The 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a deadly

tornado outbreak A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same Synoptic scale meteorology, synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least ...

that struck the southern and central

U.S The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

States on May 25–26, 1955. It produced at least 48 tornadoes across seven states including two F5 tornadoes in

Blackwell, Oklahoma Blackwell is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 11 along Interstate 35. The population was 6,085 as of the 2020 census. Blackwell was established following the Sep ...

, and Udall, Kansas that caused most of the casualties. The outbreak killed 102 people while injuring hundreds more. Unusual

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire.Storm Electricity Aspects of the Blackwell/Udall Storm of 25 May 1955 - Don Burgess

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

(CIMMS)

Meteorological synopsis

Confirmed tornadoes

* Sources
SPC Tornado data

May 25 event

May 26 event

Wellington-Aberdeen, Texas/Sweetwater-Dempsey, Oklahoma

This violent F4 tornado moved northeast from 10 to 12 miles north of

Wellington, Texas Wellington is a city in and the county seat of Collingsworth County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,896 at the 2020 census. History Sometime in 1889 or 1890, as smaller ranches and farmlands were being purchased, Ernest Theodore O' ...

, and passed just east of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. The tornado ended northeast of Sweetwater, Oklahoma, or just south of Dempsey. F4 damage occurred in both Texas and Oklahoma. 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). Two people were killed on the Oklahoma side of the path, and 18 were injured along both states.

Tonkawa-Blackwell, Oklahoma/South Haven, Kansas

This deadly and powerful tornado formed in extreme northern Noble County at around 9:00 p.m. CDT, just west of Marland, before crossing the county line, passing east of

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

, and through the eastern portions of the Kay County town of Blackwell as an F5 tornado up to wide (Grazulis 1991). It claimed the lives of 20 people in Blackwell and injured over 200 before crossing into and dissipating over

Sumner County, Kansas Sumner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Wellington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,382. The county is named after Charles Sumner, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts who was a leader of ...

. Along with destroying nearly 200 homes, 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. 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. Multiple eyewitnesses reported seeing a prominent blue light in the funnel.

Braman, Oklahoma/Geuda Springs-Oxford-Udall-Atlanta, Kansas

About 30 minutes after producing the Blackwell tornado, the same

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (su ...

produced this large, violent and long-tracked tornado just east of the first tornado track near the

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

border. It proceeded northward across

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

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 wide, hit Udall at around 10:30 p.m. CDT. Half of the town's population was killed or injured. Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed, many of which were swept away, including a 30-by-40 foot concrete block building that was obliterated, with the foundation left mostly bare of any debris. 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. The Udall public school building sustained major damage, with beams snapped and blown away. The tornado later dissipated after traveling over from the Oklahoma border to southeast of Wichita. Almost immediately, volunteers and rescue workers descended into the darkness to aid the survivors. Ambulances and automobiles of all kinds rushed the growing numbers of injured to hospitals in three neighboring towns. The closest hospitals were William Newton and St Mary's Hospitals, 17 miles southeast in Winfield, the former of which took in 129 patients that night. Several were taken to St Luke's Hospital in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, 23 miles to the southwest, while the remainder were taken to three hospitals in Wichita to the northwest. This tornado was the deadliest in the state's history with 80 fatalities and 273 injuries.Here are 10 numbers to know about Kansas' history with tornadoes
CJOnline, April 26, 2021

Other tornadoes and further notes

In addition to the F5 tornadoes, NWS officials confirmed an additional F2 tornado near

which may have been either part of the Blackwell tornado or a

satellite tornado A satellite tornado is a tornado that revolves around a larger, primary tornado and interacts with the same mesocyclone. Satellite tornadoes occur apart from the primary tornado and are not considered subvortices; the primary tornado and satellit ...

. 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 Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

area, where it produced weak tornadoes with minimal damage in the towns of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

and Chickasha. Another deadly tornado occurred south of Woodward and at

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

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 Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

border. Numerous tornadoes occurred across the Midwestern states from Arkansas to Illinois. The strongest tornado was located near the

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

area but no fatalities were reported with this tornado or any other on May 26. While filming the movie ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

'', during filming of the actual picnic scenes in

Halstead, Kansas Halstead is a city in Harvey County, Kansas, United States. Halstead was named in honor of Murat Halstead, a respected Civil War correspondent and newspaper editor. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,179. History F ...

, a tornado swept through the area, forcing the cast and crew to take cover. While the storm spared the set, it devastated the nearby town of Udall and the film crew drove their trucks and equipment there to help clean up the damage. Actress

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

, one of the stars of the film, agreed to appear during a baseball game in Wichita to cast the opening pitch and make a plea for funds to help the tornado victims.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Thomas P. Grazulis (1993). ''Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991, A Chronology and Analysis of Events''. The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. (hardcover).

External links

Tornado Table from NWS Norman, Oklahoma

Outbreak Summary from NWS Norman, Oklahoma

NWS Wichita, Kansas page on the Udall tornado
* Tornado History Project {{DEFAULTSORT:1955-05-25 Great Plains Tornado Outbreak F5, EF5 and IF5 tornadoes Tornadoes of 1955 Tornadoes in Kansas Tornadoes in Oklahoma Tornadoes in Texas Tornadoes in Arkansas Tornadoes in Illinois Tornadoes in Missouri 1955 natural disasters in the United States May 1955 in the United States