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=1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak=

Confirmed tornadoes

 * Sources: SPC Tornado data,, ,

Blackwell, Oklahoma
The Blackwell tornado formed in Noble County at around 9:00pm CDT before crossing through the eastern portions of the Kay County town of Blackwell as an F5 wedge tornado. Then about 400 yd 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, 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.

Udall, Kansas
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 1300 yd wide, hit Udall at around 10:30pm 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. The Udall public school building sustained major damage, with beams snapped and blown away. The tornado later dissipated after traveling over 50 mi from the Oklahoma border to southeast of Wichita. This tornado was the deadliest in the state's history with 80 fatalities and 273 injuries.

=1956 McDonald Chapel tornado=

Meteorological synopsis
At 5:15 a.m. CST on April 15, the U.S. Weather Bureau office in Birmingham, Alabama, issued a bulletin that warned of the possibility that a "tornado or two" would touch down in an area covering western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northern Alabama—namely, Lauderdale, Limestone, Lawrence, Colbert, and Morgan Counties, plus parts of Marion, Winston, Cullman, and Madison Counties. An update at noon local time highlighted the prospects for severe thunderstorms over west-central Alabama between 1:00–7:00 p.m. CST. Hail and gusts to 60 mi/h were expected to remain the primary hazards.

McDonald Chapel/Sayreton, Alabama
The tornado started shortly before 3:00 PM CDT in Pleasant Grove, where a tornado "roar" was heard. Damage between Pleasant Grove and McDonald Chapel indicated that trees were felled in a single direction, so the damage was not listed as tornadic at first, but was considered part of the tornado in posthumous analysis. Next, the tornado struck McDonald Chapel with a path 200 yd wide, devastating the community. Almost total destruction occurred in a swath 150 – wide. As it passed through McDonald Chapel, eyewitnesses described the tornado funnel as appearing filled with fire and smoke. Many homes in McDonald Chapel were leveled, several of which were swept completely away. The most intense damage appeared to be F5 in intensity, but an F4 rating was rewarded because the homes were very poorly constructed. One of the homes reportedly had almost all of its brick foundation swept away, and a few larger homes were also leveled. The tornado continued across parts of, Edgewater, Pratt City, Fultondale, Village Creek, and Tarrant before lifting northwest of Trussville, near the Jefferson-St. Clair County line. The tornado passed just one to two miles north of downtown Birmingham as well as the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. About 400 homes across northern Jefferson County were either damaged or destroyed. Most of the 25 deaths occurred at McDonald Chapel.

The tornado event was similar to other deadly tornadoes on April 4, 1977, April 8, 1998, and April 27, 2011. The 1977 and 1998 tornadoes were rated F5, and killed 22 and 32 people, respectively, across most of the same areas that were hit in 1956. The 2011 event was rated high-end EF4, and killed 20 people in the area along with 44 others in Tuscaloosa earlier along its path. With 25 fatalities, the McDonald Chapel F4 was the deadliest tornado of 1956, surpassing the Grand Rapids F5 that killed 18 people on April 3.

=May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence=

Williamsburg−Spring Hill, Kansas/Ruskin Heights–Raytown, Missouri
This violent, long-tracked, multiple vortex F5 tornado began near Williamsburg, and moved NE through several counties. Major damage occurred in rural areas near Ottawa and Spring Hill, where homes were completely leveled and several fatalities occurred. The tornado continued into the southern suburbs of Kansas City, tearing through Martin City, Raytown, Hickman Mills, and Ruskin Heights. Entire blocks of homes were completely leveled, many of which were swept cleanly away with debris wind-rowed long distances through nearby fields. Some homes had their anchor-bolted subflooring ripped away, leaving only basements behind. Many businesses including a grocery store, a shopping center, and restaurants were completely destroyed. A few of the businesses at the shopping center sustained F5 damage. Vehicles were thrown through the air and destroyed, and the steel-reinforced Ruskin Heights High School was badly damaged. A canceled check from Hickman Mills was found 165 miles away in Ottumwa, Iowa. This event might have been a tornado family rather than a single tornado, as there was possible break in the damage path south of Wellsville, Kansas. Grazulis rated the tornado an F4, but said probable F5 damage occurred in Ruskin Heights; he subsequently rated the tornado F5.

=Tornado outbreak sequence of June 1966=

Topeka, Kansas
According to a local Native American legend, Burnett's Mound (a local landmark that was named after Potawatomi Indian chief Abram Burnett, and also believed to be an ancient Native American burial ground) was thought to protect the city from tornadoes, suggesting that the 250 ft hill would cause a tornado that was approaching Topeka to disintegrate. A few years earlier, a water tower had been built directly on the mound, which sparked controversy among Topeka residents who felt it could impede the mound's reputed protective effect. Ten other tornadoes had struck the city since state records began in 1889, but the 1966 tornado was worse than any of the others.

The Topeka tornado began developing at 6:55 p.m. Central Time on June 8, touching down 8 mi west of the city. The National Weather Service could not detect the developing tornado on radar as the Topeka forecast office used a modified military radar that was donated by the U.S. government after World War II. While it was state-of-the-art for the time, it had limited ability to detect tornadic activity compared to Doppler weather radar. Around 7:30 p.m., a 1/4 to 1/2-mile (400–800 m) wide tornado tracked into the southwest side of town, moving northeast, and passed over Burnett's Mound. Bill Kurtis, then a fill-in reporter at WIBW-TV (channel 13; then a hybrid CBS/ABC/NBC affiliate, now CBS) delivered the message to take shelter from the devastating storm by telling viewers calmly but sternly, "for God's sake, take cover!"

