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. StormReady There were at times five separate vortices visible within the tornado. No explanation for the unusually low reflectivity values with that phase of the storm (sensed by several radars) has been developed. At this time the tornado was just getting planted well to our southwest. Storm Spotter Training By dusk a strong of new, very intense thunderstorms formed farther south in Texas. Wayne Collamore, View looking northwest east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:20 pm CST. The collingsworth family is a southern gospel /inspirational group started by phil and kim collingsworth and features their family as the group. The spring of 1979 was a very active tornado period for the plains states. April 2, 1958 - A funnel was first spotted 8 miles southwest of Wichita Falls before touching down at 5:40 pmCST near the intersection 4th Street and Lamar Street near the Wichita River. As seen in the photographs by Winston Wells (Tornado Track Figure; Location #10), the tornado became multi-vortex, displaying as many as five satellite vortices rotating around the center of circulation. So they adopt the religion of Christianity. Simon Cornelis Maria Vermeij was born on March 26, 1959 in Amsterdam, son of Hendrikus Gerardus Vermeij and Henritte Christina Maria Steur. It didn't seem like any storms were in the area. At the time I had a 16 mm film camera and I set up shop on a fence post and started shooting. McNiel Junior High School is shown in the middle left of this and all of the following photos. Frank Gohlke's portfolio of 40 black and white photographs, which capture the devastation of the 1979 Wichita Falls Tornado and the landscape a year later, will be on exhibition to mark the anniversary of Terrible Tuesday, April 10, 1979. Homes were unroofed and barns were destroyed. Bailey Turnpike to Lawton we were in low clouds with light fog and drizzle. - May 31st, 2010 . Prior to its touchdown, a funnel was first observed about 10 miles to the west-southwest. passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2023 in Wichita Falls Texas. Jeanine V. Wolff. That said, it's never mentioned just how that wind gust was recorded, and . The twister moved east-northeastward across the northern part of the city, and continued into Clay County before lifting at 6:10 pm CST near the town of Dean. Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma University who photographed storms when he lived in Norman, Oklahoma during the 1970s. It is estimated that 5,000 families, containing 20,000 residents, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. I can't say for sure, chasing was different back then. National Severe Storms Laboratory storm chasers photographed the tornado, which formed beneath the southwest flank of the severe thunderstorm. Three people were killed in the restaurant. Mr. Carter also dispatched a special assistant, Jack H. Watson Jr., to this city of 125,000 people in northern Texas to survey the tornado damage. Aerial Reconnaissance photos- Source Don Burgess; Credit: NASA, Mission 399; Roll: #3; Film Type: 50-397; Frames: 041 to 050; Date: 4/12/1979, Damage photos - Source: Don Burgess; Credit: NSSL; Institute for Disaster Research, at Texas Tech University, Harrold, TX photos - Credit: Wayne Collamore, Doppler Radar images - Source: Don Burgess; Credit: NSSL, Satellite images - Source: Dennis McCarthy, Former MIC, NWSFO OUN; Credit: NOAA/NWS. There were a total 42 tornado fatalities in Wichita Falls, of which 25 were vehicle related. Please select one of the following: Table 1 -- Casualty and Property Losses -, GOES Visible Satellite Images (1530Z 4/10/1979 - 0014Z 4/11/1979), GOES Infrared Satellite Images (0000Z - 0600Z 4/11/1979). During the morning, closely monitored air mass movements, temperatures, dew points, and winds had all been shifting towards critical values indicative of severe thunderstorms and potential tornadoes. While only on the ground for 35 minutes, the 800-foot-wide twister killed seven people, injured 111, and destroyed 225 homes. By afternoon, the warm front had lifted to the vicinity of the Red River, and a new low pressure area had formed near Childress. The width of the F1 damage was generally as wide as one mile, and the extent of the F0 damage was even wider, but so widespread that it was not mapped. 15:55 F2. The tornado blew many of those vehicles off those roadways, inflicting numerous fatalities. Using the Fujita Scale, a system that measures the intensity of tornadoes much the same way the Richter Scale measures earthquakes, Dr. McDonald rated the Wichita Falls tornado as a high F4 . 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. This tornado was part of an outbreak of tornadoes that occurred on May 25-26, 1955 across the southern Great Plains, and included the deadly F5 tornadoes at Blackwell, OK and Udall, KS. 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. The southern supercell, the Wichita Falls storm, produced its first tornado at 1653 CST (4:53 PM) near Seymour, TX. 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). The tornado moved across Highway 287 and caused light damage before entering Wichita County about 5 miles northeast of Harrold. Severe weather warnings had been in effect for Wichita County and Wichita Falls for almost an hour. The storm occurred in a largely uninhabited area, but heavily damaged a barn by unroofing it and buckling two of the barn walls outward. