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. WICHITA FALLS The tenth day of April is a day that will be forever etched in the history of the city of Wichita Falls.42 years ago, on April 10, 1979, a severe weather outbreak in North Texas . 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). However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. Air Quality Composed of three funnels fused into one and powerful winds exceeding 250 mph, this F4-rated tornado remained on the ground for an hour, destroying over a fifth of the city, lifting cars into the air, tearing buildings apart, and destroying 2,000 homes. . The Terrible Tuesday video can be viewed via the NWS Norman YouTube Channel or below. It didn't seem like any storms were in the area. Flood/Flash Flood Safety Click on the numbers on the map below or on each individual photo to see a larger image of that photo. The Norman Doppler radar was used to collect dense data (0.5o azimuth spacing and 150 meter gate spacing) on the Wichita Falls storm during the interval leading to the formation of the violent tornado. By this time teams from NSSL and the University of Oklahoma had arrived. Special Weather Statements I had never witnessed anything of this magnitude. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Alberty, R. A., D. W. Burgess and T. T. Fujita, 1980: Severe weather events of 10 April 1979. Burgess, D. W., 1982. 1. WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) . About 1540 CST (3:40 PM), a tornado devastated the southeastern portion of Vernon, TX (11 fatalities). The tornado killed 42 Wichita Falls residents and caused over $200 million in damages, leaving 20 percent of the city's population homeless. Past Weather Events The Wichita Falls tornado cut a wide swath of dam. Flash Flood Warnings April 8, 1961 - A small tornado formed near Kamay at 4:00 pmCST, moved northeast across the Wichita Valley Airport, and then moved into Sheppard AFB. On Saturday, June 28, 1924, a deadly F4 tornado struck the Lake Erie shoreline communities of Sandusky and Lorain, Ohio. A darker version of this image shows the rain curtain extending around the vortex. ", "The three main storms in the Red River Valley outbreak were giant tornadoes. Wolfgang Lange. Tornado Warnings, Climate and Past Weather At the Iowa Park Fairgrounds, wind damage covered a 4-block area. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. Stones as large as two inches were reported further to our northeast. The tornado was coming down, but getting photography was difficult. Several brief touchdowns in Seymour resulted in scattered roof damage and one overturned truck. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. 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 . Graphical Forecasts Each parallelogram on the map below represents the approximate aerial coverage shown in each photo. ", "Early on April 10, NWS forecasters became aware of the threat of severe weather. Driving north on Texas 267 we witnessed the Thalia tornado. As the storm bore down, those who sought the safest refuge in their immediate surroundings generally fared well. Surface Maps 1979 tornado outbreak leaves massive damage and 57 dead in Texoma. 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. Interview She and her family couldn't find their dog. Tornado warning and preparedness systems are worth the time and effort it takes to maintain them. The Harrold tornado was in its formative stages at about the time the Vernon tornado was crossing the Red River. Life Cycle of the Wichita Falls Tornadic Storm. Those who were caught in automobiles and trucks made up a high percentage of the fatalities. The awesome "freight train like sound" was audible from the Weather Bureau Airport Station. The moonlight felt like a reminder of the pain and sorrow that awaited him as he stared at its yellow haze. Meteorologists still refer to that day as Terrible Tuesday because of the immense devastation and the sheer numbers. Tornado Understand a Tornado: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. Damage also occurred to machinery, homes, and outbuildings. A second severe thunderstorm pounded the area just north of Brownwood with hail having a diameter of 3 to 3 1/2 inches. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas . Historic tornado in Wichita KS McConnell AFB 1991. In addition, the damage paths of all three were wider than normal. This was the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed to date. Usually hail is a problem in this position, but we encountered none on this storm. The deadliest tornadoes to strike in Texas in 26 years ravaged parts of four communities near the Red River on April 10, taking 53 lives, injuring 1808, and causing damage worth $427 million1. This huge F4 first touched down about 3 miles northeast of Holliday. 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. Winston Wells, Current Hazards During this period, large hail was occurring in the central and northern portions of Wichita Falls as the tornado devastated the southern portion of the city. The half-mile wide tornado crossed the Red River into Oklahoma about 9 miles north-northeast of Electra. In Wichita Falls, an emergency hotline to key local officials, TV, and radio stations assured rapid and complete local dissemination. Caused over $300,000 in damage to homes, barns, and a rock crushing plant. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes. [7] It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings 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. Most of the homes in Faith Village were demolished. Apr 8, 2009 #1 NWS OUN has put up a nice page for the 30th anniversary of this monster: . 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. It is believed that many more minor injuries were never recorded.[5][6][7]. Hail ranged in sizes "from mothballs to pineapples." Other homes in the area were damaged. ), June 6, 1936 - A tornado touched down at 5:20 pm CST and moved southeastward over a path of 440 yards wide by four miles long caused damage of $50,000 in Wichita Falls and injured two people, although one person may have been hurt due to a lightning strike. Questions? There is no doubt that hundreds of lives were saved by the news media and siren warnings. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. The tornado first touched down at 2:35 pm CST north of the intersection of Farm Road 369 and Seymour Highway. To the north of Southwest Parkway, the tornado destroyed many houses in the Western Hills Addition. But before the day's end, three very large, devastating tornadoes swept across the area leaving scores dead and hundreds injured. We couldn't make it into Wichita Falls because we almost ran out of gas. For example, the police chief called the city manager out of a meeting with county commissioners. The northern supercell, the Vernon-Lawton storm, produced its first tornado at 1505 CST (3:05 PM) south of Crowell, TX. ), March 27, 1939 - This tornado touched down north-northwest of Wichita Falls and moved northeastward into Clay County. Bailey Turnpike to Lawton we were in low clouds with light fog and drizzle. The heaviest damage in the apartments occurred in the second story of two-story buildings. Preprints, 12th Conference Severe Local Storms, American Meteorological Society, Boston, 441-443. The tornado was at the top of the hill less than a mile away. ", 1 The Storm Prediction Center is now located in Norman, Oklahoma A number of people were also killed or injured in the parking lot of Sikes Senter (sic) Mall, also 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. A destructive and deadly tornado outbreak impacted the Red River Valley on April 10, 1979. Local Some of these people had stopped their cars under an overpass on the highway, seeking shelter from the storm. April 26, 1991, saw one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tornadoes in Wichita history. ), June 6, 1936 - A "double twister" was observed by a large gathering of people in Burkburnett as it moved southwest and struck the southwest edge of the city. Storm Data, Weather Safety April 17, 1977 - A "freak tornado" moved from east to west across a 2-mile path in the western sections of Wichita Falls. Casualty data were supplied by the Texas and Oklahoma NWS offices. Pat Blacklock, View looking north-northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. As we drove northeast on US 70, debris was still falling to the ground. The tornado finally ended near Waurika, OK after traveling 47 miles. Our path across the Red River was always through Lawton; then we usually took a short cut on OK 36 and OK 5 through open wheat country to Fredrick and Vernon. After the tornado, a thorough investigation of the damage was performed by Texas Tech University, Institute for Disaster Research, and the University of Chicago. Select western north Texas tornado statistics by decade, county or city from the menus or maps below. The tornado dissipatedtwo minutes later and caused no damage. Tours. 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