|
The
day began with ominous weather. Shortly after midnight on March
10, 1973, a brief tornado killed one and injured seven near San
Angelo (Tom Green County). Under cover of the darkness of the
early morning hours, the storm front approached the Hill Country.
At 6:24 the town of Hubbard
was awakened by the deadliest tornado of the four that occurred
in Texas that day. The twister had
already destroyed a home and injured two near Mart
(McLennan County) and demolished several structures at Watt (Limestone
County) before attacking the community of about fifteen hundred
people in far northeast Hill County. As it cut a diagonal path through
the town, the tornado demolished thirty homes and damaged half of
the buildings in town. Six people lost their lives, and one hundred
sustained injuries. Among those killed was a six-year old boy who
died when the tornado destroyed his trailer home and three farm
workers from Houston
who were pinned inside a trailer on a ranch outside town.
Stories of the storm abounded. Several described the sound like
a jet plane taking off while others said it sounded like the proverbial
freight train. Another victim said the storm was like "rocks pounding
the house and then there was a big bang and the house exploded."
One resident explained that a small aquarium with a gold fish swimming
around remained untouched although the storm had badly damaged his
home. Another man pointed out his glass rain gauge that had survived
the onslaught of the winds and debris while his house was in shambles.
The National Weather Service retroactively rated this tornado an
F4, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour.
© Marlene
Bradford
August 23 , 2014
See Texas Tornadoes: The Lone
Star State’s Deadliest Twisters
See Also Hubbard,
Texas
More Texas
Storms
|
