1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak
The 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Great Plains States on May 25–26, 1955. It produced at least 47 tornadoes across seven states including two F5 tornadoes in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and Udall, Kansas that caused most of the casualties. The outbreak killed 102 people while injuring hundreds more.[2] Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire.[3]
 The tracks of the 1955 Blackwell and Udall F5 tornadoes. | |
| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | May 25–26, 1955 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 47 |
| Max. rating1 | F5 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | ~1¼ day |
| Fatalities | 102 fatalities, hundreds injured |
| Damage | >$28.9 million[1] |
| Areas affected | Central United States |
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 1955 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado | |
Meteorological synopsis
Confirmed tornadoes
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 47 |
- Sources: SPC Tornado data, Archived 2020-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, ,
May 25 event
| F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Start coord. |
Time (UTC) | Path length | Max. width | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F0 | Altus | Jackson | OK | 34.67°N 99.30°W | 11:00–? | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | 33 yd (30 m) | A tornado embedded within a larger area of straight-line winds and hail caused minor damage, which was estimated $250. |
| F4 | SW of Aberdeen, TX to S of Dempsey, OK | Collingsworth (TX), Wheeler (TX), Roger Mills (OK) | TX, OK | 2117 | 45.1 miles (72.6 km) | 2 deaths – 13 farm homes were destroyed, some of which were swept away. 100 cattle were killed and a car was carried 700 feet (0.13 mi). Damage was estimated at $500,000 with F4 damage occurring in both Texas and Oklahoma according to Grazulis (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F0 | SE of Sterling City | Sterling | TX | 0000 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F1 | E of Shattuck | Ellis | OK | 0000 | 4.9 miles (7.9 km) | |||
| F1 | NE of Rush Springs | Grady | OK | 0000 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F0 | NE of Mayfield | Beckham | OK | 0005 | 3.8 miles (6.1 km) | |||
| F1 | NE of Kingfisher | Kinfisher | OK | 0100 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F1 | NW of Antonino | Ellis | KS | 0140 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F2 | NE of Camargo | Dewey | OK | 0230 | 5.1 miles (8.2 km) | This strong tornado destroyed five homes and a trailer, with an occupant inside that latter structure being severely injured. Other homes were also damaged along the path as well (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F3 | S of Deer Creek | Grant | OK | 0300 | 13.3 miles (21.4 km) | A house and several rural buildings were destroyed. One person was injured. Grazulis rated the tornado F2 (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F2 | NE of Tonkawa | Kay | OK | 0300 | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) | This strong tornado destroyed at least four homes along with numerous barns and granaries. The tornado may have reached F3 intensity according to Grazulis (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F5 | NE of Tonkawa, OK to South Haven, KS | Kay (OK), Sumner (KS) | OK, KS | 0326 | 28.4 miles (45.7 km) | 20 deaths – See section on this tornado | ||
| F5 | E of Peckham, OK to NE of Atlanta, KS | Kay (OK), Sumner (KS), Cowley (KS) | OK, KS | 0400 | 56.4 miles (90.8 km) | 80 deaths – See section on this tornado | ||
| F1 | E of Rotan | Fisher | TX | 0430 | 0.3 miles (480 m) | |||
| F1 | W of Martha | Jackson | OK | 0500 | 6.2 miles (10.0 km) | |||
| F2 | SW of Benjamin | Knox | TX | 0530 | 11.9 miles (19.2 km) | This strong tornado destroyed a barn and damaged two homes (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F2 | Wichita Falls area | Wichita | TX | 0738 | 1.3 miles (2.1 km) | |||
| Source: SPC Tornado data, Historical Tornado Cases for North America 1950-1959, NCDC reports, CDNS report, Grazulis 1991 | ||||||||
May 26 event
| F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Start coord. |
