Pampa, TX F4 Tornado – June 8, 1995

Those are the words of Alan Moller from the Nov-Dec 1995 Edition of Storm Track.  He documented his chase experience in the Pampa area with Chuck Doswell for the Vortex project.  Per the NSSL website, “The VORTEX project began in 1994, with the objective of explaining how tornadoes form.  The two-year field project resulted in ground-breaking data collection and led to several follow-up studies in the late 1990’s.” The crew struck gold on June 8, 1995.

A total of 31 tornadoes are listed in the SPC Database for this day.  20 were in the Texas Panhandle.  Three were given an F4 rating.  We look at one of the F4s in this summary which was actually a part of a tornado family.

Per Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, “The Pampa supercell spawned at least eight tornadoes.  The first was 8m SSW of Pampa.  The last was 18m WNW of Canadian.”

There are limited details in the June 1995 Storm Data Publication about this tornado family.  Here is the entire blurb about the event:

“Tornadoes in Gray County began with a brief touchdown that redeveloped into a strong tornado which moved into the center of Pampa.  About 50 homes and 25 businesses were destroyed with another 150 homes and 25 businesses damaged.  Seven people were hospitalized.  Early warnings and good visibility seem to account for the low injury and no death totals.  The tornado dissipated at the center of town with a visibly larger tornado developing just to the northeast of Pampa.  Because of the open land a higher F-scale classification could not be justified.  The F4 in Pampa was surveyed, while the other two paths are an estimate.  Additional information from spotters added another brief tornado about 2 miles east of Pampa.”

This blurb captures 4 of the tornadoes produced by this supercell in and around Pampa.  Per the Storm Prediction Center:

• Tornado 1:  Given an F0 rating, brief path of 0.1 miles, 50 yard width.
• Tornado 2:  This is the topic of our summary, the F4 that moved into Pampa. It had a 3 mile path and was 200 yards wide.  7 were injured and no fatalities.  As this tornado dissipated, tornado 3 formed.
  
• Tornado 3:  Also known as the “Hoover” tornado, was given an F2 rating.  Had a 6 mile path and width listed at 40 yards.
• Tornado 4:  This is the brief tornado mentioned above that formed 2 miles east of Pampa.  Rated F0 with a 0.3 mile path and width of 100 yards.

More details from Thomas Grazulis on the Pampa F4:  Moved NE at about 15-20 mph from 3 mile SW of Pampa to the edge of the city;  17 homes and 30 businesses destroyed;  89 homes, 20 businesses had major damage;  Losses totaled approx. $30,000,000.

Grazulis states the following about the rating:  “The F4 rating is subjectively based on the movement of industrial equipment weighing up to 30 tons.  Only strong F2 to minimal F3 damage was done to homes, as the tornado had weakened by the time it arrived in the residential area.  Some rough photogrammetry of the rotational speed of the funnel by The Tornado Project indicated that about 100 feet above ground level, the rotation was in the 200-250 mph range, not counting a very high vertical wind component, probably well in excess of 100 mph.”