Weather Radio, About Us A mattress fell beside the vehicle and I looked out to see a woman standing in what appeared to be a junk yard. 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. Mr. Molet continued to take photographs until the wind blew him into his garage. Three thousand and ninety-five homes were destroyed and 600 were damaged. The tornado then crossed a short span of open fields before moving into the Colonial Park area. There were 59 reported tornados on the ground in the . During this time I was trying to shoot pictures through the window. FAQ 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). All NOAA. Local Storm Reports Surprisingly, very few fatalities occurred in Faith Village. When it was all over, an 8 mile swath of the city over a mile wide was . To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. Ingredients for a devastating severe weather event were beginning to come together on the morning of April 10. A 368-foot radio antenna and 2 others antennas were blown down, and multiple power lines were downed. This was the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed to date. A trailer and three barns were destroyed. At 1730 CST (5:30 PM), a core of greater than 50 dBZ and two mesocyclones were seen with the storm. NOAA Disaster Survey Report 80-1, Chapter 1. Additional light rural damage occurred in the miles of Wichita County that the tornado covered. This thunderstorm spawned a tornado with a continuous ground track of almost 60 miles. 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). The lights of wichita shone bright now. 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. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products The tornado slung mud across the inside of the windshield which made it difficult to drive. By the end of the day we had seen four tornadoes, Thalia, Vernon (although not well), Lake Kemp, and Seymour. We were on our own. About 1540 CST (3:40 PM), a tornado devastated the southeastern portion of Vernon, TX (11 fatalities). The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, one of the most significant outbreaks on record for this region, occurred on April 10, 1979. (Rated F2 by the NWS. No fatalities or injuries occurred. Miss Mahon's parents and five brothers and sisters wept as the Rev. This route took us in front of the advancing vortex and provided a pretty exciting ride. The following text contains excerpts from the Texas Department of Water Resources publication "A Review of Texas' Weather in 1979: The Year of Devastating Tornadoes and Flash Floods" published in 1980. passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2023 in Wichita Falls Texas. Three thousand and 95 homes were destroyed while roofs of many other buildings were sheared away. Those who were caught in automobiles and trucks made up a high percentage of the fatalities. Meanwhile, President Carter declared Oklahoma a major disaster area as a result of the tornadoes, making Federal funds available for relief and recovery efforts. Frost Tornado. We examined the circumstances of death and injury among victims of the tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, on 10 April 1979. auto-related; 16 of that total died while in their autos trying to flee the storm, and 11 of that number abandoned homes not touched by the tornado. July 21, 1961 - A small, weak tornado touched down briefly in the eastern part of Wichita Falls, about 3 miles from the airport. Prior to its touchdown, a funnel was first observed about 10 miles to the west-southwest. The majority of the fatalities were in vehicles, and a number of those victims left homes that were undamaged by the tornado only to be caught in its deadly path as they tried to flee. Pat Blacklock. Pat Blacklock, View looking north from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. Such a total would mean that between 10% and 20% of the population of the city was displaced by the tornado. We received the following letter from Joel Manes, who was living in Wichita Falls, Texas on April 10, 1979. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the approaching tornado. Winston Wells, View looking southwest at the approaching tornado northeast of Wichita Falls, Texas. Burgess, D. W., 1982. Approximately 30 houses in the addition were damage with some houses suffering extensive damage. Only three times in my chase career have I seen vertical storm tower velocities this strong. 6. We think this was the early stages of the Vernon tornado. This tornado was part of an outbreak of tornadoes that occurred on May 25-26, 1955 across the southern Great Plains, and included the deadly F5 tornadoes at Blackwell, OK and Udall, KS. In addition to the 42 fatalities directly caused by the tornado, three more people died of heart attacks and other illnesses during the stress of the tornado's passage. Overall, mobile homes and permanent homes lead fatality location totals with 44.8% and 26.2% of all deaths occurring in these structures, respectively. Texas was extremely unstable early in the evening (Figure 25). Tours. Numbers for 1979 were similar to that of 1980. 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. The following severe weather account is by Gene Moore. April 26, 1991, saw one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tornadoes in Wichita history. Multiple locations were found. Read More. Wichita Falls Tornado 1979. 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. The tornado killed 42 Wichita Falls residents and caused over $200 million in damages, leaving 20 percent of the city's population homeless. 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. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the time of tornado touchdown. In Texas: Clay, Foard, Wichita and Wilbarger; and in Oklahoma: Carter, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson, Pottawatomie, Stephens and Tillman. Oil field derricks and tanks were damaged photographing this shot I began to vibration... 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