1979 Wichita Falls tornado

1979 F4 tornado in Texas, U.S the 1979 F4 that struck the city the 1964 F5 tornado 1964 Wichita Falls tornado infobox 1/2 300 Leon Hooten Wichita Falls tornado.png Wichita Falls velocity signature.jpg 1979 Wichita Falls tornado path.png Wftornado3.jpg Clockwise from top: The tornado at peak intensity in Wichita Falls; track of the tornado through the southern portions of Wichita Falls with associated damage path; homes flattened by the tornado; NEXRAD radar velocity imagery of the supercell that produced the tornado Photograph of the tornado's dark funnel cloud April 10, 1979, 5:50 p.m. CST (UTC−05:00) 1 hour, 10 minutes April 10, 1979, 7:00 p.m. CST (UTC−05:00) atl F4 47 mi 1760 yd mi km ≈225 mph ≥44 (≥41 direct) 1,740 1979 USD 400000000 Archer and Clay Counties in Texas, especially the city of Wichita Falls 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak and tornadoes of 1979 During the evening hours of Tuesday, April 10, 1979, a violent and deadly F4 tornado struck parts of Wichita Falls, Texas, causing catastrophic impacts to the city. The tornado, mononymously referred to as simply the Wichita Falls tornado, was up to 1.5 mi wide as it tore through the city, with the swath of particularly intense damage spanning 0.25 – 0.5 mi wide.NOAA 1979a 16 The twister was part of a larger tornado outbreak across the Red River Valley that spawned multiple deadly intense-to-violent tornadoes that day. 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. It rapidly intensified to F4 intensity as it entered the city near Memorial Stadium by McNiel Jr. High School on Southwest Parkway, which was located to the west of Wichita Falls at approximately 6:07 p.m., damaging both structures severely. Hail the size of golf balls preceded the touchdown and continued for approximately 15 minutes. It then became calm before the winds began to pick up. Continuing at F4 intensity, the now massive wedge tornado, which was at its maximum 1.5 mi km wide, cut a 2.5 mi km on swath of destruction through the south side of town. It first destroyed an apartment complex, where the first fatalities took place, as it moved along Southwest Parkway. The tornado then weakened slightly afterwards, but remained at F3 intensity, destroying the Sun Valley housing area, the Sunnyside Heights Mobile Home Park, and several large commercial businesses, including the Levi Strauss Plant, before exiting the east side of town. It then moved into Clay County and changed its appearance to display a multiple-vortex structure. There were at times five separate vortices visible within the tornado. It inflicted additional F0-F2 damage south of Dean and Byers, but no more fatalities occurred. Crossing into Oklahoma, the tornado inflicted additional damage near Waurika before dissipating. The tornado swept east-northeastward through a 8 mi stretch of residential areas covering 11 mi2,NOAA 1979a 16Glass et al. 1980 734 directly causing 42 fatalities according to the National Weather Service (NWS); another three people later died of heart attacks.NOAA 1979a 16 Vehicles were thrown as far as 200 yd away by the tornado.McDonald Minor 1979 1 The destruction amounted to $400 million in damage, making the tornado the costliest tornado on record at the time.NOAA 1979a 16NOAA 1979a 17 When normalized for wealth and inflation, the tornado caused approximately $1.14 billion in damage in 1997 United States dollars.Brooks Doswell 2001 Advance notice of the approaching tornado and the awareness of prior tornadoes earlier in the day in nearby Rocky Point and Vernon may have contributed to lowering the ultimate death toll.NOAA 1979a 17 Meteorological synopsis 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak#Meteorological synopsis Setup thumb|GOES-3 satellite image showing storms over the Red River Valley on the evening of April 10|alt=Grayscale satellite image of storms On April 10, 1979, a low level jet with winds of 20 m/s mph km/h materialized over north-central Texas in response to the approach of the jet streak higher aloft, accelerating the transport of heat and moisture northward into the Red River Valley.Jedlovec Fuelberg 1981 31 Thunderstorms developed near Lubbock