Remembering Terrible Tuesday: The Devastating Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak of 1979

Written By Ken Hulsey

On April 10th and 11th, 1979, a confirmed 59 tornadoes ripped through Northern Texas, Oklahoma, and several nearby states. This mass outbreak of deadly storms was officially named the Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak, but for all who survived, it was known as "Terrible Tuesday."

My family moved from Whittier, California, to the farming community of Vernon, Texas, in the summer of 1974. While we were familiar with earthquakes, we had no idea of the sheer terror that a tornado could inflict in an instant.

If you live, or have lived, in tornado country, you understand that you don't even need to see a tornado forming to feel uneasy when the atmospheric conditions align to create the kind of storm that could produce one. The pressure drops, the hot air turns cold, and the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck stand up. You feel as if you are in another world, and something is terribly wrong. Sometimes, the skies can display odd colors—orange, green, or an exceptionally dark black that looks like the end of the world.

I now find myself back in tornado country here in Central Louisiana. When tornado-producing storms form, I can go outside and feel them. It's a strange experience. I guess once you know the feeling, you always recognize it.

A few years ago, a medium-sized tornado formed just west of us and traveled to the northeast, about five miles from town. The storm caused extensive damage to Louisiana State University Alexandria (LSUA).

I knew it was coming.

Reflecting on my days in Vernon during the 1970s, I remember a time when I witnessed a tornado forming just north of town. My family was visiting some friends on a Sunday afternoon, I believe in 1978, a year before the events of Terrible Tuesday. The family we were visiting had a daughter in the grade below mine, and they also had a trampoline. We were having a great time jumping and flipping in the air, as children do. 

As the storm clouds gathered, we began to hear distant thunder. Of course, this had little effect on us, as thunderstorms were common in Northern Texas. I was still playing and having fun when I suddenly noticed that my companion had stopped and was standing as stiff as a statue, her eyes laser-focused on something. I turned to see what had captured her attention.

I will never forget what I saw. A tornado was just coming down from the clouds. It wasn't large; in fact, it was rather skinny, with a tail that curled like a pig's tail. It felt like we stood there forever staring at it, but in reality, it was only a few seconds before we both came to our senses and ran inside to tell our parents.

We all loaded into our cars and made a quick trip back to our house, where our family had an underground shelter. By the time we arrived home, the tornado had dissipated.

Another unforgettable memory from that day was the sight of two small clouds swirling around each other. They weren't very high, just above the power lines, and it looked as if they were dancing together. 

I have never seen anything like that since.

Fortunately for my immediate family, we moved out of Vernon in the summer of 1978 and relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. This meant we missed the horrific events of Terrible Tuesday. However, my aunt and uncle remained in town and had some incredible stories to share with us when they visited in the summer of 1979.

My uncle, J.G. Hulsey, recounted a story about the owner of the Canton Cafe in Vernon. Anyone familiar with Vernon knows that the Canton Cafe was a beloved Chinese restaurant back in the day. According to my uncle, the owner was getting ready to leave just as the tornado was tearing through town. He opened the door and was met with the sight of the storm heading straight for him. At that moment, he witnessed someone in the parking lot being swept off the ground. The tornado was so violent that it ripped the man's arm off. Terrified, the owner slammed the door and dove behind the bar. The storm destroyed the building around him, but fortunately, he managed to survive.

My aunt and uncle also brought a copy of the Vernon Daily Record with them. I remember flipping through the pages and looking at the photographs of the damage with horror. The town appeared to have been reduced to foundations and matchsticks.

I attended third grade in the part of town that was destroyed, and I had schoolmates who lived in that area. I often wondered if they were okay after the disaster. Even though I lived a state away, the events of that day had a lasting impact on me.

Vernon resident Jessie Appleby shared his experience on Terrible Tuesday in an article for the Vernon Record.

Appleby was working at Cardinal Equipment in East Vernon when a tornado struck. He and his coworkers were at the Canton Café finishing their break around 3:30 p.m.

“We always took our break from 3 to 3:30 and went to the Canton. When it was over, I headed to the bathroom. If I hadn't needed to go, there might have been a lot of people in danger,” Appleby recalled. 

“The west overhead door was open, and it was bright out. I had only been in the bathroom for a couple of minutes when I came out, and everything was dark. I looked outside and saw a huge, dark cloud – a tornado was coming. 

“Oh my gosh, there’s going to be a tornado! I ran to the back of the shop and shouted, ‘There’s a tornado coming! Everyone get to the ditch!’ No one questioned me; we just ran.

“Just at that moment, a guy driving into Vernon rushed up asking to use my phone. I told him he didn’t have time and kept running. He ran inside, and that’s where they found him, right by the phone. The building was completely destroyed.

“I was in the middle of the group when we ran out, and debris was flying everywhere. My glasses were knocked off my face, and I never found them. Tony Robinson, the last one out, got caught in the wind as he was leaving. It threw him face-first into a guardrail, and he was badly hurt.

Some of his coworkers included Nathan Christian and secretary Charlene Galloher. Appleby mentioned that four people died nearby, but thankfully, none of his coworkers were among them. He described how machinery at the business was mangled, with some combines twisted and broken. He even noted that a soda machine had ten cases of drinks, but when the storm passed, the machine was gone, though the cases were still there – each bottle half-filled with mud and the caps still on.

“There are so many unbelievable things that happened,” he said. 

