Frost Tornado. The tornado moved across Highway 287 and caused light damage before entering Wichita County about 5 miles northeast of Harrold. We sat up to photograph to the east of the tornado and shot back west and north as it passed. Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. Three thousand and 95 homes were destroyed while roofs of many other buildings were sheared away. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Bulletin American Meteorological Society, 61, 1033-34. Storm Data, Weather Safety While the leading edge of the moist, tropical air had already surged northward across the Red River, giving Wichita Falls a vigorous southeasterly wind and a climbing dew point (Figure 16), the advancing edge of much drier, continental air swept eastward out of the High Plains and undercut the less dense and more moist tropical air. For example, the police chief called the city manager out of a meeting with county commissioners. April 26, 1991, saw one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tornadoes in Wichita history. This was the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed to date. Used by permission of author Don Burgess. Here we goa hymn request from Erlene: Great Is His Faithfulness, sung by the Collingsworth Family. More Observations The clouds would roll over like they were collapsing into a deep hold. Please Contact Us. [7] It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Casualty data were supplied by the Texas and Oklahoma NWS offices. Nationwide, Current Conditions We were rushed to get into position. By noon, all doubt was gone. There were at times five separate vortices visible within the tornado. Note that the 50 dBZ core was no longer evident. Six barns and two homes were destroyed. Sixteen of the 25 got in vehicles to evade the tornado, and 11 of the 16 homes which were left did not incur damage by the tornado. 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. Earlier on the same day, several tornadoes hit farther west. Severe weather warnings had been in effect for Wichita County and Wichita Falls for almost an hour. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. 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). 45 people died in the Wichita Falls tornado. Wildfire Safety Local Storm Reports The moonlight felt like a reminder of the pain and sorrow that awaited him as he stared at its yellow haze. NWS 8. Each lasted for an hour or more and left a continuous track of ground damage 35 miles or longer. Winter Weather Warnings Stability indices indicated the air throughout central. 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. 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. . Such a total would mean that between 10% and 20% of the population of the city was displaced by the tornado. 1979 tornado outbreak leaves massive damage and 57 dead in Texoma. Six cross-country steel transmission towers were destroyed just east of Farm Road 2650. Elizabeth Burk Newton. 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. Suite 2400Norman, OK 73072(405) 325-3816Comments? Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Waco, and of course Fort Worth come to mind, even Austin had one dancing around over the Capitol dome in 1922. No explanation for the unusually low reflectivity values with that phase of the storm (sensed by several radars) has been developed. Several brief touchdowns in Seymour resulted in scattered roof damage and one overturned truck. Brenda Lee Whitehead. The tornadoes pictured here were part of the Red River Valley Outbreak, the biggest event of that year. Today. . Thread starter Rob Satkus; Start date Apr 8, 2009; Forums. Although his house was completely destroyed, Mr. Molet escaped with only minor injuries as his pickup truck was blown over him, protecting him from the worst winds and debris. 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. Flood Warnings The tornado then swept through the Southmoor area, destroying homes and a shopping center. At about the mid-point in the atmosphere (around 500 mb), significant cold air advection occurred, thus exacerbating unsettled conditions, already present (Figure 23). The tornado exited Texas about 4 miles east of Byers, uprooting over 200 trees along the Red River. My chase partner for the day was Eddie Sims who had chased for years with Jim Leonard. This report summarizes the injuries and deaths associated with these tornadoes based on information from emergency department and hospital records and death certificates. The tornado dissipatedtwo minutes later and caused no damage. The storm spawned a second tornado that moved through the south and east sides of Wichita Falls at around 6:00 pm. 15:55 F2. I had a good full frame shot of the suction spots rotating about the base of the funnel. The tornado developed on the extreme northeast side of Seymour and moved northeast to about 2 miles north-northeast of Maybelle. As we drove south on the H.E. The third supercell was the one that formed the Seymour and Wichita Falls tornadoes as part of a three-member tornado family. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. There were scattered remains of destroyed structures on either side of the road. Additional tornadoes were reported across the Southern Plains as well as in the Mississippi River Valley on April 1112. The path length was 9 miles in Texas and 55 miles in Oklahoma. 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. 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. Caused over $300,000 in damage to homes, barns, and a rock crushing plant. The destruction in Wichita Falls resulted in 42 dead, 1,740 injured, over 3,000 homes destroyed and damage of approximately $400 million. FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 0 10 19 . 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. 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. Several homes were demolished, and a number of barns were partially destroyed. 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. The Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979. . Other homes, barns, and outbuildings were damaged. Toggle navigation. Several trailers were destroyed. The two worst damage points appeared to be McNiel Junior High (location #1 on the damage path diagram; photos 9-15 on the damage photo tab) and the Southwest National Bank (location #4; no close-up photographs available). On April 10, 1979, a devastating tornado struck Wichita Falls in North Texas. This huge F4 first touched down about 3 miles northeast of Holliday. In the latter Blacklock photographs, the gust front and associated strong west winds to the south of the tornado can be seen producing waves on Lake Wichita and kicking up spray from the lake. have just been raked by debris from rear flank downdraft surge wrapping around the tornado - tornado now in a sunlit position relative to us - getting really spectacular! See the article in its original context from. I survived an enormous North Texas twister on April 10, 1979 that took 52 lives when three vortexes merged into one. I didn't want to move. The lights of wichita shone bright now. The tornado's first fatalities were recorded in the apartment complex and adjoining housing area. Summer Weather Safety 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). It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. The tornado first touched down at 2:35 pm CST north of the intersection of Farm Road 369 and Seymour Highway. StormReady As the first violent tornado on record to hit the Wichita Falls area, [18] it left seven dead and more than 100 injured. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. The Wichita Falls tornado formed several miles southwest of the city in Archer County, and traveled over mostly open terrain. Local Climate Data I had never witnessed anything of this magnitude. 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