SPC Stats

Path length: 88 miles

Width:  880 yards

Fatalities:  0

Injuries:  12

Rating:  F4

County:  Moore, Hansford, Ochiltree (TX)

The SPC lists a significant long-track tornado that occurred on March 18, 1982.   The rating given was F4.  There were 12 total injuries.

Doing some digging in all of our sources (NCDC database, Storm Data Narrative, and Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis), we could fine-tune a few of the details.  The SPC All Tornadoes database only lists the Texas Counties of Moore, Hansford, and Ochiltree in the path. 

When you plot the official SPC coordinates, the plot starts in NE Moore County (TX).  It moves through SE Sherman through Hansford and into NW Ochiltree County.  It then goes into Oklahoma through SE Texas County and ends in Beaver County. 

The NCDC database has entries for Moore, Hansford, Ochiltree (TX), and Beaver (OK).  Grazulis lists Moore, Sherman, Hansford (TX), and Texas and Beaver (OK).  

None of the sources agree with what counties to include in the path, but the SPC path crosses through all of them.

We deduce this was NOT a straight path.  Storm Data mentions the tornado skipped, and Grazulis believes this was more than likely a family of tornadoes.  

Here are some of the damage details from Storm Data:

  • 1/2 mile wide tornado.
  • Most damage to farm, ranch buildings, and equipment.
  • Mentions skipping occurred in Oklahoma.
  • The rating was F3 in Oklahoma.
  • Two houses, two mobile homes, a dairy barn, irrigation equipment, cars, fence, power lines all damaged but more detail unknown. 

Here are some of the damage details from Significant Tornadoes:

  • The tornado tore apart more than a dozen farms or ranches and ripped pavement from roads in Hansford County.
  • Passed 2 miles SE of Gruver, TX, and into Oklahoma.
  • Some of the seven Oklahoma injuries occurred as two mobile homes were destroyed near Bryans Corner.
  • Two frame homes were destroyed in Oklahoma.

Tornado Path

Click Map To Enlarge

SPC coordinates:  Start: 36.02 / -101.73   End:  36.82 / -100.52      

Note:  Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Newspaper Clippings

Discrepancies:

We gathered information for this event from the SPC & NCDC Databases, the March 1982 Storm Data Publication and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and found the following differences:

Path Length:

  • SPC/NCDC have the length at 88 miles.  
  • Storm Data has the TX portion at 70 miles and OK portion as 5 miles.  They also mention the tornado skipped.
  • Grazulis has a family of tornadoes at 70 miles.

Max Width:

  • Grazulis has a max width of 800 yards.
  • All other sources list the max width in TX at 880 yards and in OK at 50 yards.

Counties:

  • The SPC All Tornadoes files only has the TX counties of Moore, Hansford and Ochiltree.
  • When looking through the NCDC Database to gather the counties, there are entries for: Moore, Hansford and Ochiltree in TX and Beaver in OK.
  • Storm Data has an entry for Moore & Hansford (TX) and Beaver (OK). 
  • Grazulis lists Moore, Sherman, Hansford (TX) and Texas, Beaver (OK).
  • The official SPC plot crosses through the following counties:  Starts in TX in NE Moore County.  Moves through SE Sherman through Hansford County into NW Ochiltree.  The tornado moves into OK into SE Texas County and ends in Beaver County.

    Sources:

    The Storm Prediction Center

    NCDC Storm Events Database

    March 1982 Storm Data Publication

    newspapers.com

    Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 1235.

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    Newspaper clips are embedded via newspapers.com. Please see their terms and conditions.

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