how did the waco tornado affect the ecosystemhow did the waco tornado affect the ecosystem

The result was the first radar network in the United States, and it soon was expanded nationwide. While 74 percent of tornadoes are weak, they have a significant but reparable effect on humans and nature. He never bought another convertible, and he built a storm shelter at his house in Robinson. Please subscribe to keep reading. In the 60s and 70s, there was not much interest in coming downtown, says former planning director Durwood Ringo, who started working for the city in the mid-50s. Ben said, Minnie Fred, were not trying to look under your clothes. Only buildings with steel-frame structures, such as the Amicable (ALICO) building and the Roosevelt Hotel, were able to withstand the severe winds. Every time I drive by Fifth and Austin, inwardly and subconsciously I feel a qualm. The city also has beefed up his disaster planning after admitting that Waco has been caught flat-flooted by the tornado. Tornadoes were still considered too unpredictable to risk scaring people and making forecasters look foolish. Another result was that she met Ted Talbot, a young administrator from Paul Quinn College. Waco's Freedom Fountain was installed 50 years ago, building on the work of the local Committee of Twelve after its 1971 trip to Vietnam peace. Thunderstorms developed, and many downtown shoppers and businessmen rushed into buildings in order to take cover from the rain. The tornado decapitated the massive steeple tower on the First Methodist Church at Fifth and Jackson. After tearing through downtown, it exited the city and continued northeast for several more miles. At the Jockey Club barber shop on the east side of the Square, men huddle under a stairway as windows begin to pop and mirrors shatter. Employees stumbling down the darkened stairwells were hurled against the wall. If the building fell, it could crush dozens of other buildings. By the time Mayor Ralph Wolf arrived at 7 p.m., airmen from James Connally Air Force Base had arrived with heavy machinery, ambulances and trucks. At Fifth and Austin, where baby furniture was on sale a year ago at the R.T. Dennis building, there is a new bargain: a half-hour of parking for 10 cents. In this case, it was a sudden rush of 1,223 patients to hospitals, including 276 with major injures. With 114 deaths and $50 million in property damage, it jolted public safety officials nationwide into developing better emergency plans. On a visit to Waco, the director of the Federal Civil Defense Administration said other cities should learn from Wacos experience. But doctors and nurses had their hands full for days. Ducks from a ruined downtown hatchery wandered around the rubble, eating the sandwiches. Yet life in Waco continued at its normal pace. What we saw happen to us made us think of planning, and people who wouldnt even listen to you before would go along with it, he says. A persistent legend among some blacks claims that the tornado was Gods judgment on white Waco for the 1916 lynching of a black teenager on the Square. The disaster was a wake-up call to weather officials, too. Please subscribe to keep reading. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Others, such as the R. T. Dennis building, collapsed, killing thirty of the people within and injuring several more. An unscathed door that leads to nothing is all that remains of this unidentified building. Since then, not a single tornado in the U.S. has killed more than 100 people. The chaotic aftermath of this deadly storm left an indelible mark upon the Waco community. Stepping out on the porch, I could see the ALICO Building. A Native American legend about the location of Waco held that a tornado would never hit the area; on May 11, 1953, this legend proved false. Many had held to the belief that Waco was tornado-proof and initially didn't realize one had hit. Office workers sweat in front of fans and open windows, curse the oppressive heat and wait to punch out. most travelers were quite content to stare toward the city from a stretch of U.S. 81 and thank the state highway department for this fast detour around a remarkably unattractive locality.. In a few minutes, the phone was ringing, Bates recalls. The four-story brick building was a heap of rubble within minutes of the storm's arrival. Swansons journey to Waco produced stops in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California. In the basement, the other survivors looked at him incredulously. They didnt want to be accused of something.. Most of the rubble was removed within a couple of weeks, a feat that would have been impossible without help from Connally and Fort Hood, city officials said. The rain had turned Austin Avenue into a creek. There was dust everywhere, he recalls. The deadliest tornado in Texas history has entered the city limits of Waco. The aftermath of the storm was chaotic, and confusion and disorganization characterized initial rescue