The legendary blizzard of 1956 February 4, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Weather.2 comments
I stumbled today onto this story in the The Courier of Montgomery County, Texas, about a freak blizzard that struck the Plains of New Mexico and Texas on Feb. 4, 1956.
The storm blanketed snow from Amarillo to the north, Tucumcari, N.M., to the west, and Wink to the south. Even El Paso got 5 inches of snow. But here’s the excerpt that made me gasp:
At first light on Feb. 5, the snow was 14 inches deep in Amarillo, but Texas’ northernmost city had gotten off light compared to nearby Vega. The small community halfway between Amarillo and the New Mexico line was buried beneath an unbelievable 61 inches – a state record that stands to this day.
I can’t even comprehend that much snow in the Plains. Last year about this time, portions of the Grand Lake area of northeastern Oklahoma experienced 50 inches of snow. But that accumulated over several successive storms — not in one shot like Vega’s.
The next time you’re in Vega, you ought to ask old-timers about that storm. I bet you’ll hear a few interesting stories.
The NOAA’s Monthly Weather Review published a story a few weeks later about the storm. You can read a PDF of the article here. It contains a lot of material that’s interesting mostly to meteorology geeks. But this except tells how historic the storm truly was:
The snow depth broke records of 50 years duration, and the combination of snow, cold, and winds caused blizzard conditions and considerable hardship. At least 18 deaths were attributed directly to the storm. The normal life of the area was completely paralyzed during the storm and there were still transportation difficulties up through February 14. Highway travel was stopped as drifts blocked the roads and even intercity buses suspended operations after several buses were stranded and the passengers rescued by tractor.
The Courier also told this stirring story that involved the border town of Glenrio, Texas, now a ghost town:
Early in the morning of Feb. 5, Continental Trailways driver John Hearon pulled out of the Amarillo bus station with 16 passengers, two children and 14 adults, and headed west in the blinding blizzard toward Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Less than 10 miles from the Texas-New Mexico boundary, the bus slipped off the icy asphalt and into a snow-filled ditch. Presuming it was only a matter of time until help arrived from Tucumcari, the driver stayed with his worried passengers.
At half past two that afternoon, Hearon decided he had no choice but to go for help. That meant walking eight miles through waist-deep snow to tiny Glenrio on the New Mexico side of the state line.
“I fell down at least three times but I knew I had to get up and go on,” Hearon later said from a hospital bed. “I was afraid to stop because I knew I would never start again.” [...]
It was 11 o’clock that night, when Hearon at last saw the lights of Glenrio. Exhausted, snow-blind in one eye and nearly delirious, he collapsed 200 yards from his destination.
The only thing John Hearon could think to do was to whistle. Off in the distance, someone heard his distress call and within minutes his ordeal was over.
Three “Land of Enchantment” highway patrol cars followed a road grader to the stranded bus. The anxious passengers were cold and very hungry after their 21-hour wait, but they were alive thanks to their dedicated driver.
Should Joplin provide tornado maps? January 18, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Events, Towns, Weather.1 comment so far
A new map that details the path of a deadly tornado that ravaged Joplin, Mo., is being distributed by the local chamber of commerce, reported KOAM-TV in nearby Pittsburg, Kan. And that’s causing a few headaches for the agency.
The station reported:
The map is being put out by the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau (on Facebook) and marks the path of the tornado, showing visitors where they can find certain tornado landmarks, like the remnants of Saint John’s and Joplin High School.
Some residents fear the city is trying to capitalize on tornado tourism. A Facebook has recently been created called Joplin Citizens Against Tornado Tours. [...]
“We are not actively promoting ‘tornado tours’” says the Director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pat Tuttle.
The Joplin CVB also made this statement on its Facebook page, in part:
For the past seven months, the JCVB office has received numerous phone calls and in-office requests for a map or description of the affected area. These requests come from visiting volunteer groups, contractors and out of state workers, weather watchers, media, writers and bloggers, travel groups, individuals and tour bus operators. The map was produced as a low-cost information piece in response to these types of inquiries. It is not a marketing piece. The purpose of the map was not to “sell” the sites to anyone…it was to provide a snapshot of information to visitors who were already traveling to Joplin and either guide them through the zone using the main roads and staying out of the residential areas as much as possible or to outline where the zone is so that an alternate route for travel could be determined.
Our intention was not to be insensitive or disrespectful of those who lost loved ones or their property. It was simply to address a situation that was already occurring and hopefully help inform our out of town visitors about the devastating effects of the tornado and emphasize the positive efforts of the community working towards recovery.
I don’t think the Joplin CVB is doing the wrong thing here. It seems its intentions were good. It’s just something that got blown out of proportion or misinterpreted because emotions remain raw eight months after the twister. More than 160 people dying and a third of the town being destroyed will keep people on edge.
At the same time, Joplin’s residents are going to have to cope with this disaster. Like it or not, the May 22 tornado has become a major part of the town’s history, and will forever more. The hurt won’t go away completely. But some reconciliation — whether it’s through a monument or an annual memorial service — is needed.
