Brief Overview
 

The Opdyke-Whitharral-Littlefield tornado

                    A tornado developed southwest of Smyer around 530 pm. Witnesses describe multiple funnel clouds. A tornado
                        was observed by many onlookers at the Spade ranch in Smyer for 20 minutes. The owner of the ranch, Joe 
                        Christopher, assured everyone that it was too cool for a tornado. This tornado(es) moved northwest and northwest.
                        Mr. Avery said that one big tornado moving from the southeast merged with a smaller tornado and formed
                        a  giant tornado south of Whitharral. The two photos shown here were taken
                        by Avalanche staffer John Rogers who had to be pulled out of the flood waters. Baseball to softball sized hail fell with
                        the storm before the tornado struck according to Avery. The tornado hit near Whitharral between 6 pm and 630 pm.
                        After hitting {1 mile south and 1/2 mile west) and (2 miles north and 1.5)  west of Whitharral,
                        the tornado turned to the north-northwest and passed 5 miles southwest of Littlefield and 1/2 mile east of Amherst.
                        This tornadic storm missed all towns but caused major rural damage. Two houses were destroyed on the L.W. Hill
                        farm east of Levelland(1 east and 1.5 miles north of the Opdyke gin). The Hill's and mexican laborers were not home.
                        Numerous sheds and barns were destroyed and irrigation pipes disappeared. The Reuben Mayes home was destroyed
                        as well as the tractor and pickup. The family was not home. The home owned by Joe Dominguez near Opdyke was 
                        destroyed. Homes owned by Joe Pelfrey, Clyde Brock, and Will Redding were destroyed west of Whitharral.  The
                        Charley Vineyard rent home was destroyed. F. E. Sadler saw the funnel approaching and escaped in a pickup. Almost|
                        everything around his residence was heavily damaged. Several motorists between Whitharall and Littlefield sought shelter
                        in the Water's storm shelter. The Water's had guests at their house for easter and they all took shelter. 5 cars and a pickup
                        were tossed like toys and hurled into fields. A car was hurled 1/2 mile close to the Water's shelter(2 nw Whitharral), with
                        a board driven though the frame and into the front seat.
                        Hens from the Walters' brooder house were lying dead all over the place. The cars and trucks that were parked
                        outside the house were scattered over a 1/2 mile and demolished beyond repair. Every imaginable automobile part
                        could be found strewn in the fields. The hood of one are was several hundred feet from the car itself. Household
                        items were scattered for a half mile. A tractor parked on the south side of the house which lowered the plows
                        in the rear and the tractor was blown through the house, plowing furrows right through the foundation and on past
                        the house on the other side. Only the foundation of the house was left. Walters' indicated that 2 tornadoes hit their
                        farm--one from the east and the other from the south. The first tornado destroyed the brooder house then the 2nd tornado
                        hit. Several persons on the Avery farm 1 mile south of Whitharall went into a storm shelter. Only some boards remained where
                        the Avery farm house was with only a couple of tractors recognizable. A storm shelter saved 14 people in the Herrin
                        house as the house was destroyed. A brand new pickup and combine near the Herrin house were hurled
                        over 300 yards. Eleven homes were destroyed between Whitharral and Opdyke. Several people took refuge in
                        the Lumsden-Perkins gin 4 miles west of Littlefield. The Lopez family took shelter behind the gin in their car.  They 
                        were buried in rubble as the gin was destroyed. Several shacks owned by Latin american workers were destroyed.
                        Wanda Fry and her sister were driving between Levelland and Littlefield and thier car was flipped over several times.
                        Other homes destroyed near Whitharral belonged to John Waters, Ben Waters, Robert Avery,  and Myrtle Douglas.
                        Texas highway patrolman Bud Simmons described the funnel as the "largest funnel I've ever seen, and I've seen lots of
                        them." He said the funnel was at least 1/4 mile wide and possibly wider. According to Simmons who tracked the
                        tornadoes, hail the size of eggs fell with the tornado near Whitharral. Simmons alongside Ted Court found that
                        little was left of most of the houses with furniture, refrigerators and butane tanks scattered across the fields.  Their
                        "tornado hunt" was stalled by 3 to 4 foot flood waters that stalled their vehicle. Five homes were destroyed in the
                        Whitharall rural area. B. F. Waters came out of a storm shelter to find his home demolished.  Thirty people were
                        injured southwest and west of Littlefield. Mrs. Jim Shipman, Mr. and Mrs. Claudio Lopez and Mary Brooks(4 sw Littlefield)
                        suffered pelvis, shoulder and back injuries. After passing 4 miles west of Littlefield, the tornado continued north to
                        north-northwest and passed 1/2 mile to 1 mile east of Amherst. Barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed
                        on properties owned by Ben Greener(2 ne Amherst), Barney Sherrill, Forest Nutall, Pete Thompson, Leon Sherrill, Larkin Nix
                        and Maud Bennett.

