Extra! Extra! Eyes of the World on Texas: Texas Tornadoes
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Texas Tornadoes
In May of 1953, an outbreak of tornadoes occurred in several U.S. states, killing 144 people in a matter of days. On May 11, tornadoes hit in two Texas cities, with one in San Angelo and another in Waco. Many deaths occurred when an F5 tornado tore through Waco, destroying nearly 200 buildings in the downtown area. An F5 is the highest on the Fujita Scale and means winds from 261 to 318 miles-per-hour. These deadly events led to the development of better radar technology to track tornadic activity and prepare citizens for potential disasters.
Area of tornado warning and radarscope pictures of the tornado from, A Note on the Successful Identification. Area of tornado warning Image 1 and Radarscope pictures of the tornado Image 2. Texas Department of Public Safety records, 2-23/1061. Click or tap on links and images to view larger versions.
“State Uses Radar Screens in Storm Detection Experiment,” April 8, 1955, Amarillo Daily News. Texas Department of Public Safety records, 2-23/1061. and “U.S. May Copy Texas Tornado Warning Net,” May 11, 1955, Houston Chronicle. Texas Department of Public Safety records, 2-23/1061.
Click or tap on links and images to view larger versions.
Waco Business District Tornado Damage Survey. Texas Department of Public Safety records, 1953, 2-23/1061. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
A damage survey illustrating the devastation of the 1953 Waco tornado. With hundreds of structures demolished, destruction was massive enough to prevent rescue of some survivors for up to 14 hours.
Tornado! Booklet. Texas Department of Public Safety records, 1953, 2-23/1061. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
On the afternoon of May 11, scattered storms developed from the Texas Panhandle east towards Waco. One supercell produced an F4 tornado in San Angelo, killing 13 and injuring 153. As this storm dissipated, another storm developed, spawning the F5 Waco tornado.
Letter to the Regional Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration, April 16, 1956, Texas Department of Public Safety records, 2-23/1061. Letter to the Regional Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration Page 1, Letter to the Regional Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration Page 2, and Letter to the Regional Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration Page 3. Click or tap on links and images to view larger versions.
A letter notifying the U.S. Government that the Texas Radar Storm Warning System is operational in 17 Texas cities. Each radar facility had a 150–200-mile range, and the Texas A&M facility detected the warning system’s first serious storm in April 1956. The Waco tornado helped to accelerate the development of a nationwide severe weather warning system.
Token, Waco tornado victims, 1953. TSLAC Artifacts collection, ATF0163.
View larger image of Token, Waco tornado victims, 1953 on our Texas Digital Archive site. 
Bronze token made in memory of the 114 victims of the May 11, 1953, Waco tornado. The tornado that struck Waco was part of an outbreak of storms stretching across Texas into the Great Plains and Midwest. It is considered the deadliest tornado in Texas history, injuring an additional 597 people.
Texas Tornado Warning System article in the Texas Health Bulletin. Texas Department of Public Safety records, 2-23/1061. Texas Tornado Warning System article in the Texas Health Bulletin Page 21 and Texas Tornado Warning System article in the Texas Health Bulletin Page 22. Click or tap on links and images to view larger versions.
One of the results of the deadly Waco tornado was the creation of a warning system using radar to detect severe storms. In 1956, the new Texas Tornado Warning System was hailed as the “the first of its kind anywhere in the world.” The new warning system and better communication from meteorologists and public officials led to improved preparedness in advance of severe weather.
A Pictorial History of Waco, with a Reprint of Highlights of Waco History, 1964. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Main Collection, 976.4284 C76. The scale of the destruction caused by the tornado that struck Waco on May 11, 1953, was colossal. Pictured here is a street covered in debris, almost entirely covering a car.
Waco: Texas Crossroads, 1983. Main Collection, 976.4284 W155W. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Headlines such as this one gripped the nation in the aftermath of the deadliest tornado in Texas since 1900.