For most of us who were around on April 10, 1979, the images of that dark day will forever be burned into our memories.

I was six-years-old and living in Vernon when the tornado hit there. We had been hunkered down in the hallway in our house on Bismarck Street, but stepped out on the front porch after we thought the storm had passed. That’s when my older sister pointed toward the trees catty-corner from our house and said, “There’s the tornado!” All these years later, I can still see that big black cloud swirling over the southeast side of town.

In the above video, meteorologists Gene Moore and Dr. Howard Bluestein give their account of Terrible Tuesday, starting with the tornado near Seymour. The chasers made their way to Vernon, just after the tornado hit there and then followed the storm system to Wichita Falls and were just outside of town when they saw the big one forming.

A total of thirteen tornadoes ravaged the Red River Valley on that day.

More From 92.9 NiN