wichita falls tornado 1979 deaths

This followed an earlier warning at 5:08 pm, due to the Rocky Point tornado. A number of people were also killed or injured in the parking lot of Sikes Senter (sic) Mall, also on Kemp Boulevard. Wichita Falls Buries the First of 44 Tornado Victims, https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/14/archives/wichita-falls-buries-the-first-of-44-tornado-victims.html. Fire Weather Wayne Collamore, View looking northwest east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:20 pm CST. This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 02:48. Three people were injured. 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. 3 Comanche County, OK. 17:05 F3. Winter Weather That said, it's never mentioned just how that wind gust was recorded, and . The Wichita Falls tornado, with how black . One person was injured. Only three times in my chase career have I seen vertical storm tower velocities this strong. Soon thereafter tornadoes were spotted near Crosby ton and Plainview and golfball size hail fell near Tulia, Afton, and Washburn (High Plains). Non Precipitation Warnings Numerous other disruptive weather events, including torrential, flash-flooding rains, scattered but frequent incidents of hail, and a widespread dust and sand storm, highlighted April, an unusually wet but seasonably mild month for most Texans. The Wichita Falls tornado of April 10, 1979 was one of thirteen tornadoes which rampaged across parts of north Texas and Oklahoma that "Terrible Tuesday." This over one mile-wide beast. Norman, OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd. 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. Special Weather Statements . These figures include 12 counties. For the first time in years we altered that route. The tornado was preceded by strong winds, and then followed at once by heavy rain and hail, which covered a 200-square mile area. ), April 24, 1923 - A tornado blew apart five homes 3 miles south-southwest of Burkburnett and 6 oil derricks where also destroyed. More widespread home destruction occurred in Colonial Park and several more apartment complexes were demolished. The tornado then swept through the Southmoor area, destroying homes and a shopping center. After dark, another jet stream wind maximum moved northeastward into west central and northern Texas, sparking a second round of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. It seems that almost every major Texas city has had to deal with a tornado at least once. Daily Weather History 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. Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at wall cloud on the southwestern edge of the thunderstorm. . 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. The first tornado formed near Seymour at around 4:53 pm. Multiple locations were found. Witnesses say the several distinct, small vortices were visible during the formative stage of the tornado as it moved along the Fort Worth and Denver railroad into Wichita County. The Wichita Falls tornado formed in Archer County and moved northeast and damaged a few rural homes and high voltage towers at F1-F2 intensity. Evan got up, the moonlight bouncing off his not so wicked blue eyes. . The collingsworth family is a southern gospel /inspirational group started by phil and kim collingsworth and features their family as the group. If McNiel Junior High had been fully occupied by students and teachers at the time of the tornado, there would have been hundreds of additional casualties and many more deaths. Total property damage in Wichita Falls was estimated at $400,000,000 (in 1979 dollars). North Texas County DA to seek death penalty for Tanner Horner, man accused of killing Athena Strand. The giant tornado was a massive black column extending from the low striated base of the inky clouds to the ground. Although high numbers of deaths have occurred in vehicles during tornadoes, the occurrences are rare. On the first street of houses to the northeast of Lange's apartment complex, Robert Molet also photographed the approaching tornado (location #3). Scary stuff. Submit a Spot Forecast 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. One man was killed at a dairy farm in Dean. The twister, which had a wide funnel, shrouded the community in darkness as it swept eastward south of Vernon and along the east side of the city, resulting in millions of dollars in damage and 11 directly killed by the tornado (10 in Vernon and 1 in Lockett, TX). Wrecked cars were smashed against bridge abutments, a power plant was knocked out, and part of a high school was destroyed. April 26, 1991, saw one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tornadoes in Wichita history. Multiple locations were found. It inflicted additional F0-F2 damage south of Dean and Byers, but no more fatalities occurred. When was the last time there was a tornado in Wichita? I survived an enormous North Texas twister on April 10, 1979 that took 52 lives when three vortexes merged into one. McNiel Junior High School is shown in the middle left of this and all of the following photos. National Weather Service Six cross-country steel transmission towers were destroyed just east of Farm Road 2650. Rob Satkus EF2. Several trailers were destroyed. The tornado just missed two busloads of students who were returning from a game in Burkburnett. A 368-foot radio antenna and 2 others antennas were blown down, and multiple power lines were downed. 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 F5 storm tore through Wichita and Andover, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. The school building was totally destroyed by the tornado. Historic data, especially before 1950, are likely incomplete. Cool Photos. Alberty, R. A., D. W. Burgess and T. T. Fujita, 1980: Severe weather events of 10 April 1979. Damage also occurred to machinery, homes, and outbuildings. Severe damage in the Pruitt City area. However, several small communities, among them Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma, were hit by the storm. 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. Photographs indicated that it was a large, cylindrical tornado with a well organized debris cloud. We were on our own. The clouds in the flanking lines exploded up the back of the storm through the back-sheared anvil to the overshooting top. It is estimated that 5,000 families, consisting of almost 20,000 people, were left homeless in Wichita Falls. 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. Along the 5.6-mile-long tornado path, the area of total destruction was 100 to 200 yards wide with lesser damage occurring up to 500 yards in width. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. ", "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. More. 