efforts. It will be a pretty soggy weekend, but nothing tornadic, National Weather Service meteorologist Monique Seller said of the forecast. On June 24, 1953, Texas A&M hosted the first Texas Tornado Warning Conference, with officials from the U.S. Dad tried to put my brother and me under the bed, and was trying to persuade my grandmother to get under as well, but she wouldnt. Austin Avenue is at right. The city created a planning department and appointed a citizens group called Grass Roots Organization of Waco to study the citys needs. The view from the Amicable (now the ALICO) Building down Fifth Street. then-A&M meteorology graduate student George Huebner. Collective memories will get a workout Thursday, the 70th anniversary of a deadly storm that killed 114, injured 597, leveled nearly 200 businesses and factories, and wrecked an estimated 150 homes. Had I been there a few minutes later, we would have been buried. A shower of glass blows into the office of City Manager Jack Jeffrey. But Disosway agreed to draw up a rescue plan and pledged men and equipment to the effort. Most of the east side of the Square had been flattened. The fifth-floor emergency room was packed, and the single X-ray machine ran nonstop. Vass would stay downtown for two days, catching catnaps in abandoned cars. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. All but $40,000 has been spent, and that has been earmarked for the education of children orphaned by the tornado. The tornado demolished much of Waco's central business district and killed 114 people, including a Baylor faculty couple and two students. Wolf was unaware that, as mayor, he was in charge and assumed the military men had things under control. The destruction was massive, and the city was entirely unprepared to handle such a disaster. Citizens National Bank is considering building a large parking garage and drive-through bank at Fourth and Franklin. He says the tornado also brought whites and blacks closer together, which made integration easier in later years. Everybody having to go inside and staying there was scary.. Waco, TX. Farmers still drove there on weekends for hardware, seed and clothes, or to sell vegetables at the riverside market. The convention center, the low-water dam, the extensive drainage projects that keep central and East Waco from flooding all those can be traced back to the tornado, says Jack Jeffrey, 81, who served as city manager until 1960 and is retired in Waco. I had just lay down on a cot when someone came and said Captain, theyve just announced another tornado is coming, he recalls. By 1953, Blackland Army Air Field had been converted to a municipal airport, but James Connally Air Force Base was going strong as the Korean War came to a close. In a 1952 article, Baylor business professor Walstein Smith described his town as Rip Van Waco, emerging from 40 years of sleep. The First National Bank clock at Fifth and Austin reads 4:30 p.m. Schools and some downtown businesses have let out early because of the severe storm warnings, but no one seems too worried. Waco siege, a 51-day standoff between Branch Davidians and federal agents that ended on April 19, 1993, when the religious group's compound near Waco, Texas, was destroyed in a fire. The city is built on the site of an . At the east end of Austin Avenue, the Square symbolized the old order. Tornadoes can strike anywhere a thundercloud can form. Downtown Waco, he wrote, was typical of the citys failure to plan. The Cold War dominated headlines, and a nuclear nightmare seemed possible. The McLennan County Medical Society has used insurance reimbursements and doctors own donations to set up a fund for community health, laying the groundwork for the Family Practice Center. Weather Bureau, stood on a hill near Lorena. In its place is an asphalt plain that stretches toward City Hall, broken only by a new fountain plaza called Heritage Square. ; Waco, Ala. 88, June 28, 1924 Lorain/Sandusky, Ohio 85, Residents of a Waco scarred by a destructive tornado generations ago are providing financial help to Kentuckians recovering from several deadl. Not that racial strife ended with the tornado. There sat city hall, in the middle of a square surrounded by a variety of run-down buildings, both frame and brick, housing butcher shops, dives that served beer only . Winds of Change Waco Tornado: 50 Years Later. She just sat and rocked in her rocking chair.. Minnie Fred Britt, she was a beautiful lady, Martin recalls. Vacant lots have been paved over. Background After two days of intense tornado activity, May 11, 1953, produced a rich, unstable air mass that moved northward over Texas from the Gulf of Mexico. