A short time later, the same tornado invaded Vernon, taking the lives of 10 inhabitants and injuring 67 others. 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). Wichita Falls has had three major tornado strikes in its history. 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. Homes were unroofed and barns were destroyed. Storm Spotter Training Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. FAQ March 3, 1973 - The Wichita Falls police department reported a small tornado touching down briefly in the vicinity of Midwestern University. 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. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured by the tornado. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. Read More. Apr 20, 2012 - The April 10, 1979 tornado in Wichita Falls. 5. Neighbors took shelter together while federal and local groups assembled. 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. 15:55 F2. It began at 4:57 p.m. about a mile-and-a-half south of Clearwater. 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). With an east-northeast movement, it entered Wichita County and damaged a few rural homes and a string of metal high-voltage towers. The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of 10 April 1979 Location Help Wintry and Cold Conditions Continue Across Much of the U.S. Winston Wells, Current Hazards 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. No fatalities or injuries occurred. Excerpts from the Texas Department of Water Resources publication, "A Review of Texas' Weather in 1979: The Year of Devastating Tornadoes and Flash Floods," is also available. Additional light rural damage occurred in the miles of Wichita County that the tornado covered. 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. Local 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. He shot these images one handed while driving down a dirt road. The tornado then moved east-northeast into the Western hills neighborhood, south of Southwest Parkway. The formation of the tornado and its movement toward the stadium and junior high were captured by Wolfgang Lange from the front of his apartment complex which was located across the street from the junior high (location #2). CoCoRaHS The following images and text copyright Gene Moore unless otherwise indicated. Air Quality They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. About Our Office The siren system for the city was sounded three times, the last around 5:50 p.m., just as the storm spotters reported the tornado approaching Memorial Stadium in the southwestern suburbs of Wichita Falls. National Weather Service Some of these people had stopped their cars under an overpass on the highway, seeking shelter from the storm. 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." Thread starter Rob Satkus; Start date Apr 8, 2009; Forums. 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. . Using spotter and radar reports, Lawton officials sounded the siren system to warn the people of the approaching storm. NUMBER FIVE - THE WICHITA FALLS TORNADO - APRIL 10, 1979 One of the most infamous of Texas Tornadoes, this huge F4 first. The tornado exited Texas about 4 miles east of Byers, uprooting over 200 trees along the Red River. The tornado finally ended near Waurika, OK after traveling 47 miles. At Sheppard Air Force Base, winds up to 70 mph tore countless limbs from trees and knocked out windows on some base housing units. It is interesting to note that the Seymour and Wichita Falls tornadoes both formed during periods of relative decline in storm-top height and reflectivity values, a characteristic that has been noted for a number of supercell storms that have produced several cycles of tornadoes. If I had the opportunity to chase this one over I certainly would do it differently, but considering we were on visual back then we didn't do too bad. Although high numbers of deaths have occurred in vehicles during tornadoes, the occurrences are rare. This route took us in front of the advancing vortex and provided a pretty exciting ride. We think this was the early stages of the Vernon tornado. StormReady The tornado was also captured on film by Troy Glover from the roof of the Bethania hospital (location #8). 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. Local Climate Data age through the southern half of tne city. Hail the size of golf balls preceded the touchdown and continued for approximately 15 minutes. April 26, 1991. Frost Tornado. He was great at identifying cloud structures. those all. Some of these people attempted to run to their cars from the mall. 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 .) First indications of tornado damage were near Harrold, which is located approximately 16 miles southwest of Vernon. About 1540 CST (3:40 PM), a tornado devastated the southeastern portion of Vernon, TX (11 fatalities). The tornado was associated with a line of thunderstorms that produced very heavy rains in the Wichita Falls area. 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. The most notable tornado was another F4 tornado that destroyed most of the southern part of Wichita Falls, Texas, and is commonly referred to as "Terrible Tuesday" by many meteorologists. The thunderstorm that fostered that tornado also produced hail up to 3 inches in diameter west of Harrold. Storm Data, Weather Safety To commemorate this event, the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma has compiled a large amount of information including: tornado photos of the Wichita Falls, Vernon, Seymour, and Harrold, TX tornadoes; damage photos; images of radar and satellite data; other maps and diagrams of the event; and storm data for Oklahoma and western north Texas. [7] It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. No explanation for the unusually low reflectivity values with that phase of the storm (sensed by several radars) has been developed. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Life Cycle of the Wichita Falls Tornadic Storm. 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. Winter Weather Warnings Around 3:05 in the afternoon, the first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas. The tornado was photographed from the south during this period by Pat Blacklock, who was located on the southern shore of Lake Wichita (Tornado Track Figure; location #5). Texas was extremely unstable early in the evening (Figure 25). Wichita Falls Tornado 1979. But as the day progressed, and the storms began to form, a good day turned into a bad day. About 65 people attended the funeral. 