1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak
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| Date of tornado outbreak: | May 25-26, 1955 |
| Duration1: | over 30 hours |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | F5 tornado |
| Tornadoes caused: | 46 |
| Damages: | unknown |
| Fatalities: | 102 |
| Areas affected: | U.S Central and Southern Plains and Midwest |
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1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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The 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Plain States on May 25-26, 1955. It produced at least 46 tornadoes across 7 states including 2 F5 tornadoes in Blackwell, Oklahoma and Udall, Kansas. The outbreak killed 102 from 3 tornadoes while injuring hundreds more. Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire [1].
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[edit] Blackwell-Udall tornadoes
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 a 500-yard F5 wedge. It claimed the lives of 20 people in Blackwell and injured over 200 before crossing and dissipating into Cowley County, Kansas. In addition of destroying nearly 200 homes, the tornado also demolished the town's main employers including the Acme Foundry and the Hazel Atlas Glass plant. The local hospital also sustained major damage. Most of the western half of the town spared the worst of the damage.
30 minutes later, the same supercell that spawned the Blackwell tornado produced another violent 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 which disintegrated numerous structures and homes all across the town when the funnel, about 1300 yards-wide, hit it at around 10:30 PM CDT. It later dissipated after traveling over 50 miles from the Oklahoma border to southeast of Wichita. This tornado was the deadliest in the state's history with 80 fatalities and over 200 injured.
Most NWS records had classified the event as two distinct tornadoes which formed from the same supercell which formed in southern Oklahoma and traveled through metro Oklahoma City where it produced weaker tornadoes with minimal damage in the southern suburbs of Norman and Chickasha.
In addition 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.
[edit] 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 | |||
Another deadly tornado occurred in Cheyenne in Roger Mills County in southwestern Oklahoma south of Woodward during the late afternoon killing 2. 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 extreme eastern Oklahoma in Sequoyah 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 reported on May 26.
[edit] Tornado table
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 46 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
[edit] Confirmed tornadoes
[edit] May 25, 1955 event
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | ||||||
| F4 | SW of Aberdeen, TX to S of Dempsey, OK | Collingsworth, TX, Wheeler, Roger Mills, OK | 2117 | 45.1 miles (72.2 km) |
2 deaths | |
| F0 | SE of Sterling City | Sterling | 0000 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | E of Rotan | Fisher | 0430 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) |
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| F2 | SW of Benjamin | Knox | 0530 | 11.9 miles (19 km) |
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| F2 | Wichita Falls area | Wichita | 0738 | 1.3 miles (2.1 km) |
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| Oklahoma | ||||||
| F1 | E of Shattuck | Ellis | 0000 | 4.9 miles (7.8 km) |
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| F1 | NE of Rush Springs | Grady | 0000 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | NE of Mayfield | Beckham | 0005 | 3.8 miles (6.1 km) |
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| F1 | NE of Kingfisher | Kinfisher | 0100 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F2 | NE of Camargo | Dewey | 0230 | 5.1 miles (8.2 km) |
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| F3 | S of Deer Creek | Grant | 0300 | 13.3 miles (21.3 km) |
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| F2 | NE of Tonkawa | Kay | 0300 | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) |
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| F5 | NE of Tonkawa, OK to South Haven, KS | Kay, OK, Sumner, KS | 0326 | 28.4 miles (45.4 km) |
20 deaths | |
| F5 | E of Peckham, OK to NE of Atlanta, KS | Kay, OK, Sumner, KS, Cowley | 0400 | 56.4 miles (90.2 km) |
80 deaths | |
| F1 | W of Martha | Jackson | 0500 | 6.2 miles (9.9 km) |
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| Kansas | ||||||
| F1 | NW of Antonino | Ellis | 0140 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F2 | E of Osage City to Leavenworth | Osage, Douglas, Leavenworth | 0627 | 66.2 miles (105.9 km) |
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| Source: Tornado History Project - May 25, 1955 Storm Data | ||||||
[edit] May 26, 1955 event
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | ||||||
| F0 | Velma area | Stephens | 0830 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | N of Chickasha | Grady | 0830 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F1 | Oklahoma City area (south) | Oklahoma | 0900 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
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| F1 | E of Moore | Cleveland | 0900 | 11.6 miles (18.6 km) |
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| F0 | SW of Shawnee | Pottawatomie | 0930 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | Cushing area | Payne | 1000 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | Durant area | Bryan | 1120 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) |
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| F1 | Sallisaw to NE of Stony Point | Sequoyah | 1245 | 14.2 miles (22.7 km) |
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| Missouri | ||||||
| F1 | Joplin area | Jasper | 1300 | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) |
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| F1 | SW of Clarksburg | Moniteau | 1545 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
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| F0 | N of Norborne | Carroll | 0000 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
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| F1 | SW of Koshkonong | Howell | 0100 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
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| F1 | SW of Linneus (1st tornado) | Linn | 0100 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
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| F0 | SW of Linneus (2nd tornado) | Linn | 0100 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
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| F2 | N of Worthington | Schuyler | 0200 | 11.7 miles (18.7 km) |
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| Texas | ||||||
| F0 | Corsicana area | Navarro | 1430 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| Illinois | ||||||
| F2 | E of Coatsburg | Adams | 1750 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |
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| F2 | SE of Pekin | Tazewell | 2049 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |
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| F1 | Burbank area (SW Chicago) | Cook | 2200 | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |
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| F1 | W of Filckerville to W of Beecher | Kankakee, Will | 2230 | 18.7 miles (29.9 km) |
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| Kansas | ||||||
| F0 | N of McPherson | McPherson | 1900 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F2 | W of St. Joseph, MO | Doniphan | 2330 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | S of Redfield | Bourbon | 0030 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| F0 | NW of Baxter Springs | Cherokee | 0100 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
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| Arkansas | ||||||
| F3 | Jessieville to NW of Pinnacle | Garland, Saline | 2245 | 28.8 miles (46.1 km) |
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| F2 | SE of Pleasant Valley | Perry | 2320 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) |
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| F2 | SW of Weldon | Woodruff, Jackson | 0220 | 7.5 miles (12 km) |
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| Nebraska | ||||||
| F1 | SE of Hubbard | Dakota | 2300 | 4.3 miles (6.9 km) |
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| F2 | NE of Wayne | Wayne | 2330 | 6.5 miles (10.4 km) |
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| Source: Tornado History Project - May 26, 1955 Storm Data | ||||||