and moved east-northeastward into a region of high potential instability near the Red River, becoming the strongest thunderstorms of the day. In particular, three isolated supercell thunderstorms caused the majority of the severe weather during the afternoon and evening of April 10;Purdom Weaver 1982 469Burgess Don Synopsis and Discussion of the 10 April 1979 Tornado Outbreak https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19790410 The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of 10 April 1979 National Weather Service Norman, Oklahoma June 5, 2024 Norman, Oklahoma all developed in the localized area of supportive conditions near the frontal intersection. The first thunderstorm formed around 1:00 p.m. CST spawned five tornadoes between 3:05 p.m. CST and 5:15 p.m. CST, including an F4-rated tornado that struck Vernon, Texas, and an F3-rated tornado that struck Lawton, Oklahoma. The second thunderstorm formed around 2:30 p.m. CST, while the third formed around 4:30 p.m. CST.Purdom Weaver 1982 469 The second supercell produced a tornado that began at 3:55 p.m. and took 64 mi long trackthe longest track of any tornado during the eventthrough primarily rural areas near Harrold, Texas and Grandfield, Oklahoma. The most damaging tornado, associated with the third supercell, began at around 5:55 p.m. CST and struck Wichita Falls, Texas.Jedlovec Fuelberg 1981 22 These storms persisted into nighttime over central and eastern Oklahoma. The breakout of severe weather and tornadoes associated with the thunderstorms near the Red River during the afternoon and evening of April 10 was collectively termed the "Red River Valley outbreak" or the "Red River Valley tornado outbreak" by scientists studying the event.Alberty Burgess Fujita 1980 1033Jedlovec Fuelberg 1981 22Moore Fuelberg 1981 1577 At least 12 tornadoes occurred within 75 km flip of Wichita Falls in a single two-hour period.Williams et al. 1980 37 The last tornado that occurred in the Red River Valley occurred around 8:00 p.m. CST in connection with the third supercell near Pruitt City, Oklahoma.Jedlovec Fuelberg 1981 39 The thunderstorms that produced the tornadoes in the Red River Valley continued into Arkansas and southern Missouri during the overnight hours but did not produce severe weather.Jedlovec Fuelberg 1981 39 Tornado summary Preceding supercell The thunderstorm that eventually produced the Wichita Falls tornado formed north of Abilene and generally moved towards the northeast. Weather radar observed reflectivity values exceeded 50 dBZ throughout the storm's lifetime, with the radar signal routinely exceeding 50000 ft above the surface; satellite observations suggested cloud top heights reaching as high as 15.6 km mi flip.Negri 1982 1151 The thunderstorm produced an F2 tornado earlier in the day in Baylor County, and hail up to 3 in in diameter in Archer, Baylor, Wichita, and Wilbarger counties.NOAA 1979a 16 Another thunderstorm produced a tornado in Wichita County about 12 mi west-southwest of Iowa Park.NOAA 1979a 16NOAA 1980a 26 The Wichita Falls weather service office issued a tornado warning for Wichita County at 5:08 p.m. in response to sightings of this tornado, and tornado sirens were sounded in Wichita Falls at 5:25 p.m. The first thunderstorm eventually approached Wichita County, prompting a severe thunderstorm warning for the county at 5:45 p.m. CST.NOAA 1980a 26 Two mesoscyclones within the thunderstorm were apparent on radar, including one associated with the earlier tornado in Baylor County. Formation, track into Wichita Falls and peak intensity thumb|left|250px|Another photograph of the tornado as it was impacting Wichita Falls At around 5:50 p.m. CST, a tornado developed in connection with the second mesocyclone on the southwestern flanks of the thunderstorm 3 mi east-northeast of Holliday, Texas, in Archer County.NOAA 1979a 16 Witnesses observed smaller vortices embedded in the broader tornadic circulation as it developed,NOAA 1979a 16 highlighting the multiple-vortex nature of the tornado; the individual vorticies coalesced as the tornado approached Wichita Falls.Pearson 1979 1674 Evidence of a tornado first became apparent on weather radar at 5:58 