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. No fatalities or injuries occurred. Museum of the Kansas National Guard . Averages and Records In addition, approximately 140 mobile homes were destroyed, two schools were demolished and 11 others sustained serious damage. In addition, many businesses, cars, trees, windows, TV antennas, and power poles incurred damage. Is it curse or coincidence? Pat Blacklock, View looking northwest from south shore of Lake Wichita at the tornado approaching Wichita Falls, Texas. Several buildings were torn apart and a cemetery was damaged. The damage was quite hit and miss. 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. After the tornado, a thorough investigation of the damage was performed by Texas Tech University, Institute for Disaster Research, and the University of Chicago. 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. Forecast Discussion, Warnings and Other Products This information is part of Stamboom Vermeij by Truus Vermeij on Genealogy Online. Extensive wind damage to about 100 homes and outbuildings occurred in Burkburnett where two 40-foot smoke stacks were also toppled. 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. All NOAA. Rivers and Lakes Wolfgang Lange, View looking southwest near Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas at approaching tornado. He had allegedly been sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered, then his body ran through a full cycle in the dishwasher- officials speculated the killer had . By afternoon, the warm front had lifted to the vicinity of the Red River, and a new low pressure area had formed near Childress. Tornado warning and preparedness systems are worth the time and effort it takes to maintain them. Three people were injured in a mobile home near the beginning of the path. 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). On that day, at least 13 separate tornadoes touched down in the Texas/Oklahoma area, striking Wichita Falls, Vernon, Seymour, and a number of other towns. 44 homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed. Crossing into Oklahoma, the tornado inflicted additional damage near Waurika before dissipating. 15:25 F4. 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 intense damage averaged between one quarter and one half of a mile in width. ), March 31, 1892 - A tornado hit parts of Iowa Park where a house was moved 30 feet and destroyed, injuring 3 occupants. 2 All times in Central Standard Time. For the most part, however, rainfall amounts were modest, with only a few points collecting more than 1 inch (Figure 27). A concrete block building was destroyed, and another was partially destroyed. As seen in the photographs by Winston Wells (location #10), the tornado became multi-vortex, displaying as many as five satellite vortices rotating around the center of circulation. Perennially the State perseveres through frequent bombardments of hail, high winds, and flash floods, often with the accompaniment of tornadoes-as well as the threat of being struck on its coastal flank by a hurricane or intense tropical cyclone. Lighter damage occurred outside of the AFB and no hail was observed. In the Wichita Falls area, damage occurred to ~75 homes, 15 trailer homes, high school, and numerous outbuildings. The storm's second tornado, the terrible Wichita Falls tornado, formed at 1755 CST (5:55 PM) to the southwest of the city and moved through the southern and eastern sides of Wichita Falls shortly after 1800 CST (6:00 PM). The tornado then crossed a short span of open fields before moving into the Colonial Park area. Please try another search. It was a large, but distant funnel that may have been the beginning of the horrific tornado that moved through that city. The tornado was coming down, but getting photography was difficult. A few intense thunderstorms erupted at about the same time in the northwestern portion of North Central Texas; small hail and high winds raked Gainesville and Decatur during the noon hour. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. Many of the 1,800 injured, however, were in homes. Here we goa hymn request from Erlene: Great Is His Faithfulness, sung by the Collingsworth Family. 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. FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 0 10 19 . (Colonial Park, Hursh, Southmoor, Southwinds, and Southern Hills) A number of people tried to flee as the tornado moved along US 281 and 287 by driving east on Southwest Parkway. Three homes were destroyed and others were damaged. There was strong upper level dynamics all coming together to produce strong tornado-producing supercells. More than 1700 injuries occurred within Wichita Falls. The tornado exited Texas about 4 miles east of Byers, uprooting over 200 trees along the Red River. Members of the Wichita Falls Repeater Club Weather Spotters manned their pre-planned command post on the NWS Office (WSO) and deployed radio-equipped members to vantage points that assured good observation coverage southwest of the city. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings During this time I was trying to shoot pictures through the window. Averages and Records Questions? 6. Thus, he stood in his backyard driveway and photographed the destruction of the apartment complex and the beginning of destruction in his neighborhood. A very intense spring storm shifted out of the Rocky Mountains on April 10, generating lines of severe thunderstorms that swept across the northern portion of the State. No one was killed and only several major injuries occurred among the approximately one thousand shoppers who were in the mall. Usually hail is a problem in this position, but we encountered none on this storm. By the end of the day we had seen four tornadoes, Thalia, Vernon (although not well), Lake Kemp, and Seymour. The following table includes data and summaries from the tornadoes that occurred in the area since the late 1800's. Three thousand and ninety-five homes were destroyed and 600 were damaged. To the north of Southwest Parkway, the tornado destroyed many houses in the Western Hills Addition. Meanwhile, President Carter declared Oklahoma a major disaster area as a result of the tornadoes, making Federal funds available for relief and recovery efforts. But before the day's end, three very large, devastating tornadoes swept across the area leaving scores dead and hundreds injured. Many businesses, cars, trees, windows, TV antennas, numerous... The apartment complex and the beginning of the storm Texas twister on April 10 1979! Was trying to shoot pictures through the back-sheared anvil to the Rocky Point tornado fields! About 4 miles east of Harrold on Highway 320 at about 4:20 pm CST the! Data and summaries from the low striated base of the biggest, tornadoes in Wichita Buries., OKNational Weather Center120 David L. Boren Blvd following photos 1979 dollars ), approximately mobile. Were injured in a mobile home near the beginning of destruction in his driveway... 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wichita falls tornado 1979 deaths