1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak

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, 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 course through densely populated areas of the city and destroying over two thousand homes across several neighborhoods. The tornado spanned as wide as across during its passage through the city, with the most severe damage occurring within a 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 ($1.865B in 2025 dollars) 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.

Meteorological synopsis

Preceding the event

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 9, a strong upper-tropospheric trough was located over the western United States. At roughly above the surface, a powerful jet stream extended from the eastern Pacific to South Texas. Although a cold front moving south during the day brought substantially cooler conditions to Oklahoma, it quickly weakened over Texas. Warm and moist air remained over South Texas ahead of the disturbances. Meteorological computer models using data collected at 6 p.m. CST April 9 suggested that severe weather was possible the next day for parts of Oklahoma and Texas but did not as indicate as clearly the possibility of a tornado outbreak. The upper-tropospheric trough moved slower than modeling projected and by 6:00 a.m. CST April 10 had become oriented north-northeast to south-southwest, a characteristically negative tilt associated with many severe weather outbreaks. An occluded front stretched from a quickly intensifying low-pressure area in Colorado into the Texas Panhandle, representing one area conducive to storm development. A wide expanse of stratus clouds covered much of Central Texas during the morning hours as a result of a stable airmass over the area. However, strong southerly winds closer to the surface brought moisture northward from South Texas, concurrent with a rapid increase in atmospheric instability over North Texas. Due to the presence of directional wind shear, the winds over the Red River Valley brought moist air from the south closer to the surface, and drier air from the west further aloft, enhancing convective instability. The leading edge of the northward surge of moisture was marked by an ill-defined warm front. Dew points across the region increased by around to near .

A line of thunderstorms developed over North Texas on the morning of April 10 in response to the surge of warm air, with small hail up to diameter associated with some of the storms. Within the nearby jet stream, an area of locally intense windsa jet streakmoved towards the northeast towards the expanding unstable airmass over north-central Texas. The passage of this core of intense winds aloft induced strong southwesterly winds closer to the surface over eastern New Mexico and West Texas, leading to widespread blowing dust. Wind gusts exceeded across West Texas and reached as high as at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The dew point at Marfa, Texas, was compared to dew points near over central Texas. This surge of dry air, moving towards the east-northeast at roughly , marked another potential region for storm development. A second area of thunderstorms began to quickly intensify along the leading edge of this dry line and along the occluded front between Amarillo, Texas, and Plainview, Texas. Hail up to in diameter was reported in association with these storms, as well as a tornado east of Plainview at around 1:38 p.m. CST that caused no damage. A third area of thunderstorms, albeit short-lived, developed west of Abilene, Texas, along the western edge of a small region of high pressure. While several of the morning's storms moved towards stable conditions and were poised to eventually weaken, particularly conducive conditions for intense thunderstorm development materialized near Lubbock, Texas, at the intersection of the surging dry line, the warm front, and the western edge of the high pressure region.

thumb|A [[tornado watch was issued for parts of southwestern Oklahoma and northern Texas on the afternoon of April 10.|alt=Map outlining the tornado watch region]]

By the afternoon of April 10, both the warm front and the region of strong winds associated with the jet stream had reached the Red River area, resulting in stronger wind shear. The National Severe Storms Forecasting Center (NSSFC) issued a tornado watch at 1:55 p.m. CST on April 10 for a area encompassing parts of southwestern Oklahoma and north-central Texas. The watch statement highlighted the potential for tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds within the watch area. Within the risk region, the air pressure fell by in three hours; such drastic pressure falls can precede tornado outbreaks. Strong convergence of moisture was also observed in the areas where storms eventually formed.

