View Full Version : Wichita Falls 1964 F5 on video?
Darrin Rasberry
03-14-2009, 10:56 AM
Sorry if this has been posted before, but for those of you who love the old footage, is this in fact the video of the 4/3/64 F5 that hit the northern part of Wichita Falls? I'm pretty certain it is, and if so, it would be a nice find, as it would be another F5 videotaped for the archives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kndD4G0YKsk&feature=related
There's a postage-stamp size picture for comparison here: http://www.tornadoproject.com/products/postpage.htm
The debris cloud and shape is what had me saying yes.
Brandon Lawson
03-14-2009, 11:00 AM
Where is Gabe Garfield when you need him? He's a walking tornado atlas, and might be able to place the time and location of it.
David Drummond
03-14-2009, 11:06 AM
I'll ask my cousin, since he was there and working in the spotter net that day.
Gabe Garfield
03-14-2009, 03:46 PM
Hmm...Wichita Falls 1964 would be a good guess. I'm not exactly sure, but the Scottsbluff tornado(es) of 1955 passed very close to an NWS office/airport, if memory serves. So, that would be my best guess. I think there is a journal article on this particular event. I'll see if I can find it.
Also, the motion in the tornado in the video seems fairly slow compared to what one would expect for a violent tornado (both tornadoes were apparently violent). Of course, a violent tornado need not be violent for its entire path.
Edit:
http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-11-0255.pdf <-- Link to the journal article by Van Tassel.
Paul Townsend
03-14-2009, 03:51 PM
The video was swiped from Tornado Video Classics I (though "I" wasn't used). According to A Guide To: Tornado Video Classics, "Scene 12a, taken by an unknown photographer, is possibly of this Wichita Falls, TX tornado, but it may possibly be film at either Scottsbluff, NE (7) or Corn, OK (2). The 1950's era automobile makes us suspicious" The 1964 Wichita Falls tornado was scene 12 in this video, with Scottsbluff being scene 7 and Corn being scene 2.
Darrin Rasberry
04-16-2009, 11:56 PM
Hmm...Wichita Falls 1964 would be a good guess. I'm not exactly sure, but the Scottsbluff tornado(es) of 1955 passed very close to an NWS office/airport, if memory serves. So, that would be my best guess. I think there is a journal article on this particular event. I'll see if I can find it.
Thanks for the info here ... I think the Times/Record News stated that it died off near the Weather Bureau, so it would be consistent with the slower motion.
Shane Adams
04-18-2009, 09:06 PM
That film clip looks identical to the famous photo of the '64 SPS F5 tornado...except a mirror image. Possibly a reverse angle or maybe some editing free-license?
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.