After broadcasting a take-cover report on the air while driving down the winding road on Burnett's Mound with the tornado approaching his direction, Rick Douglass, a reporter for radio station WREN (1250 AM, now KYYS), attempted to take shelter under an overpass, while trying to do a second live report on the storm. Douglass was carried by the tornado, becoming airborne for a few seconds, and was dropped over one block away. Douglass, whose clothes were ripped from his body, was pushed by the strong winds along the ground until the tornado passed on to make a six-block swath across Topeka. Douglass was found with dirt and debris covering his body. When he arrived at an area hospital, a nurse placed a cover over Douglass's face – believing he had perished. In an interview with The History Channel's Wrath of God, Douglass stated that he then pulled off the cover, resulting in the attending nurse wincing in reaction, Douglass found shards of debris in his skin for several years after the tornado and was left with a smell he described in the interview as "a mix of blood, guts, wood and metal" for several weeks.

The tornado first struck residential areas, cleanly sweeping away entire rows of homes and hurling vehicles hundreds of yards through the air. Grass was scoured from the ground according to eyewitnesses. Washburn University took a direct hit, and many large stone buildings on campus were badly damaged or destroyed. A 300-pound section of stone wall was torn from one building and thrown two miles away. One vehicle on campus was reportedly lofted over the top of the university's ROTC building, before coming to rest on the 50-yard line of the football field. The tornado ripped through the central part of the city, hitting the downtown area. Buses were crushed when the transportation barn was collapsed by the tornado, and trains on the Santa Fe Railway were overturned. Most of the downtown buildings were badly damaged or had windows blown out. Cars were flipped and tossed, and streets were blocked with debris. Many workers at the AT&T building downtown took shelter after a co-worker warned them of the approaching tornado, which could not be heard through the soundproof operator's room. The building incurred only light damage. The Kansas State Capitol building was also damaged when debris struck the dome removing one of the copper panels.

As the storm raged through the downtown area, meteorologists at the National Weather Service Topeka forecast office, located at Philip Billard Municipal Airport, took shelter as the tornado tracked through the airport, flipping over several airplanes. At 7:29 p.m., 34 minutes after it touched down, the tornado dissipated after ripping through the airport. By this time, the tornado had traversed 22 mi of the city, with a damage path width of 1/2 mile (800 m). The most intense damage occurred in residential areas on the east side of town, due to the closely spaced housing units. Homes and other buildings along the tornado's path were obliterated, and the National Weather Service Topeka forecast office years later rated the tornado at F5 on the Fujita scale.

Then-mayor Chuck Wright later issued a decree that those caught looting would be shot on sight. The Kansas National Guard was called in. Streets in devastated areas of the city were filled with sightseers checking out the ruins of homes and businesses, which hampered efforts from first responders to find those missing under rubble. Families of victims also came to the scene to try to find them.

The total damage estimate was put at $250 million ($ million in ) making it one of the costliest tornadoes in U.S. history. , with inflation factored in, the Topeka tornado stood as the seventh costliest tornado on record. 820 homes were destroyed and 3,000 others were damaged. 250 businesses were destroyed and 2,390 were damaged including a major shopping center. 330 of the damaged homes and businesses suffered major damage and the other 5,000 received lesser degrees of damage. Hundreds of apartments were destroyed. Many government buildings, public buildings, other structures and much other property were damaged or destroyed.

Overall, 16 people were killed, and many others were injured. However, it is believed that had the tornado hit during school and work hours or during the night, that as many as 5,000 people would have been killed. Bill Kurtis was credited for saving many lives with his urgent message to take cover.

Casualties
=Notes=

=References=

=Random=

Severe Thunderstorm Warning TXC013-163-020545- /O.NEW.KEWX.SV.W.0006.230302T0440Z-230302T0545Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Severe Thunderstorm Warning National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX 1040 PM CST Wed Mar 1 2023

The National Weather Service in Austin San Antonio has issued a

Frio County in south central Texas... Atascosa County in south central Texas...
 * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...


 * Until 1145 PM CST.

miles south of Pearsall, moving east at 45 mph.
 * At 1040 PM CST, a severe thunderstorm was located near Derby, or 7

THIS IS A DESTRUCTIVE STORM FOR DERBY.

HAZARD...Softball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...People and animals outdoors will be severely injured. Expect shattered windows, extensive damage to roofs, siding, and vehicles.

Pleasanton, Pearsall, Jourdanton, Dilley, Poteet, Charlotte, Christine, Campbellton, North Pearsall, Goldfinch, Hilltop, Leming, Bluff, Schattel, Derby, Bigfoot, Divot, Iuka, Graytown and Kyote.
 * Locations impacted include...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.

This is a dangerous storm. Prepare immediately for large destructive hail capable of producing significant damage. People outside should move to shelter inside a strong building, and stay away from windows.

&&

LAT...LON 2864 9834 2864 9925 2891 9932 2918 9858 2911 9840 2879 9810 2861 9833 TIME...MOT...LOC 0440Z 261DEG 41KT 2878 9906

THUNDERSTORM DAMAGE THREAT...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED MAX HAIL SIZE...4.00 IN WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH

$$

GALE

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