Oklahoma City dealt with its terrorist bombing in 1995 by building the Oklahoma City National Memorial at the site. I’m sure more than a few residents are disturbed it has become a tourist attraction. I hold no doubts that a few visitors are there due solely to morbid fascination. But many other visitors were genuinely moved by the disaster when it happened, and feel compelled to visit the memorial. Best of all, the site also has become a source of comfort for the victims’ families.
And let’s face it — the more visitors that Joplin attracts, the more money goes into coffers and speeds its recovery. I’ve made it a point since the disaster to stop in Joplin every time I’m passing through and ring up some business there. Whether it’s money for gasoline, a meal, or souvenirs, that’s cash that’s pumping into Joplin’s economy.
The damage is profoundly disturbing, as the above video shows, and still is months later. But I recommend stopping to see the Wall of Hope at 20th and Main streets (map here). This is public art that spring up spontaneously. It’s moving and uplifting. You can read the blog post by Emily (aka Redforkhippie) about the wall.
Christmas Eve at the Wagon Wheel Motel December 24, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Weather.2 comments
One year ago today, I woke up to this at the lovingly restored Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Mo.
Music is “Song of Assisi,” by Marc Gunn.
Winter wonderland December 13, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Road trips, Weather.2 comments
Longtime roadie Jim Hinckley was traveling Route 66 through Seligman, Ariz., on Monday and encountered this snowstorm.
Among the businesses in the background is Angel “Guardian Angel of Route 66″ Delgadillo‘s barbershop and his Route 66 gift shop.
If you have seasonal or Christmas-themed photos on Route 66, email them to route66news@yahoo.com for consideration to be published here.
Book review: “32 Minutes in May” November 13, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Weather.add a comment
Like me, I suspect many will encounter mixed feelings while reading the first comprehensive book about the deadly tornado that ravaged Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011.
But on further reflection, there are good reasons to buy “32 Minutes in May — The Joplin Tornado” (142 pages, hardback, Pediment Publishing, $34.95) — other than a portion of proceeds will benefit Bright Futures of the Joplin School District.
First and foremost, “32 Minutes in May” acts as a historical record to America’s worst tornado in 60 years. With 161 dead, more than 1,150 injured, and 8,000 buildings destroyed, it stands as the biggest disaster to hit a Route 66 town since the Mother Road was certified in 1926. The tornado cut a six-mile path through Joplin in 32 minutes — hence the title.
All the source material for the book was compiled by the Joplin Globe newspaper, which did a marvelous job covering the ongoing story despite more than a dozen staffers losing their homes and one copy editor dying during the disaster.
The book contains hundreds of color photographs, including Roger Nomer’s now-famous image of a police officer carrying an 11-year-old girl from the rubble of a business. Fortunately, the book’s editors didn’t include graphic images of the dead and wounded.
Many of the Globe’s stories contain enough horror. One father suffered broken arms when he tried to keep his 18-year-old son from being sucked out of the window of his Hummer when the twister struck. (The teen was later found dead in pond.) Checking a nursing home after the tornado struck, a passerby encountered “bodies and broken bones and blood and stuff.” (Ten died at the scene.) The first man in the local hospital’s emergency room after the storm had been nearly eviscerated. “It’s the tornado. It’s devastated everything,” he told a nurse. The man later died from his injuries.
One heartbreaking moment was witnessed by a freelance Globe photographer.
” … I remember a woman walking around the foundation of a house calling out for her missing son. Her voice was hoarse and her initial panic had since been replaced with despair as she repeated his name. … Later, I would read his name in a list of confirmed dead.”
The Globe also uncovered these interesting nuggets of information:
— Joplin also had been struck by fatal tornadoes in 1883, 1902, 1971, 1973, and 1996. The description of the twister’s damage from the 1903 report proved eerily similar to what occurred a little more than a century later.
— The powerful F5 tornado was the product of two storm systems that merged near the Kansas state line. A scientist with the National Storms Laboratory said when two storms merge into one, its power usually dissipates. Instead, the merged Joplin storm became stronger.
— The tornado was so powerful, it moved the nine-story St. John’s Regional Medical Center building four inches off its foundation.
One of the most sobering sections is “Faces of the Storm” — more than 20 pages of photographs and/or biographies of the people who died. Victims range in age from 14 months to 94 years.
A second reason, I suspect, this book was made published is it serves as a sort of communion and remembrance for the survivors and their families. Years from now, they’ll flip through “32 Minutes in May” and think: “I can’t believe I survived this. I can’t believe the community survived this.”
And the community is indeed surviving. Several of the book’s final chapters strike an optimistic note. More than 85,000 volunteers pitched in after the storm. Hundreds of building permits were issued in June alone. About 370 of the 500 businesses damaged by the tornado have reopened. And the town’s public school opened on schedule in August, albeit in another building that wasn’t in the tornado’s path.
