Severe Weather Safety Weather Bureau records. (Rated F2 by the NWS.). The tornado was coming down, but getting photography was difficult. It was the costliest tornado in history until the F5 Moore-Oklahoma City tornado struck in 1999. . DOC/NOAA, January, 1980: Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. A powerful tornado tore through the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday night, leveling dozens of structures in the city of Andover, according to officials. ), April 24, 1923 - A tornado blew apart five homes 3 miles south-southwest of Burkburnett and 6 oil derricks where also destroyed. Eddie complained, but kept fighting the wheel. We were worried that the rain would get worse before we set up the cameras which was not desirable considering we were on a dirt road. By dusk a strong of new, very intense thunderstorms formed farther south in Texas. 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. He had allegedly been sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered, then his body ran through a full cycle in the dishwasher- officials speculated the killer had . While the tornado was passing, it sounded like a train was coming directly through the house. It moved northeastward across U.S. Highway 287 into the Sunset Terrace addition, and then crossed the Red River Expressway (U.S. Highway 277) into the Lincoln Heights addition and eventually Sheppard Air Force Base. A tool shed was blown away, trees uprooted, and utility poles damaged, and the Pontiac Company building was destroyed. 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. Apr 20, 2012 - The April 10, 1979 tornado in Wichita Falls. Weather Radio, About Us 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. Around 3:05 in the afternoon, the first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at approaching tornado. Historic tornado in Wichita KS McConnell AFB 1991. Suite 2400Norman, OK 73072(405) 325-3816Comments? After moving out of Faith Village, the tornado flattened several businesses, including a restaurant, on Kemp Boulevard. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas . Widespread downburst winds and hail brought damages of $200,000 to the town of Iowa Park alone. Meanwhile, behind the dry line and cool front in the High Plains, the atmosphere quickly stabilized, and drying out was evident in the lower half of the atmosphere below 500 mb (Figure 26). Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs To the north of Southwest Parkway, the tornado destroyed many houses in the Western Hills Addition. Minor damage occurred to some fences and the area. The storm killed eight people in Sandusky before moving east over Lake Erie and striking Lorain, where 72 were killed. 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. 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. April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado in Texas' history hit Wichita Falls. A trailer and three barns were destroyed. A concrete block building was destroyed, and another was partially destroyed. Questions? The tornado's first fatalities were recorded in the apartment complex and adjoining housing area. The first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas, at around 3:05p.m. About 35 minutes later, the first killer one of the outbreak ripped through Vernon and killed 11 people. Winter Weather Winston Wells, View looking southwest at the approaching tornado northeast of Wichita Falls, Texas. Wayne Collamore. Instead of going through Vernon we dropped further south through Seymour, then north on Texas 267. passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2023 in Wichita Falls Texas. Fire Weather 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. It began at 4:57 p.m. about a mile-and-a-half south of Clearwater. One more more brief tornadoes occurred within a larger area of straight-line wind damage in Lauderdale County. We would like to give special recognition to Don Burgess of the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) in Norman for compiling and archiving most of the information contained within these web pages. February 16, 2023. "It was just a regular old day. Still at F4 intensity as it moved east-northeastward, the tornado moved over a greenbelt area, passing just barely south of Midwestern State University as it severely damaged several more housing additions. Special Weather Statements 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. Local Storm Reports Wichita Falls(/wtt/WITCH-i-tah) is a city in and the seat of governmentof Wichita County, Texas, United States. We think this was the early stages of the Vernon tornado. Several vehicles, including a bus, were flipped and tossed. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at wall cloud on the southwestern edge of the thunderstorm. It was on the ground for 11 miles. We couldn't make it into Wichita Falls because we almost ran out of gas. ", "At Vernon, reports of earlier damage to the southwest of the city had alerted spotters and city officials. The tornado originated from a weak thunderstorm with a radar top of only 16,000 feet. ), April 20, 1951 - A small, brief tornado touched down near Wichita Falls and was accompanied by light hail. 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. Pat Blacklock, View looking northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. -56 NWS WFO, Norman, OK. Records taken from the Storm Prediction Center archive data, "Storm Data", and data from the National Weather Service office in Norman. A dry line had formed from the Childress low southward, and temperatures had become very warm in west Texas. The killer tornadoes that ravaged parts of three Texas communities near the Red River late in the afternoon stemmed from a wave of very intense thunderstorms that developed shortly after noon when a dry line advanced rapidly eastward out of the High Plains ahead of an approaching Pacific cold front. On April 10, 1979, a huge F4 tornado touched down just outside of Wichita Falls. This followed an earlier warning at 5:08 pm, due to the Rocky Point tornado. As we drove northeast on US 70, debris was still falling to the ground. Wichita Falls has had three major tornado strikes in its history. NWS Forty-two peoples were killed and over 1700 injured. Fire Weather Tornado Warnings, Climate and Past Weather The tornado developed on the extreme northeast side of Seymour and moved northeast to about 2 miles north-northeast of Maybelle. Storm Spotter Training This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. 