No wind measurements were taken from the Wichita Falls tornado, so the actual wind speed is not known. The tornado was rated F4 based on the severity of the damage it caused, which suggests peak wind speeds in the range of 207-260 mph. However, recent evidence suggests that the original Fujita scale used to rate this tornado may overestimate the wind speeds needed to inflict F3 and higher damage, so winds may not have been quite so fast.
The infamous 1979 Wichita Falls tornado was an F4.
The Wichita Falls tornado of 1979 first formed in Archer County in northeastern Texas about 4 miles southwest of the city of Wichita Falls.
To date, no town in Texas has been hit by two F5 tornadoes. Worth mentioning, though is the town of Wichita Falls, Texas. It was hit by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1964 and an F4 tornado on April 10, 1979. The second tornado is the more famous of the two and is incorrectly believed by some to have been an F5.
The red river tornado outbreak was a severe weather event that produced 58 tornadoes on April 10 and 11, 1979 across parts of the Great Plains and Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, killing 58 people. The worst of these tornadoes was the massive F4 tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people and injuring over 1,700. Adjusting for inflation, it was the costliest tornado in U.S. history until the Oklahoma City tornado of 1999.
The word tornado coms from the Spanish word "tornada" meaning thunderstorm and "tornar," meaning "to turn."
The infamous 1979 Wichita Falls tornado was an F4.
The Wichita Falls tornado of 1979 first formed in Archer County in northeastern Texas about 4 miles southwest of the city of Wichita Falls.
The link below lead to photographs of the very large F4 tornado that hit Wichita Falls, Texas on April 10, 1979.
Yes. On April 10, 1979 Wichita Falls, Texas was hit by a massive F4 tornado. The tornado killed 42 people, injured over 1,700 and cost $400 million in property damage. In modern values, that is equivalent to over $1 billion, making it the 6th costliest tornado in U.S. history and one of the deadliest to strike in the past 40 years.
An infamous tornado is one that is know for being particularly devastating. A number of tornadoes have become infamous, including the Tri-State tornado of 1925, the Wichita Falls tornado of 1979, and the Oklahoma City tornado of 1999.
Wichita Falls would be the answer, but the 1979 tornado was an F4, not an F5.
No town holds this distinction. Wichita Falls, Texas was hit by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1964, but there were no tornadoes in Texas on April 9, 1979. However, the next day on April 10, Wichita Falls was hit by a second tornado. However, despite some popular belief, the 1979 tornado was rated F4, not F5.
Tornadoes are sometimes given unofficial names for the places they hit. For example, a few famous tornadoes are known as the Moore, Oklahoma tornado (1999), the Wichita Falls Texas tornado (1979), and the Waco, Texas tornado (1953).
The effect of the 1979 Red River tornado outbreak included widespread destruction and 58 deaths. The worst damage was done by the F4 tornado that hit Wichita Falls, Texas destroying a large part of the city and killing 42 people.
The Wichita Falls tornado of 1979 did not have its winds measured. Based on the damage it inflicted the tornado was rated F4, which would indicated peak wind gusts in the range of 207-261 miles per hour. More modern research suggests that the original rating scale developed in the 1970s overestimated the wind speeds of strong tornadoes. Such damage is not though to indicate winds in the range of 166-200 miles per hour.
On April 10, 1979 a half-mile wide F4 tornado tore through Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people and causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage. This marks it as one of the most destructive tornadoes in U.S. history. No single U.S. tornado after it caused so much damage until May 3,1999, and none would match its death toll until April 27, 2011.
Tornadoes are not given names as hurricanes are, but are often referred to by where and when they hit. Some of the most infamous tornadoes include The Joplin, Missouri tornado of May 22, 2011; the Moore, Oklahoma tornado of May 3, 1999; The Wichita Falls, Texas tornado of April 10, 1979; and the Worcester, Massachusetts tornado of June 9, 1953.