Time (UTC) | Path length | Max. width | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F2 | E of Osage City to Leavenworth | Osage, Douglas, Leavenworth | KS | 0627 | 66.2 miles (106.5 km) | This long-tracked tornado – which may have been a tornado family due its skipping damage path – leveled barns and produced $200,000 in rural farm damage (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F0 | Velma area | Stephens | OK | 0830 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F1 | N of Chickasha | Grady | OK | 0830 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F1 | South Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | OK | 0900 | 0.5 miles (800 m) | |||
| F1 | E of Moore | Cleveland | OK | 0900 | 11.6 miles (18.7 km) | |||
| F0 | SW of Shawnee | Pottawatomie | OK | 0930 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F0 | Cushing | Payne | OK | 1000 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F0 | Durant | Bryan | OK | 1120 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) | |||
| F1 | Sallisaw to NE of Stony Point | Sequoyah | OK | 1245 | 14.2 miles (22.9 km) | |||
| F1 | Joplin | Jasper | MO | 1300 | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) | |||
| F0 | Corsicana | Navarro | TX | 1430 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F1 | SW of Clarksburg | Moniteau | MO | 1545 | 0.2 miles (320 m) | |||
| F2 | E of Coatsburg | Adams | IL | 1750 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | |||
| F0 | N of McPherson | McPherson | 1900 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | ||||
| F2 | SE of Pekin | Tazewell | IL | 2049 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | |||
| F1 | Burbank | Cook | IL | 2200 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | |||
| F1 | W of Filckerville to W of Beecher | Kankakee, Will | IL | 2230 | 18.7 miles (30.1 km) | |||
| F3 | Jessieville area to NW of Pinnacle | Garland, Saline | AR | 2245 | 28.8 miles (46.3 km) | This tornado damaged 23 homes, primarily in the community of Blakely with total losses being estimated at $200,000. Grazulis rated the tornado F2 (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F1 | SE of Hubbard | Dakota | NE | 2300 | 4.3 miles (6.9 km) | |||
| F2 | SE of Pleasant Valley | Perry | AR | 2320 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) | This tornado destroyed five barns, and damaged six others (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F2 | NE of Wayne | Wayne | NE | 2330 | 6.5 miles (10.5 km) | Buildings were destroyed on five farms (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F2 | W of St. Joseph, MO | Doniphan | KS | 2330 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | Eight buildings on a farm were destroyed while two other farms were also damaged. | ||
| F0 | N of Norborne | Carroll | MO | 0000 | 0.2 miles (320 m) | This brief tornado unroofed and shifted a farmhouse 20 feet (6.7 yd) off its foundation. Grazulis rated the tornado F2 due to roof removal (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F0 | S of Redfield | Bourbon | KS | 0030 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F0 | NW of Baxter Springs | Cherokee | KS | 0100 | 0.1 miles (160 m) | |||
| F1 | SW of Koshkonong | Howell | MO | 0100 | 2 miles (3.2 km) | |||
| F1 | SW of Linneus | Linn | MO | 0100 | 0.2 miles (320 m) | |||
| F2 | N of Worthington | Schuyler | MO | 0200 | 11.7 miles (18.8 km) | This strong tornado snapped hundreds of trees and destroyed many homes on five separate farms. A couple was injured when their home was nearly leveled, indicating possible F3 damage (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| F2 | 'SW of Weldon | Woodruff, Jackson | AR | 0220 | 7.5 miles (12.1 km) | This strong tornado destroyed six homes and damaged 25 others (Grazulis 1991). | ||
| Source: SPC Tornado data, Historical Tornado Cases for North America 1950-1959, NCDC reports, CDNS report, Grazulis 1991 | ||||||||
Blackwell, Oklahoma
| F5 tornado | |
|---|---|
 Degree of damage in Blackwell, Oklahoma from the 1955 F5 tornado track | |
| Max. rating1 | F5 tornado |
| Fatalities | 20 fatalities, 280 injuries |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
The Blackwell tornado formed in Noble County at around 9:00 pm CDT before crossing through the eastern portions of the Kay County town of Blackwell as an F5 wedge tornado. Then about 400 yd (0.23 mi) wide (Grazulis 1991), It claimed the lives of 20 people in Blackwell and injured over 200 before crossing into and dissipating over Cowley County, Kansas. Along with destroying nearly 200 homes,[6] the tornado also demolished the town's main employers including the Acme Foundry and the Hazel Atlas Glass plant. 400 homes were destroyed or swept away, and 500 other homes were damaged.[6] 60 businesses were also destroyed and the local hospital also sustained major damage. Most of the western half of the town was spared the worst of the damage.[6]