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Gaineses plan auction for historic castle listed for $2.9 million, George's owners plan spicier menu at Jorge's Cantina, but keep Big O's on tap, Waco Lions Park meeting sees concern over weight given to past features, Waco JP's suit on refusal of same-sex marriages to get Texas Supreme Court look, Mike Copeland: Graphic Packaging permits; Apartments at Old Robinson; Orscheln becoming Bomgaars; Gas prices, Waco MPO wins $4.8 million grant to envision high-tech mobility solutions for Franklin Avenue, Midway ISD names 2 new elementary principals, Trib week in review: Coffee, Boozer's buzz top of list, John Werner: Longtime Baylor beat writer picks top 20 games, Janitor heard annoying alarms and turned off freezer, ruining 20 years of school research worth $1 million, lawsuit says, Mistrial declared in Waco burglary to commit assault case, Welch, Darwin bring talents to Bosque Valley Golf Club, Bellmead weighs fines in push to keep shopping carts at stores, Pursuing peace through ponds with Waco backyard water creations, Seven face charges in money laundering, drug dealing scheme in McLennan County, Waco Lions Club commemorates Freedom Fountain 50th anniversary, Opal Lee, 'grandmother of Juneteenth,' recounts joys, struggles ahead of Waco visit, History of landmark Waco buildings detailed in new book, Waco Juneteenth parade among biggest yet, attracts scores to celebrate, Historic Waco church building on the market for $1.5 million, Unrest in France: 'The response cant only be increased policing', Web designer speaks out after SCOTUS ruling, Student borrowers slam high court ruling on debt, US Supreme Court nixes Biden's $400bn student debt cancellation plan. Billy Betros and Stan Sykes did not. The tornado materialized about 1:00 pm local time in Ellington, Missouri. By Randy Fiedler The tornado that tore through Waco, Texas, on Monday, May 11, 1953, killed 114 people -- giving it the distinction of being tied for the deadliest tornado to ever hit the Lone Star State, and making it the 11th deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The central business district was being overwhelmed by the explosions in population, commerce and traffic. It affected everyone, no matter what race you were or what age you were, Swanson said. Power lines were sparking on the ground, and the smell of gas from broken gas lines was in the air. If we could have kept those buildings, that area could be a haven of shops and boutiques now, he says, looking out on the area from his City Hall office. George Huebner, an A&M meteorology graduate student who had used radars in World War II, heard about the severe weather in Waco that day and turned on the radar console in his office. In his new book "Historic Buildings of Waco, Texas," architectural historian Kenneth Hafertepe tells the stories of scores of buildings and st, "A multicultural celebration filled with community, an opportunity for unity, a celebration of this great day and reflection and resilience fo, Greater New Light Baptist's North 18th Street home dating to 1921 has hit the market with a $1.5 million asking price, while the congregation . Spinning and jumping like a rodeo bull, it touched down south of town, wrecked a Lorena farmhouse and trashed farm buildings in Hewitt. People were on the streets some injured, some crying, some numb with shock. Crews found 38 bodies in the Square alone. . After the tubes warmed up, Huebner watched the wand swing around the radarscope and noticed heavy patches of white, representing precipitation. Today a crowd will gather at Fourth and Austin to remember the dead at a site where a memorial will soon be erected. Adults showed up to hurry their children home, trying to do so without causing alarm. The buoyant warm air shot up at an estimated 100 mph, forming thunderclouds that towered up to the stratosphere, 11 miles high. Archie Kahan, head of the oceanography department at A&M, wrote in November 1953: By the next day (May 12) it was clear that, with a reasonable amount of coordination between existing weather agencies, the means for preventing a large portion of the loss of life in the Waco disaster was at hand but had gone unused.. The tornado injured 600 people, took 114 lives, and damaged hundreds of businesses. He sent the men and women packing. By the second day, when a body was uncovered, they would just grab it by the heels and drag it to the wagon.. Destroyed buildings and downed trees are seen along the Brazos River from the Washington Avenue bridge after the May 11, 1953, tornado. I thought, Man, theyre catching hell up there in Waco. . By May 11, 1953, the A&M researchers knew about the tornado that had been spotted by radar in Champaign, Ill., only a month earlier, marked by a distinctive hook pattern on the screen. (AP) A tornado that ripped through the country's largest coal mining site in northeast Wyoming left eight people injured and halted operations as first responders searched the massive open-pit site for employees and continued to assess the damage, officials said Saturday. The impact of the remaining 26 percent can be much more substantial. He says he got $2,500 from the federal government for the move, a fair price because he didnt own the building, he