Tornado outbreak

alt=Photograph of a dark funnel cloud|left|thumb|The Seymour tornado

The arrival of the jet streak contributed to the conversion of the atmospheric instability accumulating near the Red River into thunderstorm formation. Just before the onset of the tornado outbreak, a low level jet with winds of 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. 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; The atmospheric environment surrounding the April 10 severe weather outbreak and the thunderstorms that eventually formed were closely observed as part of the Severe Environmental Storms and Mesoscale Experiment (SESAME), a scientific field campaign aimed at studying severe weather. As part of SESAME, an extensive survey of affected areas was undertaken following the event, including interviews of civil defense directors and ground and aerial surveys of tornado paths. Damage along the paths of 12 of the tornadoes on April 10 were rated with the Fujita scale by Ted Fujita and Roger Wakimoto based on observations from a low-flying Cessna aircraft on April 12–13, with a presumed ±1 margin of error.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"

|+ Daily statistics of tornadoes during the tornado outbreak of April 10–12, 1979

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Date

! scope="col" rowspan="2" align="center"|Total

! scope="col" colspan="7" align="center"|F-scale rating

! scope="col" rowspan="2" align="center"|Deaths

! scope="col" rowspan="2" align="center"|Injuries

! scope="col" align="center"| F? 

! scope="col" align="center"| F0 

! scope="col" align="center"| F1 

! scope="col" align="center"| F2 

! scope="col" align="center"| F3 

! scope="col" align="center"| F4 

! scope="col" align="center"| F5 

!scope="row" | April 10

|align="right"|25

|align="right"|1

|align="right"|4

|align="right"|6

|align="right"|9

|align="right"|3

|align="right"|2

|align="right"|0

|align="right"|60

|align="right"|1,922

!scope="row" | April 11

|align="right"|32

|align="right"|4

|align="right"|1

|align="right"|11

|align="right"|15

|align="right"|1

|align="right"|0

|align="right"|1

|align="right"|54

!scope="row" | April 12

|align="right"|1

|align="right"|0

|align="right"|1

|align="right"|0

|-class="sortbottom"

!scope="row"| Total

| align="right" |58

| align="right" bgcolor=#|5

| align="right" bgcolor=#|17

| align="right" bgcolor=#|25

| align="right" bgcolor=#|4

| align="right" bgcolor=#|2

| align="right" bgcolor=#|0

| align="right"|61

| align="right"|1,976

April 10 event

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="width:100%;"

|+ List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, April 10, 1979

! scope="col" width="2%" align="center" |F#

! scope="col" align="center" class="unsortable" |Location

! scope="col" align="center" class="unsortable" |County / Parish

! scope="col" align="center" |State

! scope="col" align="center" |Start

! scope="col" align="center" |Time (UTC)

! scope="col" align="center" |Path length

! scope="col" align="center" |Width

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F0

|SE of Crosbyton

|Crosby

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado occurred over open country southeast of Crosbyton, causing no damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F?

|E of Plainview

|Hale

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado occurred over open country east of Plainview. Storm Events does not assign a rating for this tornado.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|S of Foard City to SE of Crowell to near Rayland

|Foard

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A significant tornado moved across Foard County, destroying, unroofing, or otherwise damaging homes.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F4

|N of Thalia, TX to Vernon, TX to E of Davidson, OK

|Foard (TX), Wilbarger (TX), Tillman (OK)

|TX, OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | 11 deaths, See section on this tornado – There were 67 injuries.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F0

|E of Crowell

|Foard

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado caused damage near the intersection of US 70 and FM 267.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Harrold, TX to Grandfield, OK to Pumpkin Center, OK

|Wilbarger (TX), Wichita (TX), Tillman (OK), Cotton (OK), Comanche (OK), Stephens (OK)