During the citywide memorial service after the storm, the media gave much of its attention to speeches by Gov. Jay Nixon and President Obama. However, some of the most inspiring words came from the Rev. Aaron Brown of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. “32 Minutes in May” reprinted his entire speech, “Death Does Not Get the Last Word.” Exhorting God’s name, Brown said:
“His mission for us is to get busy living. Get busy serving. Get busy rebuilding our city … Get busy loving more deeply than you ever have.
“For those of you who have lost loved ones, get busy living out their legacy. They have lost their lives, but none of them would want you to stop living yours because they’re gone. Get busy living.”
Recommended. Especially because portions of the book’s sales go to a good cause.
Big quake brings little damage to Route 66 November 6, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Weather.add a comment
Oklahoma experienced its most powerful earthquake in state history Saturday night, but a cursory inspection of the Mother Road in the affected region turned up no apparent damage.
The quake struck at 10:53 p.m. Saturday. According to revised figures by the U.S. Geological Society, it measured 5.6 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was near the small village of Sparks, about six miles south of the Route 66 town of Davenport.
The quake broke the previous state record of 5.5, set in 1952 in El Reno. A series of aftershocks followed through Sunday morning. A smaller earthquake (4.0 magnitude) also occurred early Saturday morning, but many people slept through it.
According to The Oklahoman newspaper, the Saturday night quake damaged a portion of U.S. 62 in Lincoln County. Several homes in that county saw collapsing chimneys or cracked foundations.
I cruised Route 66 from Tulsa to Luther on Sunday morning to see whether I could spot damage to historic buildings or structures, including on the obscure Ozark Trail alignments. Fortunately, everything seemed normal.
A clerk at a convenience store in Stroud said a few chimney collapses occurred in town, but most of the damage occurred in towns near the quake’s epicenter, such as Meeker and Prague. A volunteer at the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum in the hamlet of Warwick said several items fell off the walls at the museum, but none of the memorabilia was damaged.
I experienced the earthquake shortly after shutting off the TV following the Oklahoma State-Kansas State football game. It initially felt like a big truck rumbling by on the street, but the vibration intensified dramatically after about five seconds. It then settled into a low vibration for another 20 seconds or so.
I really wasn’t frightened by the quake as I was fascinated. But quite a few Oklahomans I talked to were alarmed by the quake because they’re not used to such seismic activity.
Dormant volcano near Route 66 is still dormant August 3, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Weather.1 comment so far
In recent days, the U.S. Geological Survey put out a press release about Pisgah Crater, a dormant volcano off Route 66 near Ludlow, Calif. The agency said:
Inquiries have come to the USGS regarding a potential eruption in the vicinity of Lavic Lake Volcanic Field (LLVF) in Southern California. The inquiries stem from a citizen report noting a plume-like feature on NEXRAD radar imagery from July 23, 2011. USGS volcanologists evaluating the situation find nothing to indicate that the NEXRAD feature results from volcanic activity. Satellite images from the same period do not show the steam or ash clouds that accompany volcanic activity, and there is no seismicity in the vicinity indicative of volcanic unrest/eruption. No earthquakes were located within 20 miles of LLVF during the last week (USGS-Caltech Seismic Net update 14:10 PDT July 27, 2011 ). No reports of eruptive activity have come in from ground observers (LLVF is within 2 miles of Interstate 40) or from regional pilots (Barstow Daggett County Airport is within 10 miles of LLVF).
Chris Clarke at KCET-TV explains why the USGS thought such a statement was necessary:
Why? Because a fellow going by the name of Dutch Sinse, a conspiracy buff far from the Mojave Desert, viewed NEXRAD doppler radar videos of what would seem to be monsoonal storm cells and declared them to be “volcanic plumes” — an eruption, of sorts, in progress. [...]
Sinse states that the “plume” cannot possibly be a wildfire, in part because there have been no news reports of wildfires in the area. (The similar lack of news reports on volcanic eruptions two miles off Interstate 40 escapes mention.) [...]
In all likelihood, what Sinse pointed out in the above and subsequent videos were local storm cells, a wave of which has been running roughshod over the California Deserts in recent weeks. [...]
Sinse’s prognostications spread quickly throughout the net. Within four days of the July 23 “eruption” I’d received three or four questions about it from different sets of online acquaintances. For one reason or another, this particular conspiracy theory gained traction, even inspiring some people to go out and document the plumes for themselves — like these women, who ended up filming what looks like a convective updraft at what they thought was Pisgah Crater — but which was actually Amboy Crater about 35 miles east of Pisgah.
I’m not linking to Sinse’s video. That dope already has received far too much unwarranted attention.
But this episode shows how a distressingly significant number of people are uncritical thinkers. It seems every conspiracy theory is given credence, no matter how implausible or fact-free.
(The “truthers” who believe the World Trade Center towers in 2001 were bombed from the inside by the U.S. military and the “birthers” who believe the current president was born in Kenya, I’m looking at you.)
If a long-dormant volcano starts spewing steam and ash within eyeshot of an incredibly busy highway such as Interstate 40, you will hear about it on television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet. Thousands of scientists, journalists and gawkers with smartphones would be high-tailing it to the Mojave Desert to see, record, report and study this. That, unlike Sinse’s wild theory, is indisputable.