says. He was pressed against the body of his buddy, Kay Sharbutt, and could feel blood on his leg. In 1958, the city created its first Comprehensive Plan, which laid the groundwork for a massive federal Urban Renewal program. Stem insisted that no one could salvage items, including watches and jewelry, from the rubble. At the moment of impact, the steel-framed building sprang back like a punching dummy. It caught the town's . A tornado alert is in effect for areas in south central Alberta, as Environment Canada meteorologists are tracking a severe thunderstorm that is possibly producing a tornado. The city responded to that competition by converting Austin Avenue into a pedestrian mall, but the project was widely judged a failure. On the East Side of the Square and adjacent Bridge Street, blacks had their own businesses: the Waco Messenger newspaper, dentists, doctors, life insurance offices, drug stores, hotels, domino halls, cafes and the Jockey Club barber shop. He joined a crew that was working its way around the Square, looking for bodies, dead or alive. Many were battlefield veterans and were prepared for anything. Others, such as Baylor geologist emeritus O.T. May 11, 2003. Written By: Ben Cosgrove On the afternoon of May 11, 1953, an F5 tornado made a direct hit on Waco, Texas. The eleventh deadliest tornado in U.S. history was an F5 that struck Waco, TX today in 1953; one of a string of 33 twisters that hit 10 states in a 3-day period. I have never recalled any headache from that. After three days of searching in the dump and downtown, they began going through the Padgitt rubble with a crane, checking each scoop with the Geiger counter. The tornado destroyed 196 buildings, and damaged hundreds of others so badly that they were later torn down. He said, Allan, this is Harlon. At night, teenagers would make the drag, cruising down the neon-lit wonderland in shiny new Chevys and Studebakers. At 3:55 p.m. that day, T.H. They had always been kind of neglected. On May 11, 1953, a tornado cut through the heart of Waco. A group searches through rubble in the aftermath of the May 11, 1953, tornado that hit downtown Waco, killing 114 people and injuring almost 600. May 11, 1954. The wall crumbled, crushing their yellow convertible. The tornado injured 600 people, took 114 lives, and damaged hundreds of businesses. The bureau agreed to give the radars to individual Texas cities for modification. The movie went dark, and the high ceiling fell in one piece. I went through the building to see if anyone was hurt, Jeffrey recalls. By 1953, the Square had fallen on hard times, according to John Edward Weems, a Central Texas journalist who covered the tornado and later wrote a book about it. Location Help Excessive Heat Building Across the South; Wildfire Smoke Impacting Air Quality Excessive heat will build over much of Texas to the northern Gulf Coast and into the mid-Mississippi River Valley, and Southeast U.S. as well as the Central Valley of California into the weekend. I had never seen people work together like that. Bates, the Guard captain, recalls seeing Waco Tribune-Herald publisher Harlon Fentress talk to Wolf after the meeting, then place a call on the hotel phone to his secretary. There was no cause for alarm, he said in his teletype report. WACO, Texas (April 28, 2023) - The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado WATCH for Central Texas, including Waco and McLennan County, effective until 8 p.m. CDT tonight (Friday, April 28, 2023).Tornadoes, with damaging winds and hail are possible in and near the watch area, which includes the . (On the scale for rating rotational intensity created by storm researcher Ted Fujita, an F5 twister is capable of "incredible damage.") The 1950 census showed that Waco had added 28,000 in the previous decade, compared with a growth of only 3,000 in the 1930s. Stem sent some men to the Texas Power and Light Company for a generator. But Ben Frank Smith, owner of the Jockey Club barber shop, noted that the tornado killed both blacks and whites. But Wacos newfound economic vigor also brought growing pains. We need these National Guard people three more days. In 1953, a case was pending before the Supreme Court that would ultimately desegregate schools across the country, and the national civil rights struggle was quietly beginning. What appeared south of Waco on May 11, 1953, looked like the beginning of a typical spring Texas thunderstorm. As in most Southern towns, blacks were strictly confined to their own neighborhoods and schools. The most extreme destruction was in the 400 block between Austin and Franklin avenues, where 61 people were killed. After taking the job, he discovered the city was going broke. The city of Waco will hold a remembrance ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday at the tornado memorial, Fourth Street and Austin Avenue. The lights went out, and the screaming began. Power went out in much of the town, and radio stations were