The 70th Anniversary of Udall -- The Nightmare of Tornado Alley

By -
Is there anyone in the Midwest or South that hasn't had a passing thought about a violent tornado occurring in the middle of the night?

Seventy years ago Sunday, on May 25, 1955, the people of Udall, Kansas, were awakened by an ungodly roar as an F-5 intensity tornado flattened their town. Eighty-two people died. Earlier, a tornado had struck Blackwell, OK killing another 20. The primitive radar at (now) Oklahoma State University showed the tornado near Udall.
Unfortunately, the storm -- between Wichita and Udall -- blotted out the signal from the WWII radar at the Weather Bureau office in Wichita. They mistook what they saw on the radar as the storm weakening. The television stations said, "The threat of severe weather is over." How wrong they were. 

This tornado was so powerful that a few people who dashed to their basement drowned. The tornado toppled the town's water tower. 

Wichita's KAKE-TV's (ABC) news special for the 70th anniversary is here. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Today's Tornado and Giant Hail Risks

By -
Image
Another Day With a Tornado and Giant Hail Risk The brown area has a significant risk of tornadoes. The risk may be a bit higher in Texas than in Oklahoma or Arkansas.  The hail outlook has hatching where hailstones more than 2" in diameter or larger are forecast to fall.  The red area has an enhanced risk and the yellow area has a significant risk of 1" or larger hail. 
Read more

Overnight Tornado Forecast Posted at 7:05pm

By -
Image
Here is the tornado forecast for the rest of the night (till 6am CST). Red, hatched = high risk of strong tornadoes. Yellow, hatched = enhanced risk of strong tornadoes. Blown = significant risk of tornadoes.  This will be the last update of the night. Tornado Watch until 2am. Please make sure you have ways of getting warnings of tornadoes and 80 mph winds.  6:15pm  NWS believes the chances for tornadoes and damaging winds are increasing in Mississippi. They also say they are going to extend the tornado watch to the east later this evening.  5:35pm: The northwest part of the tornado watch has been cancelled Here is the area where tornadoes are more likely from 4:30 to 7:30pm. From Atmosphere Analytics Rare "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Tornado Watch till 9pm If you live in these areas it is vital  to monitor the weather until the watch expires at 9pm  Note the forecast is for "numerous strong tornadoes." A very rare "particularly dangerous situation" ...
Read more

645pm Update: Heads Up For Louisiana, Texas and Tamaulipas

By -
Image
Note: this forecast has been updated. Go here for the latest.  Update at 6:45pm. The National Hurricane Center now seems to agree with my forecast.  The red area is where they are forecasting an 80% chance of a tropical depression, or stronger storm, to develop sometime during the next seven days. I believe the best chance is in the Tuesday to Thursday period for tropical storm development.  Update at 6pm: The afternoon model runs, among the models I trust, continue to show a good chance (at least 50%) of a tropical storm forming in the western Gulf. I will update this forecast Sunday morning.  Update at 1pm: The new run of the models I trust are in and my confidence has only grown that there is a threat of a tropical storm developing in the western Gulf of Mexico to the west of the orange line. The rest of this forecast (below) is still valid.  People in the USA and northeast Mexico (west of the orange line) should keep an eye on the weather this week. While t...
Read more