Storm-ready in Wichita Falls: 1964, 1979 and the next tornado

Two dates shape how Wichita Falls thinks about spring weather. On April 3, 1964, an F5 tornado came through the north and northwest parts of the city and Sheppard Air Force Base. It was the first violent tornado on record to hit the area. Seven people died, more than 100 were hurt, and about 225 homes were destroyed. It became known as Black Friday.

Fifteen years later came Terrible Tuesday. Late on the afternoon of April 10, 1979, an F4 tornado crossed the heavily populated south side, one of 30 tornadoes in that outbreak across the region. The city had nearly an hour's warning that severe weather was coming. It still killed 42 people, and 25 of them were in vehicles, because the storm arrived as people were driving home from work. About 1,800 were injured and 20,000 were left homeless. Its damage stood as a national record for a single tornado for twenty years.

This guide pulls together what the city's emergency management office asks residents to do, plus what to know about repairs afterward. For an emergency, dial 911.

Watch or warning

The two words mean different things, and the city's tornado page is clear about which one should move you.

A tornado watch means tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area, which is usually large, often many counties. That is the time to review your plan, check your supplies and your safe spot, and be ready to act.

A tornado warning means a tornado has been seen or shows on radar. Warnings cover a much smaller area, about the size of a city or a small county. Take shelter now.

Get the alerts

The city's emergency management office says the main way it sends an emergency alert is a CodeRED message. Sign up through the city, and update your details when your phone number or address changes. A NOAA Weather Radio and local news are the backups the city names.

Pick your spot before you need it

First choice is a basement, a storm cellar or a safe room. Without those, go to an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows. If you live in a mobile home, or a house with no basement, the city suggests choosing a nearby sturdy building you can reach quickly, such as a church or a relative's home, and deciding on it now.

A few more points from the city's page:

• Make a family plan with a meeting place, and run a drill so everyone knows where to go. Include the pets.
• An interior room can be reinforced to protect better. FEMA publishes plans for that.
• At work or school, follow the drill. Stay out of big open rooms such as cafeterias, gyms and auditoriums.
• Outdoors, sheds, storage units, mobile homes and tents are not shelter.

Register your storm shelter

If you live in the city and have a storm shelter, register it with the city. After a tornado or another disaster, emergency crews use the list to check on the people who might be inside. You only need to register once, unless you move.

Be precise about where the shelter is. The city's own examples: "Below ground, middle of garage," "Above ground, master bedroom, southeast corner of the home," "Below ground, backyard, ten feet from the northwest corner of the home." The page asks a blunt question: if your shelter were buried under debris, who would know you were there?

If you are in a car

The 1979 numbers are the reason this section exists. The city's advice is that a vehicle is not a safe place in a tornado. Drive to the closest shelter if you can. If you cannot reach one, either get down in the car and cover your head, or leave the car for a low spot such as a ditch.

After the storm

• Let family know you are all right. The city says texts and social media get through more reliably than calls.
• Wear long pants, long sleeves and sturdy shoes when you walk through damage.
• Report downed power lines, and stay out of damaged buildings.
• Watch for insurance scammers. The Texas Attorney General's office also warns about price gouging and other scams that follow a disaster.
• The Texas Division of Emergency Management uses damage survey forms after a disaster; the city links to them.

Getting the power and gas back on

The city's building office has an emergency procedure for storm damage. For electrical repairs, call a registered electrical contractor. The contractor may contact Oncor, the delivery utility in Wichita Falls, directly for an emergency reconnect, and then has to take out the permit and get the inspection on the first business day after. Gas repairs go through a registered plumbing contractor, who must notify the city's inspectors.

Roofers, contractors and paperwork

Slow down before you sign anything after a storm. A few habits help:

• Photograph the damage before anything is moved or patched. Your insurer will want it.
• Get a written scope that names the materials and what happens to the debris, and a local address and phone for the company.
• Ask whether the work needs a city permit, and who will pull it. The city registers contractors, and its permits cover building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work.
• Do not pay for the whole job up front.

Our guide to hiring a contractor in Wichita Falls goes into licenses and permits in more detail.

Water, too

Tornadoes get the attention, but rain matters here as well. May is the wettest month on average, and in May 2015 the city recorded 17.00 inches of rain, the wettest month in its history. The city publishes floodplain maps, which are worth a look before you buy a house or finish a basement.

Using our listings

Our Roofing, Electricians, Plumbers, Remodeling and Windows and Siding pages list businesses working in the Wichita Falls area, by name, address and phone. We have not hired or checked any of them, and a listing is not a license or registration check.