knocked off the air for nearly two hours. They can gouge the trees out of deep valleys, leaving adjacent hilltops untouched, experts say. I remember being scared. In his last conscious moments, he heard the train-like roar approaching. With the best-laid emergency plans in place, an F-5 tornado crashing into a crowded downtown means chaos. The vortex moved toward the southern end of downtown, preceded by powerful wind, hail and rain. If he were to look, he might see another 30-year-old man in a yellow Chrysler convertible leaving Austin Avenue for Baylor University, where he teaches business. At Hillcrest hospital 22-year-old-nurse Wetona Mayfield found herself in charge of the hospital because all the administrators were at a conference in Galveston. You have permission to edit this article. In the weeks after the 53 tornado, the low pressure trough that gave rise to the Waco tornado moved eastward across the United States and spawned more deadly tornadoes. Floods along the Brazos River and Waco Creek regularly damaged streets and bridges in central and East Waco. It remains tied with a 1902 twister in Goliad for the dubious distinction of being the deadliest tornado in Texas history. Im 81 now, and I dont have any arthritis or anything.. This documentary is a community oral history project about the 1953 tornado created by the Waco Public Library in 1980-1981. The newspaper said the idea was too daring to catch on. Waco is in central McLennan County about seventy miles south of Dallas near the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque rivers. Now two blocks wide, with a sound that was later described as a buzz saw chewing through wet lumber, it crashes into downtown at 4:36 p.m., turning cars into missiles, straw into darts and pebbles into shrapnel. Some lived to tell about it. I finally formed a skirmish line with fixed bayonets.. They got a lucky break that afternoon, however, as Bates remembers. A friend of his wifes flagged them down. Patients were evaluated, injected with morphine, and tagged with a piece of tape. Now it tears into the traffic circle, charging north at about 30 mph and gaining in size and strength. Hayward, argued that Waco was situated atop an an uplift on the Balcones escarpment (or fault line) served to precipitate severe weather along the I-35 corridor, which roughly follows the escarpment. As of 4:40 p.m. the . The city responded with DDT and rat poison. World War II brought two military bases and a deluge of new industries, and many, like Owens-Illinois and General Tire, stuck around. Waco was ill-prepared and forced to play it by ear, relying on the efforts of individuals driven by duty and adrenaline. Rasner located his wrecked convertible. The disaster made heroes out of doctors and nurses. I could see the beginnings of police arriving.. It was lined with more than 300 businesses between the City Hall Square and Ninth Street, including half a dozen department stores, the 22-story Amicable office building (now ALICO), banks, movie houses, restaurants and grand hotels such as the Raleigh and the Roosevelt. Such organization as we had was strictly in the talking stage and on paper, the civil defense director, Jim Meredith, later wrote. They strike blindly, oblivious to topography and Indian legends. Were trying to get you out. . Like most cities, Waco had hired a civil defense director in March and had drawn up a disaster plan, which stated that the most likely target of nuclear attack in Waco was Fifth and Austin. I just got there and started working, she says. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Devastation on Franklin Avenue, looking toward the river. I think it was a seminal event that changed the whole trajectory of the town. In the rebuilding process, I think all fair-minded people in Waco saw that they were human beings, too, he says of the black community. It sheared the top stories off buildings on the Square, crushing shopkeepers, customers and upstairs tenants hiding under mattresses. Most survivors are gone now, but their stories have been exhaustively described in news articles, books and an oral history project. Paul Vass, the volunteer rescuer, left Baylor soon after the tornado and returned to Waco only two years ago. 1 of 6 Rubble from collapsed buildings lies across a downtown Waco street in the aftermath of the F5 tornado 70 years ago that killed 114 people, injured almost 600 and destroyed hundreds of. Annotated view of Waco Square before the 1953 tornado. In the next few days, he would chronicle the destruction for Dallas readers. She yelled at me, Youve got to get to the Armory. Residences were completely dismantled, swept away, and reduced to a concrete slab, while trees in the area were completely shredded and debarked. But downtown Waco was overwhelmed with a glut of donated sandwiches that soon spoiled, causing a disposal challenge for health workers. Panelists include Texas Collection audiovisual coordinator Geoff Hunt, Waco