|TX, OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | 1 death A tornado began in the Harrold area, moving across US 287 and crossing into Wichita County, where it inflicted light rural damage. One person was killed while sheltering beneath a semi-trailer on US-287. After tracking for over Texas, the tornado crossed the Red River into Oklahoma at around 4:10 p.m. CST. While the tornado remained at F0 intensity over Texas, it began strengthening after crossing the river. The tornado intensified over Oklahoma and was near its maximum intensity when it reached the Grandfield airport at around 4:30 p.m. CST. It caused considerable damage at the airport, destroying eight planes and damaging another. Twelve homes in the Grandfield area were either damaged or destroyed, including four mobile homes. Three people were injured in the Grandfield area, including one seriously. The tornado crossed SH-5 west of Walters, Oklahoma, as a slightly weaker F1 tornado. Five homes were destroyed and four others were damaged northwest of Walters. The tornado then reintensified and produced a second region of F2-intensity damage southeast of Lawton as it approached Hulen and Pumpkin Center. Around Pumpkin Center, 13 homes were destroyed; some of the homes were impacted by a tornado a year prior. Additional homes were damaged along SH-7. The tornado was the longest-tracked tornado of both the tornado outbreak and of the entirety of 1979 in the United States. Five people were injured. Telephone poles were downed by the tornado along US 283. 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 into the ground and mesquite pulled from the ground by the tornado. The thunderstorm that produced the Seymour tornado later spawned the violent tornado that hit Wichita Falls.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F3

|Lawton

|Comanche

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | 3 deaths A tornado warning was first posted for southern Comanche County, at 4:15 p.m. CST, with tornado sirens activated in Lawton, shortly thereafter. A tornado began roughly north of the Lawton–Fort Sill Regional Airport terminal building at 5:05 p.m. CST and moved into Lawton, impacting areas near the intersection between 2nd Street and Lee Boulevard. The tornado's path curved gradually to the east thereafter, cutting across the H. E. Bailey Turnpike. There, the tornado reached its maximum intensity as an upper-end F3 tornado. It then moved erratically before dissipating. Three people were killed by the tornado and 100 others were injured. The tornado damaged 449 structures, of which 116 were destroyed. The damage toll reached $9 million.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|WSW of Iowa Park

|Wichita

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A narrow and brief tornado occurred near Rocky Point, causing no damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F4

|ENE of Holliday, TX to Wichita Falls, TX to NNE of Waurika, OK

|Archer (TX), Wichita (TX), Clay (TX), Jefferson (OK)

|TX, OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | ≥45 deaths See article on this tornado – There were 1,740 injuries.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|Wichita Falls

|Wichita

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | 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.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|N of Purcell, Oklahoma

|Cleveland

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado damaged two barns north of Purcell.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|SW of Prague

|Pottawatomie, Lincoln

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado moved across the Prague, Oklahoma, area, destroying two mobile homes and damaging another three homes. One person in a mobile home was injured.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Noble

|Cleveland

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A mobile home was razed by a tornado near Noble.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|SE of Hays

|Ellis

|KS

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado damaged several buildings in southeastern Hays, including 20 mobile homes. The tornado inflicted minor injuries on two people upon overturning their mobile home.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F3

|NW of Ringling to Pruitt City to NE of Ratliff City

|Carter

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | The tornado began northeast of Ringling and was on the ground intermittently as it moved north-northeast. The tornado moved through Pruitt City at around 8:05 p.m. CST, destroying or damaging 44 homes and at least five cars.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F0

|W of Maud

|Pottawatomie

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | One of two small simultaneous tornadoes that occurred near Maud.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F0

|N of Maud

|Pottawatomie

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | One of two small simultaneous tornadoes that occurred near Maud.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|NE of Ballinger to W of Novice

|Runnels, Coleman

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A large tornado moved across largely open country, destroying some barns. The width of the damage varied between and wide. Several homes were also damaged by the tornado.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F3

|ESE of Ballinger to NNE of Coleman

|Runnels, Coleman

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado spun up east-southeast of Ballinger, causing significant damage to buildings and power lines. The tornado crossed US 67 roughly west of Valera, blowing a car off the road and damaging a nearby house. The tornado's impacts were especially prominent north of Coleman. Buildings were damaged near Hords Creek Lake and Lake Scarborough. Barns were destroyed and trees were uprooted along US 283 about north of Coleman. The damage toll inflicted by the tornado was approximately $565,000 and one person was injured.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|ESE of Comanche