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. At the time we passed in front of the funnel the mud road had become slick enough that the car was not going very fast anymore. In this stage, the tornado did extensive damage just south of Dean and near Byars, destroying a large number of rural homes, but causing no more fatalities, The suffering and destruction caused by the Wichita Falls tornado is nearly inconceivable. While photographing this shot I began to feel vibration in the camera. A home was badly damaged, losing a large portion of its front side. 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. 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). A darker version of this image shows the rain curtain extending around the vortex. The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, one of the most significant outbreaks on record for this region, occurred on April 10, 1979. My chase partner for the day was Eddie Sims who had chased for years with Jim Leonard. as derived from photogrammetric analysis. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. No injuries or deaths occurred during this tornado. Galvanized roofing and 2x4 rafters from the barn were thrown along a 100-yard path for 3/4 of a mile. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. Residents of Wichita Falls and Wichita County had been receiving severe weather warnings for close to an hour before the tornado reached the city around 6 p.m. Questions? This report summarizes the injuries and deaths associated with these tornadoes based on information from emergency department and hospital records and death certificates. A Doppler radar view of the three supercells is available. Continuing east-northeastward, the violent tornado destroyed a large portion of a residential neighborhood before heavily damaging a commercial building along Southwest Parkway. Other data were supplied by the American National Red Cross. To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. In slightly more than 10 minutes, the tornado passed across the southern tip of the city leaving 11 dead, more than 60 injured, and several hundred homes destroyed or damaged. This most damaging tornado in Texas history was not finished, however. For. Caused a total of $449,000 in damage. Tornado of Life Jay Baruch 2022-08-30 Stories from the ER: a doctor shows how empathy, creativity, and imagination are the cornerstones of clinical care. 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). Eddie was trying to tell me something; finally with some tugging, he got my attention. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Bailey Turnpike to Lawton we were in low clouds with light fog and drizzle. The following text comes from Chapter I of the NOAA Natural Disaster Report 80-1, "The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. 1 Wilbarger County, TX. It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. A storm appeared on the horizon that had developed far to our south near Abilene. Alberty, R. A., D. W. Burgess and T. T. Fujita, 1980: Severe weather events of 10 April 1979. ), March 17, 1952 - A small, weak tornado touched down about 5 miles south-southwest of the Wichita Falls Airport where some buildings were unroofed and smaller buildings blown down. Submit a Spot Forecast Anyone can read what you share. Data modified as described in NOAA Tech Memo NWS SR-209 (Speheger, D., 2001: "Corrections to the Historic Tornado Database"). All NOAA. The Terrible Tuesday video can be viewed via the NWS Norman YouTube Channel or below. These supercells caused the most damaging tornadoes of the outbreak. After the tornado, a thorough investigation of the damage was performed by Texas Tech University, Institute for Disaster Research, and the University of Chicago. Cool Pictures. The tornado continued into Clay County, resulting in no deaths, but 40 additional injuries. FAQ The northern supercell, the Vernon-Lawton storm, produced its first tornado at 1505 CST (3:05 PM) south of Crowell, TX. The intense damage averaged between one quarter and one half of a mile in width. Rob Satkus EF2. Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma University who photographed storms when he lived in Norman, Oklahoma during the 1970s. Meteorologists still refer to that day as Terrible Tuesday because of the immense devastation and the sheer numbers. Records taken from the Storm Prediction Center archive data, "Storm Data", and data from the National Weather Service office in Norman. 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 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. Tornado Pictures. There we hoped the dryline and warm front would intersect with a strong jet stream. 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). The destructive and deadly tornado outbreak impacted the Red River Valley on April 10, 1979. The tornado first touched down at 2:35 pm CST north of the intersection of Farm Road 369 and Seymour Highway. After moving northeast of Seymour, the tornado intensified. Well-built modern houses, in general, offer fairly good protection from tornadoes. Winston Wells, View looking southwest at the approaching tornado northeast of Wichita Falls, Texas. National Weather Service Is it curse or coincidence? The tornado then destroyed several industrial plants before moving into Clay County just south of TX State Highway 79. 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. Weather Radio, About Us 3 Comanche County, OK. 17:05 F3. The publication was written and prepared by George W. Bomar of Weather Modification & Technology Section of the Texas Department of Water Resources. One thousand and sixty-two apartment units and condominiums were demolished and 130 damaged. US Dept of Commerce About the Artist: Frank Gohlke is a leading figure in American landscape photography. Lawton had been alerted by Tornado Watch #67 and had received a tornado warning issued by WSFO Oklahoma City. The awesome "freight train like sound" was audible from the Weather Bureau Airport Station. With surface pressures in the southern High Plains plunging rapidly, a low pressure center formed in the vicinity of Lubbock around noon (Figure 15). 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