Hart Camp tornado

                        A tornado developed north of Lubbock around 845 pm and moved northwest to Hart Camp and then to
                        southwest of Olton by 10 pm. This tornado caused extensive rural damage but missed all towns. This tornado
                        may have been produced by the same storm that spawned the tornado southeast of Lubbock. This tornado caused
                        extensive damage in the Hart Camp area. Pat Pickrell of the Littlefield Press office staff talked about the tornado
                        as it moved across rural areas between Spade and Abernathy. She said that she was driving fast to get home before
                        the roads became muddy when she encountered the tornado 7 miles east of Spade. Power lines were torn down
                        and telephone poles were left as stumps. A barn owned by Joe Blankenship was was damaged only 200 yards
                        from her house. No homes were hit but several barns were destroyed. The Prentiss home was completely swept away
                        2 miles southeast of Hart Camp at 915 pm with parts of the house wrapped around the neighboring Neinast home.
                        The Mcafee home was heavily damaged with outbuildings completely disappearing. The H. R. Monroe home north
                        of Spade was heavily damaged. Farm buildings were damaged on the A. Farr farm. The Neinast home was heavily
                        damaged. Damage in the Hart Camp/North Spade areas was $1/2 million. This tornado apparently continued to the
                        northwest since outbuildings were destroyed 6 miles southwest of Olton with farm homes unroofed. The tornado
                        apparently hit southeast of Hart-Camp at 915 pm and Hart Camp around 930 pm. The Lilly McGill home was
                        damaged 5 miles sw of Olton(3 s and 4 w).

The Shallowater-Anton-Spade tornado

                    A tornado developed south of Shallowater and moved northwest to 2 miles east of Anton and to 4 miles east
                        of Littlefield and then to 4 miles east of Amherst. The time of this tornado is in question. One estimate was 730 pm
                        as clocks stopped south of Spade. Another time was 845 pm and this was probably more accurate. The storm
                        that caused this tornado is probably the same storm that produced the tornadoes south and southwest of Lubbock.
                        This tornado missed all towns but caused extensive damage to rural homes. The David Mcvey home was
                        damaged 2 miles east of Anton. The family took shelter at 8 pm and the home was hit at  845 pm. Walls were
                        left standing but the roof was gone. The garage was destroyed. The George Sooter home was unroofed 3 miles
                        southeast of Shallowater. The garage was demolished. The P. W. Wells home was heavily damaged and the
                        gin and outbuildings were demolished. The family was in the storm cellar. On the J. E. Paden farm 3 miles west and
                        3 miles south of Spade, all the walls were flattened and barns were leveled. The pump house was unroofed. The
                        Leonard King home 4 miles east of  Littlefield(2 south and 4 west of Spade) was unroofed.  The A. W. Duncan
                        home 2 miles northwest of Shallowater was destroyed. The pickup was rolled up on top of the rubble. The entire
                        family was in the storm cellar. The George Sooter home southwest of Shallowater was unroofed.
                       

The Mayfield Tornado

                    Another tornado hit near Mayfield and then moved to the southeast of Olton and continued to 5 miles north of  Olton.
                        Homes were unroofed near Mayfield and a wood frame shop owned by Fred Long was totally destroyed 5 miles
                        north of  Olton or just north of the Running Water Creek.

                        The15 UTC April 21 500mb