1976 Spiro OK F5

[Jeshua Everett]

I have been fascinated with this tornado for the mere fact there is so little info available for it. Kind of a mysterious one to me. I went with a friend while heading to check out Skulleyville, a ghost town E of Spiro (another crazy story) and while there, I followed the path of it paying attention to trees as I've noticed sometimes trees seem to never look the same even years after a tornado. As night fell it was hard to tell anything. I finally found some old newspaper articles mentioning a few names but those people and their families have moved out of the area and so my opportunities to interview them are slim. I have searched high and low to find out why it was rated an F5 and why that rating is disputed to no avail. Are there any veteran chasers or anyone from that area who might have been there during the tornado who can help me gain some insight?

 

[Michael Brown]

I was a senior in high school in Pocola when this tornado hit. I was heading home from school and was going to go with our high school music teacher and some classmates to pick out music for graduation. On my way home to drop off my car the tornado warning came across the radio. We have tornado warnings all the time in the spring in Oklahoma, but it LOOKED bad. I told the teacher I needed to stay with my mom and my sisters. We went to our storm cellar. The tornado lifted a mile from our home. The tornado tore the asphalt off the highway. It took several cars off the railroad and threw them everywhere. It the tornado had hit later in the afternoon when everyone was home from school and the factories in Fort Smith the fatality rate would have been much higher.

 

[Jeshua Everett]

I was a senior in high school in Pocola when this tornado hit. I was heading home from school and was going to go with our high school music teacher and some classmates to pick out music for graduation. On my way home to drop off my car the tornado warning came across the radio. We have tornado warnings all the time in the spring in Oklahoma, but it LOOKED bad. I told the teacher I needed to stay with my mom and my sisters. We went to our storm cellar. The tornado lifted a mile from our home. The tornado tore the asphalt off the highway. It took several cars off the railroad and threw them everywhere. It the tornado had hit later in the afternoon when everyone was home from school and the factories in Fort Smith the fatality rate would have been much higher.

Finally someone who experienced this event! Do you recall any damage that would lead you to assess an f5 rating to this tornado? The asphalt scouring is usually an indicator of a violent tornado, but I've read even weaker tornadoes have accomplished said feat. The railroad cars being thrown a distance is also an indicator of a violent tornado. Do you recall any stories from people who were directly in the tornado?

 

[Wayne A.]

Hi Michael! The F-5 tornado picked up a train on the southwest side of town fully loaded and tossed it like a play car into the pasture. In 1998 had the opportunity to speak with a person who saw the tornado and he said that houses were being ripped apart and you could see walls going up into the tornado. Also near the intersection of Highway 32 and Highway 59 or just northeast a pickup was taken off the ground 100 feet and tossed many yards. The people survived and I was able to hear their stories. I am in college right now and just finished doing research on this tornado track.

 

[Jamie H]

I saw there's an eBook on this tornado, which I think may be written by yourself Wayne? It wasn't available anywhere, however!

 

[Wayne A.]

Hi Michael!

I removed most of my books from Amazon as we had a falling out. The book you spoke of is about to be re-published on Kobo. Thanks for the inquiry. I write quite a few books and have been published by Kobo through SONFIRE ALMANACS LLC. Friday I will be interviewed by a university about the Joplin EF-5 tornado and a book I wrote about it. Currently setting up to do tornado genesis research this fall into next spring to use as a capstone for my senior thesis. I will respond here when the Spiro F-5 tornado book is back up for sale.

 

[Wayne A.]

Historic Strong To Violent Tornadoes Forgot I converted the Spiro F-5 book with these specific tornadoes. It is in the LuLu bookstore.

 

[Mike Smith]

Hi Michael! The F-5 tornado picked up a train on the southwest side of town fully loaded and tossed it like a play car into the pasture.

Do you happen to remember which railroad was involved?

 

[Wayne A.]

I think Kansas City Southern runs the railroad now. Not sure who ran it then.

 

[Jamie H]

It was a Kansas-Southern freight train, as per: 28 Mar 1976, 13 - The Daily Oklahoman at Newspapers.com

 

[Mike Smith]

Thank you, Jaime.