|Comanche

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A brief tornado destroyed a barn east-southeast of Comanche.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|N of Energy to W of Hico

|Comanche, Hamilton

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado damaged trees and roofs near Energy and Lamkin in Comanche County. The tornado moved into Hamilton County, damaging roofs and trees in southeastern Carlton. Barns and farm homes were damaged to the north-northeast. Three people were injured.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|W of Mineral Wells

|Palo Pinto

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A brief tornado caused no damage west of Mineral Wells.

April 11 event

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="width:100%;"

|+ List of confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, April 11, 1979

! scope="col" width="2%" align="center" |F#

! scope="col" align="center" class="unsortable" |Location

! scope="col" align="center" class="unsortable" |County / Parish

! scope="col" align="center" |State

! scope="col" align="center" |Start

! scope="col" align="center" |Time (UTC)

! scope="col" align="center" |Path length

! scope="col" align="center" |Width

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|Allen

|Pontotoc

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado impacted Allen. The most severe damage was inflicted to two buildings at a lumber yard. A window was blown out of the Allen city hall. Several trees were also uprooted.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Kingston

|Marshall

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A mobile home and three barns were destroyed near Kingston at around 1:10 a.m. CST.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|W of Sherman

|Grayson

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A thunderstorm produced several funnel clouds in Grayson County. One developed into a brief tornado that caused no damage west of Sherman.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F?

|SW of Muskogee

|Muskogee

|OK

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado caused no damage after spinning up southwest of Muskogee.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Hattieville to Wonderview

|Conway

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Six barns and two homes were destroyed by a tornado that tracked east-northeastward from Hattieville to Wonderview. Another four barns, two homes, and some outbuildings were damaged. The damage toll amounted to $110,000.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|W of Fox

|Stone

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado began west of Fox and tracked towards the northeast, destroying or damaging chicken houses and outbuildings before dissipating west of Mountain View. The damage toll reached $185,000.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Blue Mountain to Prairie Grove

|Washington

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | The Center Point community south of Prairie Grove was hit hardest by the tornado. Three homes were destroyed and others were damaged. Three people in a mobile home at Center Point were injured; another person was injured in Blue Mountain. The tornado inflicted $175,000 in damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|NW of Athens to Martin's Mill

|Henderson, Van Zandt

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Within Henderson County, Texas, the tornado downed power lines and uprooted trees across a path, cutting power to the community of Bethel. The tornado also inflicted minor damage to homes in rural areas. The tornado proceeded to track across of Van Zandt County, before lifting.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Sulphur Springs

|Hopkins

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Five to six homes on the southern side of Sulphur Springs, sustained minor damage. A Rockwell International manufacturing plant in the city incurred $100,000 in damage when it was unroofed. The tornado proceeded to damage homes, farms, and outbuildings northeast of Sulphur Springs. A mobile home was flipped over by the tornado in Mahoney.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2+

|N of Eagletown, OK to Grannis, AR to SE of Mena, AR

|McCurtain (OK), Polk (AR), Sevier (AR)

|OK, AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Within Oklahoma, three people were injured when their mobile home was destroyed by the tornado. The tornado crossed into Arkansas west of DeQueen Lake at 11:31 a.m. CST and impacted Grannis and Wickes. In Grannis, 25 homes and an elementary school were destroyed. Another 12 homes and a poultry plant were damaged. All 17 of the injuries documented in Arkansas from the tornado occurred in Grannis; four of the injuries were to elementary school students at the elementary school. The tornado destroyed three homes in Wickes and significantly damaged another four homes. The damage toll amounted to approximately $1.75 million. Grazulis assessed the tornado as reaching F3 intensity.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|Hainesville

|Wood

|TX

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A brief tornado occurred in Hainesville, without causing damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F?