historian and author Eric Ames and meteorologist Brady Taylor. On May 11, 1953 the building, and every other one in that block, on both sides of Austin Avenue, splintered and on that block 60 people . Others have moved to other parts of downtown or left it altogether for suburban shopping centers. Members of the Waco City Council have been invited to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony and a moment of silence. You have permission to edit this article. Around 4:30, a tornado touched down southwest of Waco and tore through residential areas. At 4:36, it struck downtown Waco. By the time the tornado reached him, it was carrying mangled roofs, rabbit hutches and uprooted trees from the Bells Hill neighborhood. People were afraid to touch it, he says. Look at the skyline today. Moments after the tornado, Paul Vass, the Baylor student, stumbled out of the basement pool hall on Third Street. In 15 minutes, its devastation killed 114 people and changed the course of the city's history. Twenty-two people, mostly employees, died in the rubble of the five-story R.T. Dennis building. The Waco Square surrounded Waco's City Hall in a configuration bounded by 2 nd and 3 rd Streets and Washington and Franklin Avenues. . Huebner, the A&M radar operator, worked on most of the modifications. As a result, Waco cleared slums and noxious industries along the Brazos River, created University-Parks Drive and Martin Luther King Drive, and turned the muddy Brazos into a scenic river-lake. Around 4 p.m. the sky suddenly darkened and hail the size of baseballs fell. When the city began to rebuild, their needs got more recognition.. Wolf, the Baylor athletic director, was at his office as Baylor Stadium in South Waco, just blocks from the path of the tornado but oblivious to the disaster. They all went up and down Austin Avenue with a PA system announcing that, and within 15 minutes, you could have shot a 105-mm (cannon) down Austin Avenue and not hit anybody.. It headed toward the Cotton Belt railroad and the building where Rasner and his wife wad taken shelter. The tornado also made it politically possible for the city to take over the water department and to set new service fees, which helped solve its financial crisis. The weather grew severe as the day progressed. One is that tornadoes can level entire habitats, which endangers the animals living in those habitats. Meteorologists of Andersons generation were skittish about using the word tornado in a forecast. Baylor Universitys Texas Collection will present The Waco Tornado, 70 Years Later: The Calm, the Storm, the Aftermath from 6 to 7 p.m. May 18 at the Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive. Rows of cottages and ranch-style houses marched toward Lake Waco and overtook farmland along Valley Mills Drive. Displaced rats swarmed the streets. At a nearby warehouse, a rooftop water tank crashed through five floors of concrete and killed a custodian in the basement. The updraft pushed the northern end of the tube high into the sky and turned it vertical, like a gardener picking up a hose. poolrooms and flophouses, he wrote in his 1977 book, The Tornado. Very seldom in life does one day change the entire destiny of a city, he says. I could see that big echo in the area of Waco, Huebner said. Dad came in from downtown, mother went to the basement of Southwestern Bell, Potts said, wondering aloud how she so clearly recalls events that happened shortly before her 3rd birthday. The specials start at 10:00 a.m., with the last program airing at 10:30 p.m. May 11 Specials - The 68 th Anniversary of 1953 Waco Tornado. Morning thunderstorms from around Fort Worth had pushed a mass of rain-cooled air south, creating a cool front that stalled west of Waco. That morning, the U.S. It might appear that the entire Square and much of Austin Avenue was carted away by the tornado. The rebuilding process was heavily dependent on financial aid from federal, state and volunteer sources. Mayor Ralph Wolf was scheduled to cut the ribbon on a national home furnishings expo on May 12 at the new Heart O Texas Coliseum. Bates shuddered, afraid that explosives he had squirreled away in the Armory had blown up. The F5 Jarrell tornado was the outbreak's most powerful and deadliest tornado. For sheer industrial ecstasy, Waco is at the states peak, the Saturday Evening Post marveled in 1946. Triage was set up by 5:30 p.m., and teams of doctors went from patient to patient. I remember it so distinctly. He worries about his masters thesis that sits on the back seat. However, officials at the time said the pattern on the screen clearly suggested a tornado. As of 9:30 a.m. CST (15:30 UTC ), thunderstorm activity from the overnight hours persisted, generating residual outflow boundaries. The tornado rolled on. With two babies in the back seat, they were headed to a studio to pick up a photo for a feature story Turner was writing about a duck who had gone crazy with grief after his mate died.