When the tornado hit, Appleby and his colleagues raced for safety as their building was destroyed behind them. “We jumped over the guardrail, rolled down the hill into the ditch, and held on to the grass for dear life.

“It picked me up.

“Time felt like it stood still – everything was moving slowly. I think I was aware for only 20 or 30 seconds, but it felt much longer.

“While I was up there, everything was clear. I saw a cow, a pig, and a swing just swirling around with me. Suddenly, something hit me in the back of the head, and I blacked out.

“When I came to, I was near Donna Goodrum’s backyard. I lay there until I felt something falling on my face, like snow cone ice hitting me.”

Here is additional information from a Times Record article:

On the morning of April 10, 1979, the National Weather Service issued warnings about the possibility of severe weather. Lynn Walker, who was the news director and lead anchor at KAUZ at the time, noted that back then, the technology and knowledge we have today for predicting weather weren’t available. This meant that people didn’t receive as detailed or early warnings as they would now.

By the afternoon, a tornado watch was issued for the Wichita Falls area. To the west, a large thunderstorm was forming, accompanied by a smaller one behind it. The bigger storm hit Vernon, where it spawned a powerful F4 tornado, the second-highest rating for tornadoes, resulting in 11 deaths.

This same storm then moved north across the Red River into Lawton, Oklahoma, claiming three more lives. Meanwhile, a smaller storm was advancing towards Wichita Falls. As it passed over Seymour, it generated an F2 tornado, which also headed towards Wichita Falls.

Additionally, a third thunderstorm developed near Harrold and traveled northeast toward Grandfield, Oklahoma, before finally ending south of Marlow. This storm produced a tornado that lasted for an impressive 64 miles.

Lee Anderson served as a regional staff member at the Times Record News during Terrible Tuesday.

Anderson described it as just another workday for him when he unexpectedly decided to leave the office around 4 PM. He didn’t think much of the weather; it didn’t seem threatening or even stormy that day. Once he got home, he decided to take a nap. But while he was resting, a well-known farm editor, Joe Brown, called him with news about a serious accident on U.S. 287, which is between Harrold and Oklaunion, near Vernon.

As Anderson approached the accident scene, he noticed an 18-wheeler and a car pulled over to the side of the road. They had stopped there because they spotted a tornado coming toward them. A man and woman from the car had sought shelter under the truck, but tragically, the storm lifted the truck and then slammed it down again. Unfortunately, the woman didn’t survive the incident.

While Anderson was at the scene, a highway patrolman rushed off to his patrol car, saying he needed to get to Vernon. Anderson was able to hitch a ride with him and asked what was going on. The patrolman revealed that Vernon had just experienced severe damage from a tornado. As they drove, Anderson could already see that the city had been hit hard, especially the southern and eastern parts.

Once they arrived in Vernon, the patrolman dropped Anderson off. With no vehicle available, he began walking around the town, talking to survivors and taking photographs. He made his way to the National Guard Armory to interview police and medical personnel, as well as reporters on the scene.

Eventually, Anderson met up with Joe Brown again at a funeral home. He tried reaching out to the newspaper in Wichita Falls to share what had happened, believing he had stumbled upon a huge story. After several attempts, he finally got through to the editor, Don James, who informed him that Wichita Falls had also been struck hard by a tornado and reassured him that his wife and kids were safe.

The catastrophic tornado outbreak that struck northwest Texas and southwest Oklahoma serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of nature and the critical importance of timely warnings and preparedness. Characterized by three significant supercell thunderstorms, this event witnessed the formation of 13 tornadoes, with the most devastating impacts occurring in Vernon, TX, and Wichita Falls, TX.

The tornado that ravaged Vernon, rated an F-4 on the Fujita Scale, tragically claimed 10 lives and left a lasting scar on the community. Meanwhile, the F-3 tornado in Lawton, OK, resulted in three fatalities, further underscoring the severe threat posed by these powerful storms. The supercell responsible for these tornadoes exhibited remarkable longevity and intensity, with one tornado traveling 64 miles and tearing through multiple towns.

Particularly notable is the Wichita Falls tornado, which not only caused over $400 million in damages, making it the costliest tornado in U.S. history at the time, but also took the lives of 45 individuals—25 of whom were in vehicles, fleeing their homes in search of safety. This emphasizes the paradox of how earlier evacuation attempts can sometimes lead to tragic outcomes.

Engineering analyses concluded that the winds behind the destruction at McNiel Junior High were categorized within the F-4 range, highlighting the severity of the tornado. Yet, despite the destruction and loss, it is essential to recognize that the impact could have been much worse without the proactive measures taken by storm spotters and the National Weather Service, whose advanced warnings undoubtedly saved lives. The timing of the tornado, coinciding with Easter break, further mitigated potential casualties, as many schools were empty.

This tragic event in history serves not only as a lesson in the unpredictable nature of severe weather but also in the vital role of community preparedness, effective communication, and rapid response systems. Reflecting on the events prevents us from forgetting the past and emphasizes the need for continued vigilance and improvement in our severe weather response strategies to ensure the safety of our communities in the face of future storms.

Vernon (Images of America) - Paperback – by Preston Cary (Author)

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Author Preston Cary collected pieces of Vernon's history for many years, finding historical items and information at garage sales, estate sales, auctions, and from colleagues. A good friend, Earnest Bismark Schmoker, who had the same interest in local history, inspired the author to become the organizer of the Wilbarger County Historical Museum and to write the history of Vernon.