Udall, Kansas
| F5 tornado | |
|---|---|
 Men and dog inspect rubble left by Udall tornado | |
| Max. rating1 | F5 tornado |
| Fatalities | 80 fatalities, 273 injuries |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
About 30 minutes after producing the Blackwell tornado, the same supercell produced another violent and long-tracked tornado just east of the first tornado track near the Kansas/Oklahoma border. It proceeded northward across Sumner and Cowley Counties. The town of Udall was especially hard hit with F5 damage that included the disintegration of numerous structures and homes all across the town. Even the town's water tower was toppled. The funnel, about 1,300 yd (0.74 mi) wide, hit Udall at around 10:30 pm CDT. Half of the town's population was killed or injured. Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed, many of which were swept away. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled beyond recognition, including a pickup truck that was wrapped around a tree and stripped of everything but its frame and tires.[6] The Udall public school building sustained major damage, with beams snapped and blown away.[7][8][9] The tornado later dissipated after traveling over 50 mi (80 km) from the Oklahoma border to southeast of Wichita. This tornado was the deadliest in the state's history with 80 fatalities and 273 injuries.[10]
Other tornadoes
| State | Total | County | County total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 80 | Cowley | 75 |
| Sumner | 5 | ||
| Oklahoma | 22 | Kay | 20 |
| Roger Mills | 2 | ||
| Totals | 102 | ||
| All deaths were tornado-related | |||
In addition to the F5 tornadoes, NWS officials confirmed an additional F2 tornado near Tonkawa which may have been either part of the Blackwell tornado or a satellite tornado. Other tornadoes in the region occurred on May 27 near the same region but did little damage. Among them were those produced by a thunderstorm which traveled through the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, where it produced weak tornadoes with minimal damage in the towns of Norman and Chickasha.
Another deadly tornado occurred south of Woodward and at Cheyenne in Roger Mills County in southwestern Oklahoma, killing two people. This storm originated from the Texas Panhandle. The final tornado in the hardest-hit region occurred during the early morning hours of May 26 when a weak tornado occurred in Salisaw in Sequoyah County near the Arkansas border.
Numerous tornadoes occurred across the Midwestern states from Arkansas to Illinois. The strongest tornado was located near the Little Rock area but no fatalities were reported with this tornado or any other on May 26.
See also
Notes
- All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
- Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[5]
- All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
- Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.
References
- "NCDC Storm Events Database". NCDC. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- "North America Tornado Cases 1950 to 1959". bangladeshtornadoes.org. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- Storm Electricity Aspects of the Blackwell/Udall Storm of 25 May 1955 - Don Burgess, University of Oklahoma (CIMMS)
- "North America Tornado Cases 1950 to 1959". bangladeshtornadoes.org. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. Boston: American Meteorological Society. 19 (2): 310. Bibcode:2004WtFor..19..310B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- Grazulis, Thomas P (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
- "The Indefinitive List of the Strongest Tornadoes Ever Recorded (Pre-1970): Part II |". Archived from the original on 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
- US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Info on the Udall Kansas tornado". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "1955 Udall Tornado | Wichita Eagle". Archived from the original on 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- Here are 10 numbers to know about Kansas' history with tornadoes, CJOnline, April 26, 2021
Bibliography
- Thomas P. Grazulis (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991, A Chronology and Analysis of Events. The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-00-7 (hardcover).