Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak

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Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak
Destruction in Wichita Falls, Texas after the tornado.
Destruction in Wichita Falls, Texas after the tornado.
Date of tornado outbreak: April 10-11, 1979
Duration1: 2 days
Maximum rated tornado2: F4 tornado
Tornadoes caused: 59 confirmed
Damages: unknown
Fatalities: 58
Areas affected: Southern US Plains & Mississippi Valley

1Time from first tornado to last tornado
2Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita Scale


The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak was a tornado event that occurred on April 10, 1979 near the Red River Valley. It's most noted for the F4 tornado that hit Wichita Falls, Texas and is commonly referred to as "Terrible Tuesday" by many meteorologists. Additional tornadoes were reported across the Southern Plains as well as in the Mississippi River Valley on April 10-April 11, 1979.

Contents

[edit] Formation of the tornadoes

More destruction from the Wichita Falls tornado
More destruction from the Wichita Falls tornado

A deepening low pressure system formed in Colorado as a warm front lifted north pulling warm, moist, unstable air. There was strong upper level dynamics all coming together to produce strong tornado-producing supercells. In the early afternoon hours, three supercell thunderstorms formed. They moved northeastward, and as a trio spawned families of tornadoes. These supercells caused the most damaging tornadoes of the outbreak.

The first tornado formed near Crowell, Texas at around 3:05 P.M. About 35 minutes later, the tornado ripped through Vernon and killed 11 people. Then the tornado killed three people in Lawton, Oklahoma. The second supercell spawned a tornado that moved 64 miles (103 km).

[edit] Wichita Falls

The third supercell was the one that formed the tornado that moved through Seymour, Texas and Wichita Falls. The tornado formed a family of three tornadoes. The first formed near Seymour at around 4:53 P.M.. The storm spawned a second tornado and moved through the south and east sides of Wichita Falls at around 6:00 P.M. The storm spawned another tornado near Waurika, Oklahoma at around 8:00 P.M. The storm moved 47 miles (76 km).

The storm formed in Archer County, Texas and moved northeast and damaged a few rural homes and high voltage towers. The tornado then moved into Wichita County, Texas and severely damaged Memorial Stadium and McNiel Junior High School. The tornado destroyed an apartment complex across the street. The tornado also took its first lives at the complex. The tornado later destroyed a restaurant, part of Sikes Senter, the major mall in the town, and another apartment complex where the tornado took more lives.

A number of people tried to flee as the tornado moved along US Highways 281 and 287. More people were killed in their cars. The tornado then moved into Clay County and changed its appearance. There were five satellite tornadoes spinning around the parent tornado. It did more damage south of Dean and Byers, TX, but no more fatalities.

[edit] Damage

At the end of the outbreak, 54 people lost their lives in Texas, three were killed in Oklahoma and one was killed in Indiana. The Wichita Falls tornado alone killed 42 people, a death toll which was unmatched until the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak in 1999. The tornado caused $400 million in damage which, also up until the Oklahoma tornado outbreak, made it the costliest tornado in U.S. history. An 8 miles (13 km) swath of the city had almost unheard of devastation. Dr. Ted Fujita, who was working at the University of Chicago, said the tornado caused as much as F4 damage on the east and south sides of the city. What was unique about this tornado was that it caused a wide swath of F4 damage. Ordinary tornadoes only have a small path of their most intense damage.

[edit] Tornado table

Confirmed
Total		 Confirmed
F0		 Confirmed
F1		 Confirmed
F2		 Confirmed
F3		 Confirmed
F4		 Confirmed
F5
59 10 18 25 4 3 0

[edit] Confirmed tornadoes

[edit] April 10, 1979 tornado event

F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Texas
F0 S of Crosbyton Crosby 1908 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F0 E of Plainview Hale 1938 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F2 S of Foard City to S of Rayland Foard 2105 22.1 miles
(35.4 km)
F4 SE of Rayland, TX to NE of Davidson, OK Foard, TX, Wilbarger, Tillman, OK 2120 39.7 miles
(63.5 km)		 11 deaths
F0 SE of Thalia Foard 2120 2.5 miles
(4 km)
F2 Harrold, TX to Marlow, OK Wilbarger, TX, Wichita, Tillman, OK, Cotton, Comanche, Stephens 2155 74.1 miles
(118.6 km)		 1 death
F2 NE of Seymour Baylor 2249 10.4 miles
(16.6 km)
F1 SW of Iowa Park Wichita 2308 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F4 SW of Wichita Falls, TX to E of Waurika, OK Archer, TX, Wichita, TX, Clay, Jefferson, OK 2350 46.9 miles
(75 km)		 42 deaths
F1 Wichita Falls area Wichita 0000 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F2 SW of Novice Runnels, Coleman 0317 9.6 miles
(15.4 km)
F3 SW of Talpa to N of Coleman Runnels, Coleman 0330 25 miles
(40 km)
F1 SE of Comanche Comanche 0350 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F2 S of Energy to W of Hico Comanche, Hamilton 0350 24 miles
(38.4 km)
F1 Mineral Wells area Palo Pinto 0356 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
Oklahoma
F2 N of Hollister Tillman 2205 9.2 miles
(14.7 km)
F1 N of Faxon Comanche 2235 7.1 miles
(11.4 km)
F3 Lawton area Comanche 2305 4.5 miles
(7.2 km)		 3 deaths
F2 S of Noble Cleveland 0040 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F2 E of Bellemont Pottawatomie, Lincoln 0045 4.6 miles
(7.4 km)
F2 SW of Noble Cleveland 0050 1.5 miles
(2.4 km)
F3 W of Pruitt City Carter 0155 12.8 miles
(20.5 km)
F0 W of Oakland Pottawatomie 0205 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)
Kansas
F1 Hays area Ellis 0130 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
Source: Tornado History Project - April 10, 1979 Storm Data