p.m. CST, while the tornado was about 10 mi southwest of the center of Wichita Falls.NOAA 1980a 26 The initial reports of the tornado by amateur storm spotters provided residents of Wichita Falls with about 5–10 minutes of notice before the tornado's eventual arrival.NOAA 1979a 17 The Wichita Falls weather service office issued a tornado warning for Wichita County at 6:00 p.m. CST, just as the first tornado warning expired, warning of the approach of this new tornado.NOAA 1980a 26 The tornado moved along the Fort Worth and Denver Railway into Wichita County, blowing away two oil storage tanks and unroofing several homes near FM 2560;NOAA 1979a 16 the swept oil tanks produced an oil spill.Fujita 1979 2 Six high-tension steel electrical transmission towers east of the road were damaged, with three blown prostrate.NOAA 1979a 16Fujita 1979 2 The tornado darkened and widened to a width of roughly 0.5 mi across as it moved into Wichita Falls at around 6:15 p.m. CST, impacting Memorial Stadium.Glass et al. 1980 734NOAA 1979a 16 The stadium field house was heavily damaged and stadium lighting was snapped.NOAA 1979a 16 As the tornado passed just south of the stadium, it rapidly strengthened to high-end F4 intensity and maintained this strength for the next 11 mi of its path.Fujita 1979 3 The tornado then caused the collapse of the western half of McNiel Junior High School;NOAA 1979a 16 the school was largely unoccupied when the tornado struck. After striking the stadium, the tornado began to move through heavily populated residential areas.McDonald Minor 1979 1 The Western Hills neighborhood south of Southwest Parkway was struck next, resulting in the first fatalities caused by the tornado. Numerous homes and several apartment complexes were destroyed in the neighborhood.NOAA 1979a 16 Faith Village The tornado widened to a width of about 1 mi as it crossed Southwest Parkway into the Faith Village neighborhood, levelling several businesses and tossing vehicles about.NOAA 1979a 16 The Southwest National Bank Building was levelled with the exception of its vault. The tornado destroyed most homes in Faith Village. Small interior rooms in most of the destroyed homes remained intact, resulting in relatively few fatalities despite the severity of destruction. The cafeteria auditorium and exterior classrooms at Ben Milam Elementary School sustained heavy damage. The tornado proceeded to raze businesses along Kemp Boulevard, including a restaurant where three people were killed. The northern periphery of the tornado struck the Sikes Senter shopping mall, causing the partial collapse of a JCPenney store and inflicting light to moderate damage to other stores in the mall.NOAA 1979a 16 Several of the roughly 1,000 shoppers in the mall suffered major injuries.NOAA 1979a 16 The tornadic winds heaped cars in the shopping mall's parking lot atop one another or blew them away. Several people were killed or injured in the parking lot, including some who had fled from the mall to their cars. A church 0.5 mi south of the mall was flattened, resulting in one fatality. The tornado entered the Colonial Park neighborhood after traversing a greenbelt and clipping the southern side of Midwestern State University, destroying many homes and apartment complexes in Colonial Park.NOAA 1979a 16 The second stories of apartment buildings saw particularly severe damage. Additional homes and a shopping center were razed in the Southmoor subdivision. The tornado then crossed US 281 and moved into the Sun Valley neighborhood along the southern side of US 287, destroying apartments, houses, and businesses. Cars were wrecked on US 287, resulting in a few fatalities. Among the fatalities were some who sought shelter underneath a highway overpass. The Sunnyside Heights mobile home park north of the highway was destroyed, though no fatalities resulted as residents had evacuated.NOAA 1979a 16 Clay County, crossing the Red River and dissipation thumb|Damage in Wichita Falls|alt=Photograph of damaged and destroyed buildings Industrial plants were subsequently destroyed, including a Levi Strauss & Co. manufacturing plant, as the tornado moved into Clay County south of SH 79.NOAA 1979a 17 The Wichita Falls