Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Waco, and of course Fort Worth come to mind, even Austin had one dancing around over the Capitol dome in 1922. The Vernon tornado destroyed a restaurant, motel, a farm implement store, and more than a dozen homes; damage totaled $27 million. Other ingredients for a volatile weather situation were also present: a major upper-air trough extending from the southern Rockies into northern Mexico, migrating eastward into western Texas and deepening significantly at the same time (Figure 11); a strong wind shear from the surface to 500 millibars and a thin layer of very moist air at the surface with rapid drying immediately above at about 700 mb (Figure 12 and Figure 13). 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. 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. 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. Ben Milam Elementary School was heavily damaged, as the cafeteria-auditorium was completely destroyed and exterior class rooms were pummeled by flying debris. Nationwide, Current Conditions 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. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Interview She and her family couldn't find their dog. Wichita Falls Tornado 1979. Major damage in the. A woman was injured when her truck rolled into the ditch in which she was taking cover. This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1979, primarily in the United States. To the north of Southwest Parkway, the tornado destroyed many houses in the Western Hills Addition. Here we goa hymn request from Erlene: Great Is His Faithfulness, sung by the Collingsworth Family. 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. 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. 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. Minor damage occurred to some fences and the area. Prior to its touchdown, a funnel was first observed about 10 miles to the west-southwest. They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. Three barns were destroyed as well. Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. CoCoRaHS After moving out of Faith Village, the tornado flattened several businesses, including a restaurant, on Kemp Boulevard. 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. Undoubtedly, this earlier warning and the afternoon Vernon tornado had primed the Wichita Falls populace to the threat of additional tornado activity. Wildfire Safety . It damaged several homes and businesses before going into Wichita Falls where it . 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. We sat up to photograph to the east of the tornado and shot back west and north as it passed. During its life, radar-derived storm tops exceeded 50,000 feet and reflectivities were higher than 50 dBZ. We McNiel Junior High School is shown in the middle left of this and all of the following photos. [7] It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. 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. About the time the tornado entered town, it changed appearance, becoming one large black cloud of condensation and debris. Summer Weather Safety 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. April 10, 2001 - This tornado developed on the south side of Wichita Falls at 11:46 pmCST, a short distance from Lake Wichita. The Southwest National Bank Building was totally destroyed except for its concrete vault, a proxy for an above-ground shelter. Tornado Database Then the supercell spawned one that killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. 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). Maximum path length was about 3/4 mile and the width was 50 to 60 yards. It generally moved to the northeast, but turned to the right along the middle of its path, the period during which it produced its violent tornado. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (location #3). 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. Some of these people attempted to run to their cars from the mall. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the approaching tornado. Every year in the United States the threat of a catastrophe looms whenever tornadoes approach large gatherings of people. Other data was found using U.S. 2. But as the day progressed, and the storms began to form, a good day turned into a bad day. View looking west-northwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at wall cloud on the southwestern edge of the thunderstorm. Moving into the city, the tornado first struck Memorial Stadium and McNiel Junior High School (location #1 on the damage path diagram), severely damaging both structures. It seems that almost every major Texas city has had to deal with a tornado at least once. 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. Severe Weather Safety Cool Pictures. Damage to city property totaled $5 million while Sheppard AFB had $10 million in damages. 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. It didn't seem like any storms were in the area. Further eastward, most houses in the Faith Village Addition were destroyed, and Ben Milam Elementary School was severely damaged (location #6). This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1979, primarily in the United States. Also, tornado survivors said that some golf ball size hail fell prior to and immediately after the tornado. All Nature. The Wichita Falls tornado, with how black . Lawton was as ready as a community could be for the tornado. The western portion of the school building was crushed by the intense winds. Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 7:25 AM PST. 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. Severe weather warnings had been in effect for Wichita County and Wichita Falls for almost an hour. In 1978 Wichita Falls was the host of the first NCAA Division I-AA championship game. Local The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. Just after 5:00 p.m., another tornado spawned by the same thunderstorm system crashed into Lawton, Oklahoma. 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. By noon, all doubt was gone. Overall, the outbreak produced nearly 30 tornadoes and a large number of damaging wind and severe hail reports. As the storm bore down, those who sought the safest refuge in their immediate surroundings generally fared well. This was the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed to date. Pat Blacklock. One man was killed at a dairy farm in Dean. Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs Tuesday, April 10, 1979 seemed like a perfect spring day - right up until a tornado appeared seemingly out of nowhere, cutting a path through Wilbarger County and Vernon that left 11 dead, dozens injured and millions of dollars of property destroyed. Only 5 of the homes that were left actually incurred damage. 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. Submit a Spot Forecast |. Select western north Texas tornado statistics by decade, county or city from the menus or maps below. Each parallelogram on the map below represents the approximate aerial coverage shown in each photo. Skywarn Storm Spotters Flood/Flash Flood Safety According to the American National Red Cross, 7,759 families suffered losses in the storms (Table 1). 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. Three thousand and ninety-five homes were destroyed and 600 were damaged. 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. - May 31st, 2010 . -56 NWS WFO, Norman, OK. Per the SPC Database, 25 tornadoes occurred mainly in TX and OK with one lone tornado in KS. ", "The thunderstorm system that produced the Vernon tornado crossed the Red River and left a 50-mile-long skipping track of tornado damage through Oklahoma. 10. Miss Mahon's parents and five brothers and sisters wept as the Rev. It was on the ground for 11 miles. The powerful vortex, although rated only F-2, had winds of over 200 MPH. A darker version of this image shows the rain curtain extending around the vortex. One piece of farm equipment was destroyed and damage occurred to fences and trees. To the south of the warm front, moist, unstable air was streaming northward. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. Most people heeded the warnings and took shelter inside interior, small rooms in their homes. Before leaving the east side of the city, the tornado destroyed the Sun Valley housing area, the Sunnyside Heights Mobile Home Park, and several large commercial businesses, including the Levi Strauss Plant. There were 59 reported tornados on the ground in the . Wildfire Safety Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas . 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. Two barns were also destroyed and scattered across a field. Burgess, D. W., 1982. 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). Watch. 5. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the time of tornado touchdown. Pat Blacklock, View looking north from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. The tornado moved to the north-northwest during its life before lifting 2 miles from Burkburnett. Severe Weather Safety The sun had set, and the moon was now a crescent. A trailer and three barns were destroyed. As a result of the early warning, the casualty list of 3 dead and 109 injured was relatively small despite the destruction of several hundred homes and businesses. He shot these images one handed while driving down a dirt road. (Rated F2 by the NWS.). Thread starter Rob Satkus; Start date Apr 8, 2009; Forums. Unsolved Death in Wichita Falls, TX. No fatalities or injuries occurred. Losses eligible for Federal disaster relief totaled $63 million, but Federal disaster assistance did not cover additional millions in damages. Wayne Collamore, Approaching Harrold, Texas from the southeast on Highway 287 - view is looking west at about 4:05 pm CST. Tours. Sep 18, 2004. 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. Damaged several homes and businesses before going into Wichita Falls, Texas at wall cloud the... 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