| April 9, 1947: Tornado. White Deer, Carson County; Glazier, Hemphill County; and Higgins, Lipscomb County; 68 killed, 201 injured; damage $1,550,000. Glazier completely destroyed. One of the largest tornadoes on record. Width of path, 1 mile at Higgins; length of path, 221 miles across portions of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. This tornado also struck Woodward, Oklahoma. | ||
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The following is taken from "A History of Lipscomb County Texas", published in 1976 The storms that have besieged Higgins have all come in the month of April. There were bad snow storms in April of 1919, 1938, 1957. A terrible duster choked Higgins on April 14, 1935, about four o'clock on an Easter Sunday afternoon. The greatest natural disaster to the town occurred on April 9, 1947, when a tornado swooped down about 7:30 in the evening. For weeks the town people worked around the clock, digging out, tending the injured, burying the dead and clearing the debris. The tornado claimed 45 lives and about 140 were injured. More than half the residences were demolished and only a few scattered homes remained unmarred in the series of blasts which lasted 45 minutes. Fire broke out in one block of the Higgins business district and destroyed the theatre, newspaper office, pool hall, and grocery store. The town was rebuilt as soon as possible and has continued to grow and prosper. |
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 May 31, 1947 |  May 31, 1947 | |
 Opera House & Cafe |  Baptist Church | |
 1st National Bank |  Methodist Church | |
 Weis Dry Goods, National Hotel, Eagle Cafe, Gray Opera House | ||
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