It’s April 9, the 76th anniversary of the deadliest tornado to ever hit the State of Oklahoma. It swept up from Texas on the evening of April 9, 1947, striking the town of Woodward at 8:42 p.m. with the power of an F5 storm. At least 107 people were killed and nearly another 1,000 injured in Woodward alone. Over 100 city blocks, and more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the city were destroyed.
Meda’s father had been trained as a geologist and was working in the oil fields in Vici, south of Woodward. With phone lines knocked out by the tornado, it took a while for news of the devastation in Woodward to reach him and the other men, who then raced back to Woodward. Although their home was destroyed, Meda and her mother survived when a table was blown over and blocked a brick wall that then collapsed over them.
Meda was less than three months old, so has no personal recollections of the storm. But she grew up with family stories being told and retold, and we visited Woodward, and its small tornado museum, in 2009.
Meda’s mother tells the story in a letter written to her parents in Hawaii after the storm. And a few photos can be found here.
And Meda and her parents were pictured in a story published by the Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. Several weeks later, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin also reported on the family’s experience.
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What an amazing story! I grew up in Iowa and tornado stories were part of my childhood as well. My grandparents and uncle’s farms were hit. We moved to Missouri in 1966 and shortly after in 1967 Charles City Iowa was hit with an F5. The house we had left stood but many nearby were gone. Only 18 people were killed but the town was really damaged. I have a healthy respect for tornadoes.
I was born in another Oklahoma town a month after the tornado. We first visited Vici (where Meda’s dad had worked) a couple of years later and then lived there for a while. Vici had about 600 people and Woodward was the market town. My dad dug a storm cellar in the back yard and we spent some nights there. I remember a frog visiting, maybe a snake. Looks like the tornado danger zone has moved farther east now.
The narrative Meda’s mother wrote was chilling. I would be lying if I said I was not emotionally involved in the text. I totally ‘get’ her father’s grief in not knowing if they had survived! They were a very good looking family. Thank you for sharing this thrilling event with us.
My maternal great- grandparents, uncles, & aunts lived in Woodward at that time. They also survived. I have many fond memories of Woodward visits.