weather service office issued a tornado warning for Clay County at 6:11 p.m. CST shortly before the office lost power.NOAA 1980a 29 Homes were destroyed by the tornado south of TX-79 along a path from Wichita Falls to Dean, and Petrolia, contributing to the $15 million damage toll wrought by the twister in Clay County. Forty people were injured in the county.NOAA 1979a 17 Fujita and Wakimoto assessed up to F4-rated tornado damage between Wichita Falls and Dean, with F0-rated damage south of Petrolia.Alberty Burgess Fujita 1980 1034 The tornado uprooted 200 trees along the Red River as it crossed into Oklahoma around 4 mi east of Byers at 6:30 p.m. CST.NOAA 1979a 17NOAA 1979b 21 The tornado's path gradually curved towards the left after entering Oklahoma, bringing it to areas southwest of Waurika. The most severe damage inflicted by the tornado in the state occurred alone Noble Wray Road, where 20 homes were destroyed or damaged. The frame of one mobile home was greatly contorted and blown 0.5 mi away.NOAA 1979b 21 Fujita and Wakimoto assessed up to F2-level damage southwest of Waurika.Alberty Burgess Fujita 1980 1034 The tornado dissipated just before 7:00 p.m. CST north-northeast of Waurika.NOAA 1979b 21 Widespread F0-intensity damage continued for 30 mi past Waurika, though this damage was likely caused by a large downburst rather than a continuation of the tornado.Fujita 1979 3 Analysis In total, the tornado was on the ground for approximately 70 minutes, with of path 47 mi long, including 36 mi in Texas and 11 mi in Oklahoma.NOAA 1979a 17 Based on aerial surveys of the damage, the Institute for Disaster Research assessed the tornado as reaching F4 intensity and estimated that the tornado's maximum wind speeds reached 175 – 225 mph.McDonald Minor 1979 2 The most extreme damage wrought by the tornado occurred at McNiel Junior High School and Southwest National Bank. Later engineering analysis of the higher-end damage suggested winds consistent with that of a strong F4 tornado, though there was ample preceding scientific discussion concerning whether or not the extreme damage could be graded as F5-intensity damage. Unlike most tornadoes, the corridor of strongest winds associated with the Wichita Falls tornado was unusually wide; the swath of F4-severity damage was nearly 0.5 mi across in vicinity of Ben Milam Elementary School and the Faith Village neighborhood. The thunderstorm that produced the Wichita Falls tornado also dropped hail up to 2 in diameter in Wichita Falls north of the tornado path. Survivors of the tornado also observed hail the size of golf balls immediately preceding and following passage of the tornado.NOAA 1979a 17 The broader winds associated with the mesocyclone that spawned the Wichita Falls tornado caused light damage throughout much of the city. Aftermath Recovery efforts Within Wichita Falls $63 million in losses were eligible for federal disaster aid.Barber Katy 45 years ago, the Red River Valley tornado outbreak struck Texas, Oklahoma https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/weather/article/red-river-valley-tornado-outbreak-19395686.php June 11, 2024 San Antonio Express-News Hearst Newspapers April 10, 2024 San Antonio, Texas The apparent survivability of small interior rooms despite the widespread destruction of homes and businesses encouraged the development of reinforced safe rooms. The viability of safe rooms and the high number of fatalities among those who fled their homes led to increased emphasis on seeking indoor shelter in tornado preparedness, as opposed to the older idea of opening windows to reduce tornado damage.Brown Angela K. 1979 Wichita Falls twister led to safety measures https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/1979-Wichita-Falls-twister-led-to-safety-measures-8810762.php June 11, 2024 Plainview Herald Associated Press Hearst Newspapers April 9, 2004 Plainview, Texas Death toll uncertainty A survey by the Center for Disease Control enumerated 44 fatalities and 171 injuries requiring hospitalization,CDC 1979 193 while a later study published in Science in February 1980 enumerated 45 deaths from traumatic injuries inflicted by the tornado, 1 from sepsis, and 1 from