Global Information1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak information
|duration= parameter from the infobox header or from another 'History' box instead.| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Duration | April 10–12, 1979 |
| Tornado outbreak | |
| Tornadoes | 58 |
| Maximum rating | F4 tornado |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 61 |
| Injuries | 1,976 |
| Damage | ≳$440 million (1979 USD) |
| Areas affected | Texas, Oklahoma (Red River Valley), Midwestern United States, Southern United States |
Part of the Tornadoes of 1979 | |
On Tuesday, April 10, 1979, a widespread and destructive outbreak of severe weather impacted areas near the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. Thunderstorms developed over West and North Central Texas during the day within highly unstable atmospheric conditions following the northward surge of warm and moist air into the region, producing large hail, strong winds, and multiple tornadoes. At least 22 tornadoes were documented on April 10, of which two were assigned an F4 rating on the Fujita scale; four of the tornadoes caused fatalities.
Hardest hit were the communities of Vernon, Texas; Lawton, Oklahoma; and Wichita Falls, Texas, which were all impacted by strong tornadoes. The F4 Vernon tornado struck southern and eastern parts of the city at approximately 4:45 p.m. CST, destroying several residential blocks and killing 11 people. An F3 tornado spun up in Lawton at 5:05 p.m. CST,[a] destroying 167 buildings and killing 3 people. The most significant tornado of the day was an F4 tornado that began east-northeast of Holliday, Texas, at around 5:50 p.m. CST and moved east-northeast into Wichita Falls, taking a 8 mi (13 km) course through densely-populated areas of the city and destroying over two thousand homes across several neighborhoods. The tornado spanned as wide as 1.5 mi (2.4 km) across during its passage through the city, with the most severe damage occurring within a 0.5 mi (0.80 km) wide swath. At least 45 people were killed within the city and nearly 1,800 people were injured, ranking the tornado among the deadliest in Texas history. A majority of the fatalities occurred as the tornado mangled and tossed vehicles. The damage wrought by the Wichita Falls tornado was unprecedented, with the $400 million damage toll making it the costliest tornado on record at the time. The severe weather event was widely observed by scientific instruments due to its serendipitous occurrence during a NASA field campaign. Later studies referred to the tornado outbreak as the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, and in the areas affected the day came to be known as Terrible Tuesday.
The same weather system associated with the tornado outbreak produced additional thunderstorms and tornadoes on April 11, particularly in Arkansas. While tornadic activity was more widespread on April 11 compared to April 10 far fewer casualties occurred. The weather system also produced intense rainfall over Mississippi and Alabama that culminated in the 1979 Easter flood, the worst disaster to befall Jackson, Mississippi in over a century.[2]
- ^ "Daylight Saving Time". Astronomical Applications Department. United States Navy. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ Hederman, T.M. (1979). The Great Flood: 1979. Hederman Brothers. p. 7.
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