In Wichita Falls, an emergency hotline to key local officials, TV, and radio stations assured rapid and complete local dissemination. Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs No fatalities or serious injuries occurred, but 13 people were treated for minor injuries, mostly as a result of flying glass. To date, it is the most damaging tornado in US history. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Historic tornado in Wichita KS McConnell AFB 1991. The powerful vortex, although rated only F-2, had winds of over 200 MPH. Wildfire Safety -56 NWS WFO, Norman, OK. Submit a Spot Forecast Property damage in the affected areas included 225 homes destroyed, with 50 homes suffering major damage, 200 homes incurring minor damage, and 16 other building receiving major damage. Two reports can be found on this web site. The half-mile wide tornado crossed the Red River into Oklahoma about 9 miles north-northeast of Electra. 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. The tornado then crossed over Kemp Boulevard and destroyed several commercial businesses, including a restaurant, resulting in several additional fatalities. '", "When the day had ended, the tornadoes had left in their wake a tragically high toll -- 56 dead and 1916 injured. A large number of cars were smashed and some people were killed along U.S. Highway 287. 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. Graphical Forecasts Most of the damage the tornado produced was minor, consisting of downed trees, fences and signs, however near the junction of U.S. Highway 281 and U.S. Highway 287, a machine shop composed of sheet metal sustained significant damage to the walls and frame when the roof was pushed upward, allowing the walls to cave in slightly. Winter Weather Safety, Special Programs The lights of wichita shone bright now. Severe weather warnings had been in effect for Wichita County and Wichita Falls for almost an hour. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. Tornado data and F-scale ratings for tornadoes from 1950 to the present are referenced from NWS records. A wind maximum gusting to 65 knots moved over Guadalupe Peak recording station in far southwest Texas; this triggered our departure. Hail the size of golf balls preceded the touchdown and continued for approximately 15 minutes. Local A powerful tornado tore through the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday night, leveling dozens of structures in the city of Andover, according to officials. The tornado continued into Clay County, resulting in no deaths, but 40 additional injuries. Weather and Chasing. There were at times five separate vortices visible within the tornado. Additional light rural damage occurred in the miles of Wichita County that the tornado covered. Three houses were destroyed and several others were damaged. Golfball-size hail fell prior to and immediately after the tornado passed along a track that took it into Oklahoma (where it dissipated near Waurika). Fire Weather The inner hallways would have been the only relatively safe shelter in the building. Very large groups of people gathered in tornado-vulnerable places, such as schools, stadiums (such as Memorial Stadium), and outdoor events, are disasters waiting to happen. Bulletin American Meteorological Society, 61, 1033-34. Last year the Wichita Falls Museum of Art featured a show by the acclaimed American landscape photographer Frank Gohlke of his photographs of Wichita Falls in the aftermath of a massive tornado that destroyed so much of the town in 1979. Local Climate Data 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). 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. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. The first in a series of tornadoes struck near Foard City shortly after 3 o'clock destroying several rural homes, barns, and farm equipment. The tornado then weakened slightly, but remained at F3 intensity, destroying the Sun Valley housing area, the Sunnyside Heights Mobile Home Park, and several large commercial businesses, including the Levi Strauss Plant, before exiting the east side of town. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products On that spring day, three large supercell storms developed, each producing a series of tornadoes that moved quickly across the northern Texas and southern Oklahoma plains. 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. Ashley found that 69.2% of all tornado fatalities from 1985 to 2005 occurred in either mobile or permanent homes, illustrating the enhanced vulnerability of these particular housing structures. The electrical power to local stations was down from the storm which prevented the gas pumps from operating and us from getting more gas. Still other tornadoes struck the communities of Lockett and Seymour a short time later, killing one inhabitant in Lockett. People from the shopping center took shelter in refrigerator vaults, in restrooms, and under closets. Wayne Collamore, View looking west just east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:15 pm CST. Hazardous Weather Outlook In 1978 Wichita Falls was the host of the first NCAA Division I-AA championship game. (Rated F2 by the NWS. Wichita Falls(/wtt/WITCH-i-tah) is a city in and the seat of governmentof Wichita County, Texas, United States. Tornado left suction vortex marks in open fields. Skywarn Storm Spotters 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. 