tetanus.Glass et al. 1980 735 Of the fatalities, 25 were vehicle-related deaths; 11 people died while attempting to evade the tornado in their vehicles after fleeing their otherwise undamaged homes.NOAA 1979a 16 Only five deaths occurred indoors.Glass et al. 1980 735 Around 1,700 people sustained injuries in Wichita Falls,NOAA 1979a 16 including 59 with serious injuries.Glass et al. 1980 735 Numerous residences were destroyed in the city, including 2,095 homes, 1,062 apartment units and 93 mobile homes.NOAA 1979a 16 Over 3,000 homes left uninhabitable by the tornado.Glass et al. 1980 734 The widespread devastation left approximately 20,000 people from 5,000 families homeless,NOAA 1979a 16 accounting for about 10–20% of the city's population. Other tornadoes The Wichita Falls tornado was produced by a supercell that produced two other tornadoes, one of which was unofficially touched down as the main F4 was ongoing: + List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, April 10, 1979"localdate" All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado began; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.F#LocationCounty / ParishStateStart Coord. CoordinatesCoord All starting coordinates are based on the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Storm Events database and may not reflect contemporary analyses.Time (UTC)time-sd Times as listed in Storm Data unless otherwise noted.NOAA 1979aNOAA 1979bNOAA 1979cPath lengthlength-sd Path lengths as listed in Storm Data unless otherwise noted.NOAA 1979aNOAA 1979bNOAA 1979cWidthWidth Widths as listed in Storm Data unless otherwise noted.NOAA 1979aNOAA 1979bNOAA 1979c The listed width values are primarily the average/mean width of the tornadoes. From 1952 to 1994, reports largely list mean width whereas contemporary years list maximum width.Agee and Childs 2014 1494 F2NW of Seymour to NNE of MabelleBaylorTX33.62 -99.30 Seymour (April 10, F2)1979-04-10T22:49 22:49–23:1211 mi km on on300 yd m on on A tornado touched down intermittently in the Seymour area, leading to scattered roof damage. The tornado strengthened as it moved northeast away from Seymour and into rural areas.NOAA 1979a 16 Most of the tornado path was over open country, impacting various outbuildings.Edwards Roger Public Domain Tornado Images https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/torscans.htm Storm Prediction Center June 11, 2024 Norman, Oklahoma Telephone poles were downed by the tornado along US 283.NOAA 1979a 16 The tornado was targeted by the University of Oklahoma's Severe Storms Intercept Project—1979, which was intended to supplement the concurrent SESAME field campaign through visual observation and documentation of severe storms. Footage was captured of the Seymour tornado's developmental and mature stages. The intercept team conducted a survey of the tornado path, documenting a segment of denuded tree branch that was lodged 18 cm into the ground and mesquite pulled from the ground by the tornado.Bluestein 1980 564–565 The thunderstorm that produced the Seymour tornado later spawned the violent tornado that hit Wichita Falls.NOAA 1979a 16 F1Wichita FallsWichitaTX33.90 -98.50 Wichita Falls (April 10, F1)1979-04-11T00:00 00:002 mi km on on50 yd m on on A small tornado caused intermittent damage in northwestern Wichita Falls while the primary Wichita Falls tornado was impacting southern parts of the city. Witnesses described the tornado as bearing a small funnel cloud without condensation reaching the surface. Several structures were damaged, including a home and several outbuildings. A drive-in theater screen was also downed by the tornado. The damage was initially assessed as being caused by straight-line thunderstorm winds.NOAA 1979c 7[Event Report for F1 Tornado in Wichita County, Texas] https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/storm-events-database/event-details/10130769 Storm Events Database National Centers for Environmental Information June 5, 2024 See also List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado Joplin tornado Notes References Sources 30em Alberty Ron L. Burgess Donald W. Fujita T. T. Severe Weather Events of 10 April 1979 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society September 1980 61 9 1033–1034 https://swco-ir.tdl.