The Big Tornadoes

[Jeff Miller]

I found this video on YouTube, an older tornado documentary that profiles the Wichita Falls 1979 Tornado.

What is surprising me is that this video seems to be one of the first that makes overpass sheltering seem like an acceptable tornado protection procedure. A gentleman notices the wedge shape of the overpass and "spread eagles" under the overpass and watches buildings become destroyed. You can watch the video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6483CqO_MM

(Part 1, look for Parts 2 and 3 under the user name)

Is this the first public video that you are aware of that promotes the overpass as a safety device (pre-Andover) ?

 

[Jeremy Bower]

Ironically this is mentioned on the anniversary of the Wichita Falls, TX tornado of April 10, 1979. I knew exactly what film you were talking about without even clicking on the link. This film along with a film on storm spotting (narrated by Al Moeller) and a film entitled "The Day of the Killer Tornadoes" about the Super Outbreak are a part of the Supplement video to the Secrets of the Tornado that was released by Tom Grazulis' Tornado Project.

I personally don't know of any video that had to do with emergency management/severe weather preparedness before this film brought up the overpass (as a good or bad idea) issue. I know of several films that dealt with the opening of windows or taking shelter in the southwest corner of the basement back in the 1950's and 1960's.

One point the film does bring up is the death toll. In today's standards of technology, 42 fatalities would seem high but a major tornado going through Wichita Falls in 1979 should have caused directly 1,000 fatalities according to their estimates (from Terrible Tuesday). This is also a monumental event in the fact that after this tornado, FEMA included building plans and information on the construction of safe rooms in residential housing on safety guides.

 

[Danny Neal]

i have this on the original cassette tape good watching.

 

[Doug Mitchell]

The actually title of the documentary is "Terrible Tuesday". The uploader of the clip copied over the title. This was included in the The Tornado Project's "Secrets of the Tornado" set.

 

[Jeremy Miller]

Hey Jeff,

I have "Terrible Tuesday" on a VHS called "Tornado Chronicles". It starts off with "Terrible Tuesday", then goes onto a Dallas tornado incident that skywarn spotters spotted while radar (i believe pre-WSR-57 or WSR-57) didn't show a hook or any sign of tornadic activity in reflectivity returns.
The video then went onto show Roger Edwards discussing the doppler radar system (I believe at the time it was filmed doppler radar was still in experiment phase using the golf ball looking unit on the grounds of the old NSSL grounds). He discussed how doppler has advantage over previous radars in that it can detect circulations within a storm. From there it went into a spotters guide to spotting tornadoes and severe weather, what to look for. Lastly, the video ended with the xenia ohio tornado outbreak.

Very interesting and good video.

I apologize for the lengthy post.

Take care, God bless you all, stay safe out there!