2 All times in Central Standard Time. Surprisingly, very few fatalities occurred in Faith Village. Skywarn Storm Spotters More Observations Severe weather warnings had been in effect for Wichita County and Wichita Falls for almost an hour. During this time I navigated and Eddie drove. The tornado destroyed 2 homes north-northwest of Wichita Falls, and damaged 3 homes near Thornberry. A large number of roofs were damaged at the air base, and buildings at the Wichita Valley Airport also suffered roof damage. Earlier on the same day, several tornadoes hit farther west. Today. A small home was swept away in the affected area, and factories and warehouses were unroofed. Local The strongest wind measurement logged on the USWB equipment located 1 mile south of the air base was a 55-knot peak gust. While only on the ground for 35 minutes, the 800-foot-wide twister killed seven people, injured 111, and destroyed 225 homes. 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. - May 31st, 2010 . Although roughly 4,000 homes were struck by the tornado, there were only five fatalities of people inside homes along the path of the tornado. Several deaths in the Vernon tornado occurred because persons were caucht in autcmobiles that were tossed Large tornado destroyed several barns and scattered debris over a large area. Submit a Spot Forecast This route took us in front of the advancing vortex and provided a pretty exciting ride. Storm Events Database, tornadoes, 04-10-1979. Forty-two people were killed outright by the storm and 3 others died as a result of heart attacks. Each parallelogram on the map below represents the approximate aerial coverage shown in each photo. At the end of the outbreak, 54 people lost their lives in Texas, three were killed in Oklahoma and one was killed in Indiana. At 1730 CST (5:30 PM), a core of greater than 50 dBZ and two mesocyclones were seen with the storm. Alberty, R. A., D. W. Burgess and T. T. Fujita, 1980: Severe weather events of 10 April 1979. An explanation of both the causes and effects of the many and varied weather systems that affected Texans during the year has been the central objective of this endeavor. April 10, 1979 - The tornado, which was part of a tornado outbreak in the Red River valley area, began at 5:50 pmCST on the southwest flank of its parent supercell thunderstorm about 3 miles east-northeast of Holliday. April 10th, 1979 started out like any other day in Texoma. 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). The second supercell spawned one that moved 74 miles (119km). Precipitation was to our west through southwest and wrapped around the tornado. The tornado then destroyed several industrial plants before moving into Clay County just south of TX State Highway 79. A home was badly damaged, losing a large portion of its front side. Witnesses saw several small twisters during the formation. Three thousand and ninety-five homes were destroyed and 600 were damaged. Twenty-five of the deaths were. During this time I was trying to shoot pictures through the window. 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. The NOAA Natural Disaster Report 80-1, "The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979" is available, and a synopsis and discussion of the event by Don Burgess can also be perused from this site. 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. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. In addition to the tornado which developed near Wichita Falls, sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph from the southeast with gusts near 60 mph developed across western north Texas during the mid-evening of the 10th and persisted through much of the night. March 3, 1973 - The Wichita Falls police department reported a small tornado touching down briefly in the vicinity of Midwestern University. Upper Air Maps That said, it's never mentioned just how that wind gust was recorded, and . Overall, the outbreak killed 58 people and injured 1,927 others. Please try another search. Each lasted for an hour or more and left a continuous track of ground damage 35 miles or longer. Flood Warnings Hazardous Weather Outlook Casualty data were supplied by the Texas and Oklahoma NWS offices. . Three people were injured. The tornado killed 42 Wichita Falls residents and caused over $200 million in damages, leaving 20 percent of the city's population homeless. Crossing into Oklahoma, the tornado inflicted additional damage near Waurika before dissipating. Three people were killed in the restaurant. 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. At the Iowa Park Fairgrounds, wind damage covered a 4-block area. 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. A storm appeared on the horizon that had developed far to our south near Abilene. David Ehrenfeld read the 23d Psalm over the pearl white coffin. #1. For. They survived! A fourth tornado touched down just outside of Seymour an hour later, but again damage was comparatively minor. 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 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). The tornado exited Texas about 4 miles east of Byers, uprooting over 200 trees along the Red River. Hail the size of golf balls preceded the touchdown and continued for approximately 15 minutes. One mobile home was completely destroyed on Bobby Point Road, prompting an F1 rating. 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. Apr 20, 2012 - The April 10, 1979 tornado in Wichita Falls. Thus, he stood in his backyard driveway and photographed the destruction of the apartment complex and the beginning of destruction in his neighborhood. Heavy lake effect snow, strong winds, and reduced visibilities continue downwind of the Great Lakes. (For instance, this was in a 1964 edition of The Guinness Book of Records .) One thousand and sixty-two apartment units and condominiums were demolished and 130 damaged. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. It inflicted additional F0-F2 damage south of Dean and Byers, but no more fatalities occurred. I had a good full frame shot of the suction spots rotating about the base of the funnel. Undoubtedly, this earlier warning and the afternoon Vernon tornado had primed the Wichita Falls populace to the threat of additional tornado activity. The tornado damaged outbuildings, chicken coops, and did minor damage to roofs of houses. Fortunately, on April 10, 1979, McNiel Junior High was almost totally unoccupied when the tornado struck and a worse catastrophe was avoided. Multiple vortices are seen in this photo. May 30, 2001 - This tornado was observed at 6:30 pm CST by three people over northern portions of Lake Wichita, or 6 miles southwest of Wichita Falls. StormReady Total property damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400,000,000 (in 1979 dollars). It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. 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. Witnesses say the several distinct, small vortices were visible during the formative stage of the tornado as it moved along the Fort Worth and Denver railroad into Wichita County. 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. 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