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. The tornado was coming down, but getting photography was difficult. After dodging power lines, broken poles, and busted trees we dropped south on US 183/283 on the east side of Vernon. Flash Flood Warnings Museum of the Kansas National Guard . Damage also occurred to machinery, homes, and outbuildings. Daily Weather History Fortunately, the tornado moved through rural areas and did not affect any housing at this stage. On Saturday, June 28, 1924, a deadly F4 tornado struck the Lake Erie shoreline communities of Sandusky and Lorain, Ohio. Tours. NWS Storm Data, Weather Safety It began at 4:57 p.m. about a mile-and-a-half south of Clearwater. April 26, 1962 - This tornado initially touched down at 10:45 pmCST on the Sheppard Access Road near Sheppard AFB, damaging several cars, and destroying a a 100 x 30 foot metal building at a motor company. As it turned out we would have driven into Vernon just before a major tragedy unfolded with injuries and death. . Tornado Database The electrical power to local stations was down from the storm which prevented the gas pumps from operating and us from getting more gas. Each parallelogram on the map below represents the approximate aerial coverage shown in each photo. We proceeded southwest toward Seymour witnessing a small tornado near Lake Kemp that was accompanied by golf ball size hail. Air Quality Homes and businesses were torn apart in the McGehee area. April 10, 1979: The worst single tornado in Texas' history hit Wichita Falls. June 16, 1997 - A survey conducted by a National Weather Service meteorologist confirmed that an F1 tornado touched down briefly about 5 miles southeast of Burkburnett (or 1.5 miles north of the north end of Sheppard AFB). Only three times in my chase career have I seen vertical storm tower velocities this strong. Also, the second story of the press box at the high school football stadium was blown off and scattered across the playing field. 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. Fire Weather A number of people tried the flee from the tornado as it crossed the south side of the city by getting in cars and driving east on Southwest Parkway, north on US Highway 281 and east again on US Highway 287. The messages were fanned out by NOAA Weather Wire, NOAA Weather Radio, and by direct phone calls to media outlets for radio and TV broadcasters to the public. At 1730 CST (5:30 PM), a core of greater than 50 dBZ and two mesocyclones were seen with the storm. Storm Data, Weather Safety About 1540 CST (3:40 PM), a tornado devastated the southeastern portion of Vernon, TX (11 fatalities). It was a large, but distant funnel that may have been the beginning of the horrific tornado that moved through that city. It then became calm before the winds began to pick up. ), May 26, 1955 - A small tornado touched down briefly at 1:38 am CST, moved northeastward along a narrow, 1-mile path and demolished a "washateria" and produced severely damaged several utility poles, business structures, homes, and trees. One F4 tornado impacted Vernon, Texas. First indications of tornado damage were near Harrold, which is located approximately 16 miles southwest of Vernon. Most people heeded the warnings and took shelter inside interior, small rooms in their homes. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. The powerful vortex, although rated only F-2, had winds of over 200 MPH. One thousand and sixty-two apartment units and condominiums were demolished and 130 damaged. At Sheppard Air Force Base, winds up to 70 mph tore countless limbs from trees and knocked out windows on some base housing units. At the end of the outbreak, 54 people lost their lives in Texas, three were killed in Oklahoma and one was killed in Indiana. Weather Radio, About Us A powerful tornado tore through the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday night, leveling dozens of structures in the city of Andover, according to officials. "It was just a regular old day. Historical weather events. A dry line had formed from the Childress low southward, and temperatures had become very warm in west Texas. Winter Weather Warnings About 65 people attended the funeral. Several got extra protection by covering themselves with mattresses and pillows. Barely one week later, phenomenally great amounts of rainfall poured on the southeastern sector of the State, taking 4 lives and inundating parts of numerous communities. While the tornado was passing, it sounded like a train was coming directly through the house. Three isolated supercells, forming in mid afternoon, moved northeastward as a trio and were responsible for the worst part of the outbreak. Graphical Forecasts Satellite Imagery, Forecasts Barns were destroyed and livestock was killed, including horses on two farms. The tornado finally ended near Waurika, OK after traveling 47 miles. May 23, 1888 - A tornado moved northeastward and passed 6 miles west of Wichita Falls during the evening of May 23, 1888. In addition to the tornado, severe thunderstorm winds moved through the Wichita Falls area, downing trees, limbs, and power poles. 5) The Wichita Falls Tornado - April 10, 1979. About $15 million of damage occurred as the tornado destroyed homes immediately south of TX State Highway 79, from Wichita Falls into the Dean and Petrolia areas. Were at times five separate vortices visible within the tornado moved through that.... 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