|W of Hurley

|Stone

|MO

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A brief tornado occurred over open country west of Hurley.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|W of Rosston

|Nevada

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Three homes were destroyed; others sustained minor damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|SW of Guy

|Faulkner

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado impacted a cemetery and utility lines and inflicted heavy damage on several buildings, resulting in $190,000 in damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|East End to ENE of Lonoke

|Saline, Pulaski, Lonoke

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | The tornado destroyed several mobile homes and damaged outbuildings and farm machinery. East End and southeastern Pulaski County experienced the worst impacts. The tornado caused approximately $1.15 million in damage across three counties, with the bulk of the damage occurring in Pulaski and Saline counties.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|Homer

|Claiborne

|LA

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Southern and eastern sections of Homer were impacted by a tornado, resulting in $75,000 in damage. Five homes were damaged, and a lumber yard was unroofed.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F3

|SW of Cabool to Houston to E of Licking

|Douglas, Texas

|MO

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | The tornado began just within Douglas County southwest of Cabool. In southern Cabool, grain bins and buildings at the Ballew Feed Center were badly damaged. Many other farm buildings were either damaged or destroyed southwest of Cabool. The tornado briefly lifted as it passed over Cabool, but began to cause damage again in the northeastern part of the town. The tornado struck the Cabool airport, flattening four hangars and heavily damaging the other two. Two airplanes were wrecked at the airport. A nearby apartment building was destroyed by the tornado. Six people were injured when their vehicles were blown off of US 63. Along the highway, 49 buildings were damaged or overturned; another three people were injured in this area. Power outages related to the tornado continued into April 13 for much of Texas County. In total, nine people were injured. The damage toll was approximately $2 million.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F?

|W of Bakersfield

|Ozark

|MO

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado began near Route 101 along the border between Arkansas and Missouri, damaging a metal building and two farms. The tornado moved northeast towards areas west of Bakersfield, damaging or destroying several homes and uprooting trees. Two people were injured by the tornado.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|N of Levant

|Thomas

|KS

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A brief tornado occurred over open country without causing damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|Mammoth Spring

|Fulton

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Several buildings were damaged or destroyed, as were trees and power lines. The damage toll exceeded $20,000.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|W of Beebe

|White

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Several homes were unroofed and outbuildings and farms were damaged.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|NE of Crossett

|Ashley

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | The business district of Hamburg was impacted by a tornado, resulting in $3.5 million in damage. The tornado was the second to strike Hamburg in three days.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Clear Springs

|Lawrence

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A rock crushing plant in the Clear Springs community west of Black Rock was damaged by a tornado. Railroad cars with crushed rock were also badly damaged. The cost of damage topped $300,000.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Masonville

|Desha

|AR

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | McGehee was hardest hit by the tornado. Several homes and businesses were either destroyed or suffered considerable damage. The damage toll amounted to about $449,000.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|N of Topeka

|Shawnee

|KS

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado caused damage intermittently along a path north of Topeka, beginning west of Rochester Road near Northwest 35th Street and ending towards the east-northeast near Northwest 62nd Street. Homes, trees, and utility lines were damaged. Two mobile homes were flipped by the tornado; one person sustained minor injuries in a mobile home. The damage was estimated by the Shawnee County civil defense director estimated the damage toll to be in the range of $70,000–$90,000.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|N of Libertyville

|Ste. Genevieve

|MO

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Buildings and equipment on two farms were damaged north of Libertyville and in the Coffman area. A few buildings were heavily damaged and partly destroyed.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F?

