Damage to city property totaled $5 million while Sheppard AFB had $10 million in damages. April 3, 1964 - A violent tornado struck the northwest section of Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base, killing 7 persons and injuring 111 other people. The destruction in Wichita Falls resulted in 42 dead, 1,740 injured, over 3,000 homes destroyed and damage of approximately $400 million. Scary stuff. The awesome "freight train like sound" was audible from the Weather Bureau Airport Station. Rivers and Lakes Over 100 commercial businesses, some of them large manufacturing concerns, were destroyed. The tornado was 1.5 miles wide as it passed through 8 miles of residential area in Wichita Falls. As we drove northeast on US 70, debris was still falling to the ground. At about the mid-point in the atmosphere (around 500 mb), significant cold air advection occurred, thus exacerbating unsettled conditions, already present (Figure 23). Please Contact Us. More than 40 died, and about 1,700 were injured. One man was killed at a dairy farm in Dean. About the Artist: Frank Gohlke is a leading figure in American landscape photography. Only three times in my chase career have I seen vertical storm tower velocities this strong. It was the costliest tornado in history until the F5 Moore-Oklahoma City tornado struck in 1999. . Per the SPC Database, 25 tornadoes occurred mainly in TX and OK with one lone tornado in KS. In many years at least some portions of the Lone Star State experience destruction or severe damage from an untimely freeze, a debilitating drought, or a lengthy spell of excessive rains. The intense damage averaged between one quarter and one half of a mile in width. There were a total 42 tornado fatalities in Wichita Falls, of which 25 were vehicle related. This image was taken as the tornado widened and approached our position. Unsolved Death in Wichita Falls, TX. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, one of the most significant outbreaks on record for this region, occurred on April 10, 1979. Several other mobile homes in the area sustained minor damage, and homes to the east on Carriage Lane also received minor damage. 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." Wayne Collamore, Approaching Harrold, Texas from the southeast on Highway 287 - view is looking west at about 4:05 pm CST. Questions? Published In . Tornado Database 5. Eddie was trying to tell me something; finally with some tugging, he got my attention. 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. The strongest wind measurement logged on the USWB equipment located 1 mile south of the air base was a 55-knot peak gust. The Wichita Falls area has been visited by tornadoes many times over the course of its history. Brenda Lee Whitehead. In particular, note the sharp decline in reflectivity near the genesis time and during the life of the Wichita Falls tornado with maximum values less than 45 dBZ for a brief period. Minor wind damage and hail to 2 inches in diameter occurred north of the tornado track in Wichita Falls, in conjunction with its parent supercell. About the time the tornado entered town, it changed appearance, becoming one large black cloud of condensation and debris. StormReady The first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas, at around 3:05p.m. About 35 minutes later, the first killer one of the outbreak ripped through Vernon and killed 11 people. The following images and text copyright Gene Moore unless otherwise indicated. ", "Despite excellent warning lead-time and multiple soundings of the sirens, some people of Wichita Falls either did not hear the warnings or failed to take prescribed lifesaving actions. A small home was swept away in the affected area, and factories and warehouses were unroofed. Air Quality Although roughly 4,000 homes were struck by the tornado, there were only five fatalities of people inside homes along the path of the tornado. Upper Air Maps Wind gusts to 100 mph were observed at the observation site. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. Surface Maps The first in a series of tornadoes struck near Foard City shortly after 3 o'clock destroying several rural homes, barns, and farm equipment. Questions? 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. There was much scientific discussion and debate concerning the possibility that the some of the damage was severe enough, and wind speeds high enough, for the tornado to be rated F5. Half of the injuries sustained by Vernon residents were deemed critical by city officials. 8. The twister was almost a mile wide when it entered the Faith Village neighborhood on the north side of the east-west oriented Southwest Parkway. 45 people died in the Wichita Falls tornado. Barns were destroyed and homes sustained roof damage. The Wichita Falls storm formed north of Abilene, TX. We Lubbock, Wichita Falls, Waco, and of course Fort Worth come to mind, even Austin had one dancing around over the Capitol dome in 1922. It was produced in 1984 and has a run time of 19 minutes, 30 seconds. The tornado was eventually rated F5 and was the first violent tornado on record to strike the Wichita Falls area. The tornado's first fatalities were recorded in the apartment complex and adjoining housing area. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at the approaching tornado. Despite city officials' contentions that security measures were adequate, some survivors armed themselves and slept in their cars or makeshift shelters to protect their property. According to the American National Red Cross, 7,759 families suffered losses in the storms (Table 1). These figures include 12 counties. 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. Additional light rural damage occurred in the miles of Wichita County that the tornado covered. The majority of the fatalities were in vehicles, and a number of those victims left homes that were undamaged by the tornado only to be caught in its deadly path as they tried to flee. The tornado was coming down, but getting photography was difficult. We decided to make a break for it to the east which was not a smart move. One somewhat unique characteristic of the damage was the wide swath F4 damage; many violent tornadoes produce only a narrow swath of their most intense damage. [7] It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Total property damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400,000,000 (in 1979 dollars). By the end of the day we had seen four tornadoes, Thalia, Vernon (although not well), Lake Kemp, and Seymour. Twenty-five of the deaths were. Most of the destroyed homes had some of these interior walls still standing after the tornado. Submit a Spot Forecast In Texas: Clay, Foard, Wichita and Wilbarger; and in Oklahoma: Carter, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson, Pottawatomie, Stephens and Tillman. About Our Office He later moved to Oklahoma City where he worked in TV weather before working for the federal government. 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. Fire Weather Another tornado swept the community of Harrold soon thereafter, causing much less extensive damage. The tornado then crossed a short span of open fields before moving into the Colonial Park area. April 10th, 1979 started out like any other day in Texoma. The powerful vortex, although rated only F-2, had winds of over 200 MPH. April 17, 1977 - A "freak tornado" moved from east to west across a 2-mile path in the western sections of Wichita Falls. 1979-04-10 Wichita Falls. February 21, 1994 - Thunderstorms developed in the western part of north Texas during the afternoon hours of February 21st and produced a small weak tornado, hail up to nickel size and damaging winds. Prior to its touchdown, a funnel was first observed about 10 miles to the west-southwest. Mr. Molet continued to take photographs until the wind blew him into his garage. Several strong to violent tornadoes touched down throughout the region that day. This thunderstorm spawned a tornado with a continuous ground track of almost 60 miles. (Documented and rated F2 by Grazulis. View looking southwest at the approaching tornado northeast of Wichita Falls, Texas. He had allegedly been sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered, then his body ran through a full cycle in the dishwasher- officials speculated the killer had . Minor damage occurred to some fences and the area. The tornado killed 42 Wichita Falls residents and caused over $200 million in damages, leaving 20 percent of the city's population homeless. Storm Spotter Training The tornado then crossed over Kemp Boulevard and destroyed several commercial businesses, including a restaurant, resulting in several additional fatalities. In New York, Ernest W. 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