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/727ade26-1991-43c1-a85f-44d79fab92f7/content June 5, 2024 American Meteorological Society PDF Bluestein Howard B. The University of Oklahoma Severe Storms Intercept Project—1979 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1 June 1980 61 6 560–567 10.1175/1520-0477-61.6.560 free 1980BAMS...61..560B Brooks Harold E. Doswell Charles A. Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890–1999 Weather and Forecasting February 2001 16 1 168–176 10.1175/1520-0434(2001)016<0168:NDFMTI>2.0.CO;2 free 2001WtFor..16..168B Ernest M. Agee Samuel Childs Adjustments in Tornado Counts, F-Scale Intensity, and Path Width for Assessing Significant Tornado Destruction Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology June 1, 2014 53 6 1494–1505 10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0235.1 American Meteorological Society free 2014JApMC..53.1494A Agee and Childs 2014 Center for Disease Control Tornado Mortality — Wichita Falls, Texas Morbidity and Mortality Report May 4, 1979 28 17 193–194 23292453 CDC 1979 Doswell Charles A. Moller Alan R. Brooks Harold E. Storm Spotting and Public Awareness since the First Tornado Forecasts of 1948 Weather and Forecasting August 1999 14 4 544–557 10.1175/1520-0434(1999)014<0544:SSAPAS>2.0.CO;2 free 1999WtFor..14..544D Ferretti R. Einaudi F. Uccellini L. W. Wave disturbances associated with the red river valley severe weather outbreak of 10?11 April 1979 Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 1988 39 3–4 132–168 10.1007/BF01030294 1988MAP....39..132F Fuelberg Henry E. Jedlovec Gary J. A Subsynoptic-Scale Kinetic Energy Analysis of the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak (AVE-SESAME I) Monthly Weather Review December 1982 110 12 2005–2024 10.1175/1520-0493(1982)110<2005:ASSKEA>2.0.CO;2 free 1982MWRv..110.2005F Fujita Ted Characteristics of the Red River Valley Tornadoes as of April 15, 1979 April 16, 1979 https://swco-ir.tdl.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/f254292c-d45b-4180-807f-2b26375d6a0e/content June 11, 2024 Texas Tech University PDF Glass Roger I. Craven Robert B. Bregman Dennis J. Stoll Barbara J. Horowitz Neil Kerndt Peter Winkle Joe Injuries from the Wichita Falls Tornado: Implications for Prevention Science 15 February 1980 207 4432 734–738 10.1126/science.207.4432.734 17795992 1980Sci...207..734G Glass et al. 1980 Grazulis Thomas P. Thomas P. Grazulis Significant Tornadoes, 1880–1989, Volume II: A Chronology of Events November 1990 Environmental Films St. Johnsbury, Vermont 9781879362024 https://books.google.com/books?id=yW5NAQAAIAAJ Google Books June 4, 2024 Homan Jeffrey H. Vincent Dayton G. 1 May 1983 Mesoscale Analysis of Surface Variables During the Severe Storm Outbreak of 10–11 April 1979 Monthly Weather Review American Meteorological Society 111 5 1122–1130 10.1175/1520-0493(1983)111<1122:MAOSVD>2.0.CO;2 1983MWRv..111.1122H Jedlovec Gary J. Fuelberg Henry E. A Subsynoptic-Scale Kinetic Eenergy Student of the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak (AVE-SESAME I) NASA Contractor Report 3546 August 1981 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19810023202/downloads/19810023202.pdf June 5, 2024 NASA McDonald James R. Minor Joseph E. Preliminary Report on Tornado Damage Survey of the Wichita Falls and Vernon Texas Tornadoes of April 10, 1979 April 20, 1979 https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1924/ML19241C004.pdf Institute for Disaster Research Lubbock, Texas Moore James T. Fuelberg Henry E. A Synoptic Analysis of the First AVE-SESAME '79 Period Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1 November 1981 62 11 1577–1590 10.1175/1520-0477-62.11.1577 free 1981BAMS...62.1577M Moore James T. Murray Joan M. The Contribution of Surface, Horizontal Moisture Convergence to the Severe Convection of 10–11 April 1979 National Weather Digest 1982 7 1 http://nwafiles.nwas.org/digest/papers/1982/Vol07No1/1982v007no01-Moore-Murray.pdf June 5, 2024 National Weather Association 1 National Weather Service Jackson, Mississippi Flood History of Mississippi https://www.weather.gov/media/jan/JAN/Hydro/Flood_History_MS.pdf June 6, 2024 September 12, 2016 NWS Jackson 2016 April 1979 Storm Data April 1979 21 4 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-541181C4-B65D-4FFB-BFB0-D04CD0D4A669.