|W of Ravenna

|Buffalo

|NE

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado damaged equipment on a farm west of Ravenna, resulting in approximately $4,000 in damage.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Liberty to Kearney to N of Lawson

|Clay, Clinton, Ray

|MO

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A strong tornado began up in Liberty, damaging homes and businesses. The damage was most severe near Route 291, where several businesses were damaged. A mobile home park, church, and elementary school near the intersection of Route 291 with I-35 were also hit. The tornado continued northeast along I-35 into Kearney, where it damaged several homes and businesses. Two barns were also razed. Five people were injured while seeking shelter in a roadside ditch after being struck by the windthrown bus they had evacuated from. Several farms were affected in the Lawson area before the tornado dissipated. In all, nine people were injured.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Dycusburg to Dixon to Niagara

|Crittenden, Webster, Henderson

|KY

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado struck several communities in western Kentucky, including Shady Grove in Crittenden County; Clay, Dixon, and Poole in Webster County; and Hebbardsville, Niagara, and Robards in Henderson County. Five people were injured in overturned mobile homes in Henderson County.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|E of Evansville to N of Boonville

|Vanderburg, Warrick

|IN

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | 1 death – A tornado began in eastern Evansville, striking a lumber yard and the Plaza East shopping center. The tornado briefly lifted for before impacting a trailer park north of Boonville,

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F0

|Dickson

|TN

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | Four homes were damaged on the eastern side of Dickson.

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F1

|Florence

|Lauderdale

|AL

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A damaging severe thunderstorm impacted central Lauderdale County, inflicting minor to moderate damage to 200 homes and widespread damage to trees. The worst of the damage occurred in the Seven Points area of Florence. While most of the damage was caused by straight-line winds, one or more small and intermittent tornadoes were embedded within the thunderstorm. The damage toll from the storms in Lauderdale County reached $500,000–$1 million and one person was injured.

April 12 event

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="width:100%;"

|+ List of confirmed tornadoes – Thursday, April 12, 1979

! scope="col" width="2%" align="center" |F#

! scope="col" align="center" class="unsortable" |Location

! scope="col" align="center" class="unsortable" |County / Parish

! scope="col" align="center" |State

! scope="col" align="center" |Start

! scope="col" align="center" |Time (UTC)

! scope="col" align="center" |Path length

! scope="col" align="center" |Width

! scope="row" rowspan="2" style="background-color:#; border-bottom: 1px solid black" | F2

|Steens

|Lowndes

|MS

|- class="expand-child"

| colspan="8" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A tornado began on the outskirts of Steens, in the early morning hours of April 12 and tracked towards the northeast, destroying two mobile homes and damaging 25–30 other homes. The tornado also inflicted considerable damage to 15–20 outbuildings and downed trees and power lines. As much as 80 percent of power lines in Lowndes County, were knocked out of commission.

Vernon, Texas/Davidson, Oklahoma

The first of three intense and tornadic thunderstorms produced a tornado in southern Foard County, Texas, at 2:05 p.m. CST. While this first tornado was still on the ground, the same thunderstorm produced a second tornado in Foard County so north of Thalia, at around 3:20 p.m. CST; the two tornadoes were separated by and moved in parallel for . The second tornado continued into Wilbarger County, after the first dissipated. It tracked towards the Lockett, area along US 70, damaging farms and homes. Fujita and Wakimoto assessed up to F2-rated tornado damage between Thalia and Lockett. The tornado crossed the highway north of Lockett. One person was killed by the tornado after their vehicle was blown off US-70 into a pasture.