[edit] April 11, 1979 tornado event

F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Texas
F1 NE of Southmayd Grayson 0206 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F2 N of Athens Henderson, Van Zandt 1610 13.3 miles
(21.3 km)
F2 Sulphur Springs area Crosby 1612 8.3 miles
(13.3 km)
F1 NW of Hainesville Wood 1702 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
Oklahoma
F0 N of Oakland Pottawatomie 0205 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)
F1 NE of Allen Pontotoc 0601 3 miles
(4.8 km)
F2 NW of Kingston Marshall 0705 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F0 W of Beland Muskogee 1000 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F2 SW of Eagletown, OK to W of Big Fork, AR McCurtain, OK, Sevier, AR, Polk 1715 42 miles
(67.2 km)
Arkansas
F2 E of Hattieville Conway 1310 5.4 miles
(8.6 km)
F1 W of Mountain View Stone 1442 8.7 miles
(13.9 km)
F2 Prairie Grove area Washington 1602 11.1 miles
(17.8 km)
F2 NE of Bodcaw Nevada 2010 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F2 SW of Guy Faulkner 2015 3 miles
(4.8 km)
F2 E of East End to NE of Lonoke Saline, Pulaski, Lonoke 2100 40.3 miles
(64.5 km)
F1 NE of Fryatt Fulton 2145 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F1 W of Beebe White 2150 6.5 miles
(10.4 km)
F2 NE of Crossett Ashley 2210 10.4 miles
(16.6 km)
F2 NW of Black Rock Lawrence 2235 2 miles
(3.2 km)
F2 E of McGehee Desha 2315 3.6 miles
(5.8 km)
Missouri
F0 W of Hurley Stone 1310 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F3 W of Sterling to E of Licking Douglas, Texas 1500 35.4 miles
(56.6 km)
F0 SW of Bakersfield Ozark 2115 2.7 miles
(4.3 km)
F1 NE of Libertyville St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve 2330 8.5 miles
(13.6 km)
F2 Liberty to SE of Barnesville Clay, Clinton 0100 20.1 miles
(32.2 km)
Kansas
F1 NW of Colby Phillips 2100 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F1 N of Topeka Shawnee 2300 4.1 miles
(6.6 km)
Louisiana
F1 SW of Homer Claiborne 2100 2 miles
(3.2 km)
Nebraska
F0 S of Sweetwater Buffalo 0000 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
Mississippi
F1 NW of Roundaway Coahoma 0005 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
F2 NE of Columbus Lowndes 0900 (04/12) 7.7 miles
(12.3 km)
Kentucky
F2 S of Dycusburg to W of Bellville Crittenden, Webster, Henderson 0150 36 miles
(57.6 km)
Indiana
F2 SW of Boonville Vanderburgh, Warrick 0200 10 miles
(16 km)		 1 death
Tennessee
F0 Dickson area Dickson 0500 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)
Alabama
F1 Florence area Lauderdale 0530 0.5 miles
(0.8 km)
Source: Tornado History Project - April 11, 1979 Storm Data
Outbreak death toll
State Total County County
total
Indiana 1 Warrick 1
Oklahoma 3 Comanche 3
Texas 54 Wichita 42
Wilbarger 12
Totals 58
All deaths were tornado-related

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Fujita, T.T., and Wakimoto, R.M. (1979). "Red River Valley tornado outbreak of April 10, 1979", University of Chicago.

[edit] External links and sources

v • d • e
10 costliest US tornadoes
Rank Area affected Date Damage 1 Adjusted Damage 2
1 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma May 3, 1999 1000 963
2 Wichita Falls, Texas April 10, 1979 400 884
3 Omaha, Nebraska May 6, 1975 250 745
4 Lubbock, Texas Tornado May 11, 1970 135 558
5 Topeka, Kansas Tornado June 8, 1966 100 494
6 Windsor Locks/Poquonock, Connecticut October 3, 1979 200 442
7 St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado May 27, 1896 12 380
8 Xenia, Ohio April 3, 1974 100 325
9 North-central Georgia March 31, 1973 89 321
10 Worcester, MA June 9, 1953 52 311
Source: Brooks, Harold E.; C.A. Doswell (Feb 2001). "Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890–1999". Weather and Forecasting 16 (1): 168-76. American Meteorological Society.  3
1. These are the unadjusted damage totals in millions of US dollars.
2. Raw damage totals adjusted for inflation, in thousands of 1997 USD.
3. Search of NCDC Storm Data indicates no tornadoes since 1999 have caused more than $210 million in damage, so this source is up-to-date.