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20240601152739/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-541181C4-B65D-4FFB-BFB0-D04CD0D4A669.pdf June 1, 2024 June 1, 2024 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA 1979a May 1979 Storm Data May 1979 21 5 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-D74C2658-B4D7-4584-BFE6-C23B2EFF127C.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20240601161419/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-D74C2658-B4D7-4584-BFE6-C23B2EFF127C.pdf June 1, 2024 June 1, 2024 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA 1979b 1 December 1979 Storm Data December 1979 21 5 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/swdi/stormevents/pub-pdf/storm_1979_12.pdf June 5, 2024 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA 1979c 1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Summary Climatological Data December 1979 30 13 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-4436565F-D121-4654-9ABA-CD67E5D46D65.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20240610224714/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-4436565F-D121-4654-9ABA-CD67E5D46D65.pdf June 10, 2024 June 10, 2024 NOAA 1979d Asheville, North Carolina National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Red River Valley Tornadoes of April 10, 1979 Natural Disaster Survey Report https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/47160/noaa_47160_DS1.pdf June 5, 2024 80–1 January 1980 Rockville, Maryland NOAA 1980a 1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The April '79 Floods of the Pearl and Tombigbee Rivers Natural Disaster Survey Report https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/16363/noaa_16363_DS1.pdf June 6, 2024 80–2 April 1980 Rockville, Maryland NOAA 1980b 1 Negri Andrew J. Cloud-top Structure of Tornadic Storms on 10 April 1979 from Rapid Scan and Stereo Satellite Observations Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 1 October 1982 63 10 1151–1159 10.1175/1520-0477-63.10.1151 free American Meteorological Society 1982BAMS...63.1151N Ostby Frederick P. Wilson Larry F. Tornado! Weatherwise February 1980 33 1 31–35 10.1080/00431672.1980.9931883 1980Weawi..33a..31O Pearson Douglas C. Development of the Wichita Falls Tornado Monthly Weather Review December 1979 107 12 1673–1674 10.1175/1520-0493(1979)107<1673:DOTWFT>2.0.CO;2 free 1979MWRv..107.1673P Peslen Cynthia A. Koch Steven E. Uccellini Louis W. The Effect of the Arbitrary Level Assignment of Satellite Cloud Motion Wind Vectors on Wind Analyses in the Pre-Thunderstorm Environment NASA Technical Memorandum February 1985 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19850011255/downloads/19850011255.pdf June 5, 2024 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland Purdom James F. W. Weaver John F. Nowcasting During the 10 April 1979 Tornado Outbreak: A Satellite Perspective 12th Conference on Severe Local Storms 1982 467–470 https://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/resources/Weaver/Conference%20PDFs/05%20Nowcasting.pdf June 5, 2024 American Meteorological Society San Antonio, Texas Boston, Massachusetts Williams Steven F. Scoggins James R. Horvath Nicholas Hill Kelly A Preliminary Look at AVE-SESAME I Conducted on April 10–11, 1979 NASA Technical Memorandum TM-78262 February 1980 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19800010360/downloads/19800010360.pdf June 5, 2024 Williams et al. 1980 NASA External links 47miles.org - A project to construct a memorial to the Wichita Falls tornado Coming Back: Wichita Falls, TX Tornado - April 10, 1979 KAUZ-TV Omaha, NE (1975) Costliest U.S. tornadoes on record April 10, 1979 Bridge Creek, Moore, & Oklahoma City (Metro), OK (1999) Category:F4, EF4 and IF4 tornadoes Category:Tornadoes in Texas Wichita Falls tornado 04-10 Wichita Falls tornado Wichita Falls tornado Wichita Falls tornado Category:Satellite tornadoes