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 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. Summer Weather Safety During its life, radar-derived storm tops exceeded 50,000 feet and reflectivities were higher than 50 dBZ. Thread starter Rob Satkus; Start date Apr 8, 2009; Forums. FAQ Most of the homes in Faith Village were demolished. 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. Skywarn Storm Spotters Several buildings were torn apart and a cemetery was damaged. [8] The tornado cut a path 8 miles (13km) through the city, with significant devastation. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Published In . (Rated F2 by the NWS.). Beyond the shopping mall, the tornado crossed a greenbelt area, skirted Midwestern State University on its south side, and severely damaged several more housing additions (Colonial Park, Hursh, Southmoor, Southwinds, and Southern Hills). For example, the police chief called the city manager out of a meeting with county commissioners. It then became calm before the winds began to pick up. The tornado originated from a weak thunderstorm with a radar top of only 16,000 feet. Averages and Records Two oil storage tanks were blown away and several homes were unroofed near Farm Road 2650 as the tornado approached Wichita Falls. The path length was 9 miles in Texas and 55 miles in Oklahoma. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration I didn't want to move. 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). It sped into Clay County, causing no deaths but 40 injuries and damage in the communities of Dean and Petrolia that amounted to $15 million. The tornado's worst winds generally missed the Sikes Senter Shopping Mall to the South, but a few of the stores were heavily damaged and >many cars in the mall parking lot were blown some distance and stacked on top of each other. Satellite Imagery, Forecasts While only on the ground for 35 minutes, the 800-foot-wide twister killed seven people, injured 111, and destroyed 225 homes. About 1540 CST (3:40 PM), a tornado devastated the southeastern portion of Vernon, TX (11 fatalities). US Dept of Commerce Hail to 1.75 inches was also reported south of the city. ", 1 The Storm Prediction Center is now located in Norman, Oklahoma It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. Meanwhile, President Carter declared Oklahoma a major disaster area as a result of the tornadoes, making Federal funds available for relief and recovery efforts. In the early afternoon hours, three supercell thunderstorms formed. Graphical Forecasts 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. Pinterest. A home was badly damaged, losing a large portion of its front side. 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 maximum F-scale rating was F1, however most damage was rated F0. The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, one of the most significant outbreaks on record for this region, occurred on April 10, 1979. Storm Spotter Training FAQ The tornado developed on the extreme northeast side of Seymour and moved northeast to about 2 miles north-northeast of Maybelle. At the surface, an already strong low pressure area in southeast Colorado was beginning to deepen further, and a warm front was starting to lift northward from central Texas. The second supercell spawned one that moved 74 miles (119km). We left NSSL in Norman, Oklahoma at 10:30 AM to our target of Vernon, TX. - May 31st, 2010 . 1964, and another in 1979. Moving into the air base proper, the tornado destroyed 5 unoccupied 2-story barracks, damaged a hanger, power installations, transformer station, paint shop, and the base's 10-story control tower. Horner was . 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. Interview She and her family couldn't find their dog. I had a good full frame shot of the suction spots rotating about the base of the funnel. Tornado caused $3,500,000 to the downtown business district in. The tornado was preceded by strong winds, and then followed at once by heavy rain and hail, which covered a 200-square mile area. Apr 8, 2009 #1 NWS OUN has put up a nice page for the 30th anniversary of this monster: . Non Precipitation Warnings those all. Total damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400 million (in 1979 dollars). "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. Those who were caught in automobiles and trucks made up a high percentage of the fatalities. T. T. Fujita, noted tornado researcher from the University of Chicago, said, 'The damage path was one of the widest I have ever seen, and its intensity was almost equal to that of the giant storm that leveled Xenia, Ohio, in the 1974 tornado outbreak. In the Wichita Falls area, damage occurred to ~75 homes, 15 trailer homes, high school, and numerous outbuildings. 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). One thousand and 62 apartment units and condominiums were destroyed, and 93 mobile homes were demolished. No one was killed and only several major injuries occurred among the approximately one thousand shoppers who were in the mall. We were rushed to get into position. Then, a second vicious tornado formed near Thalia and moved into Lockett, where a driver of an auto was killed when her vehicle was thrown 200 yards off the highway. On April 10, 1979, a devastating tornado struck Wichita Falls in North Texas. July 21, 1961 - A small, weak tornado touched down briefly in the eastern part of Wichita Falls, about 3 miles from the airport. Aviation Weather April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado in Texas' history hit Wichita Falls. 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