The tornado then moved northeast towards the Vernon, area. Its large size made identification of its tornadic nature by storm spotters difficult. Tornado sirens were activated shortly before the tornado struck Vernon. The tornado entered Vernon at around 3:45 p.m. CST and moved over southern and eastern parts of the city. Several residential blocks in southern Vernon were destroyed by the tornado, leading to at least three deaths. The damage was especially severe along Gordon and Atlanta streets. In eastern Vernon, the tornado razed several buildings, including the Wilbarger Exhibit Building and a Texas Highway Department warehouse. The tornado then crossed US 287, blowing vehicles off the highway and killing seven people. A total of ten fatalities occurred in Vernon. Fujita and Wakimoto assessed up to low-end F4-rated tornado damage in the Vernon area. The tornado crossed the Pease River outside of Vernon, killing cows along the riverbank, and crossed into Oklahoma near the confluence of the Pease River and Red River with approximately F1 intensity. The tornado passed east-northeast of Davidson, destroying at least three homes and inflicting major damage on another five. One person was injured in Oklahoma after their car was blown by the tornado. Numerous cattle were also killed or injured by the tornado. Fujita and Wakimoto assessed up to F2-rated tornado damage in the Davidson area. The tornado lifted at around 4:00 p.m. CST.

The tornado's path spanned , with about in Texas and in Oklahoma. The tornado's width averaged about . The Institute for Disaster Research conducted aerial surveys of the tornado, rating it an F4 on the Fujita scale based on the resulting damage. The institute estimated that the tornado's maximum winds were based on the degree to which residences were damaged, the damage to the Texas Highway Department, the destruction of a motel and restaurant along US-287, and the distance over which impacted vehicles were blown by the tornado. The same thunderstorm that produced the Vernon tornado later produced another three tornadoes in Oklahoma.

Wichita Falls, Texas/Waurika, Oklahoma

Parts of Wichita Falls, were struck by this violent and horrific tornado on the evening of April 10. The tornado was up to wide as it tore through the city, with the swath of particularly intense damage spanning wide. The tornado swept east-northeastward through a stretch of residential areas covering , directly causing 42 fatalities according to the National Weather Service (NWS); another three people later died of heart attacks. The destruction amounted to $400 million in damage, making the tornado the costliest tornado on record at the time. When normalized for wealth and inflation, the tornado caused approximately $1.14 billion in damage in 1997 United States dollars. 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.

thumb|left|Numerous homes in Wichita Falls were destroyed by the tornado.|alt=Aerial photograph of flattened homes

At around 5:50 p.m. CST, a tornado developed east-northeast of Holliday, Texas, in Archer County.

April 10, 1979, came to be known as "Terrible Tuesday" in the areas affected by the tornadoes along the Oklahoma–Texas border. In 1984, the NWS produced a documentary covering the Wichita Falls tornado, titled Terrible Tuesday, in collaboration with the American Red Cross and FEMA. It was the result of the Pearl River being overwhelmed by severe rain upstream. Floodwaters sent the Pearl River 15 feet above flood stage. More than 17,000 residents of Jackson, Flowood, Pearl, Richland, and other settlements in the Jackson metropolitan area were forced from their homes. The flooding of the Pearl River placed most of the streets of Jackson, the state's capital city, under several feet of water.

This flood resulted from the same storm system that, just a few days earlier, produced the Red River valley tornado outbreak that is particularly well-known because of the devastating Wichita Falls, Texas tornado that killed 42, injured over 1,700, left an estimated 20,000 homeless, and caused, in 1979 dollars, approximately $400 million in damages.

250px|right

Flood stage at Jackson in 1979 was considered to be 18 feet (relative to the gauge datum on Pearl River), but as of 2004, this stage was set as 28 feet.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

NSSL footage of the Seymour, Texas, tornado
A survivor's story (Joel Manes)
47miles.org - A project to construct a memorial to the Wichita Falls tornado
Coming Back: Wichita Falls, TX Tornado - April 10, 1979 KAUZ-TV
NBC News Update Easter 1979 broadcast which includes coverage of the 1979 Easter flood.
National Weather Service Forecast Office: Jackson, MS
[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/?n=1979_04_17_easter_flood]
WLBT Archive: Flood of 1979
Lessons of the 1979 Easter Flood

1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak

Meteorological synopsis

Preceding the event

Tornado outbreak

April 10 event

April 11 event

April 12 event

Vernon, Texas/Davidson, Oklahoma

Wichita Falls, Texas/Waurika, Oklahoma

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links