1955 Blackwell, Oklahoma tornado
A violent F5 tornado that struck Blackwell, Oklahoma on the night of May 25, 1955, killing about 20-21 people, injuring roughly 200-280, and destroying about 190 structures, including two of the town's largest factories.
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- Established
- 1955-05-25
- Location
- Blackwell, Oklahoma, United States
- Country
- United States
- Date and time
- May 25, 1955, around 9:25-9:27 p.m. CDT
- Intensity
- F5 (the maximum rating on the Fujita scale)
- Path
- Roughly 28 miles long and 500 yards wide, from near Marland, Oklahoma, through Blackwell and on into Kansas
- Deaths
- About 20-21 people (sources vary slightly on the exact count)
- Injuries
- Roughly 200-280 people
- Structures destroyed
- About 190 buildings completely destroyed, per National Weather Service damage survey
- Major industrial losses
- The Hazel-Atlas Glass plant and the Acme Foundry were both destroyed
- Wider context
- Part of the Great Plains tornado outbreak of May 25-26, 1955, which also produced the deadly Udall, Kansas F5 tornado the same night
Overview
On the night of May 25, 1955, a violent F5 tornado struck Blackwell, a small city in northern Oklahoma near the Kansas border. The tornado touched down near Marland, Oklahoma, and tracked roughly 28 miles, cutting a path about 500 yards wide through Blackwell before crossing into Kansas, where it went on to strike Udall as a second, simultaneous F5 that night (National Weather Service; Time). The National Weather Service’s damage survey records about 20 deaths in Blackwell itself plus one additional death northeast of town, and roughly 280 injuries; the Blackwell Journal-Tribune’s later retrospective lists 17 to 21 named victims, a close but not identical count (National Weather Service; Blackwell Journal-Tribune).
The storm devastated a large section of the city. The National Weather Service’s damage survey found about 190 structures completely destroyed, with dozens more sustaining major or minor damage; the Blackwell Journal-Tribune similarly describes roughly 29 city blocks devastated, with total damage later estimated at about $12.5 million (National Weather Service; Blackwell Journal-Tribune). Two of the city’s largest employers, the Hazel-Atlas Glass plant and the Acme Foundry, were both destroyed; the Journal-Tribune reports the Hazel-Atlas plant, which had employed about 200 people, never reopened, while the Acme Foundry was later rebuilt (National Weather Service; Blackwell Journal-Tribune).
Aftermath and recovery
In the tornado’s immediate aftermath, the Oklahoma National Guard was deployed to Blackwell and martial law was declared to secure the devastated area, while the Red Cross provided relief assistance to displaced residents; core utilities, including water, phone and electrical service, were substantially restored within about a week (Blackwell Journal-Tribune). LIFE magazine photographer Joseph Scherschel documented the destruction in the days that followed; a selection of his contemporaneous photographs was later republished by Time.com, which noted the broader outbreak of “scores of tornadoes across both Oklahoma and Kansas” that night killed more than 100 people in total (Time).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not resolve the small discrepancy between sources over the exact death toll (roughly 20 to 21, depending on the source and how out-of-town deaths are counted), and reports the range rather than asserting a single precise figure. It also does not draw on a 1957 academic paper reportedly discussing unusual electrical activity recorded during the tornado, since that paper could not be independently fetched and read.
Timeline
- 1955-05-25
- An F5 tornado touches down near Marland, Oklahoma, and tracks approximately 28 miles through Blackwell before crossing into Kansas, killing about 20-21 people, injuring roughly 200-280, and destroying about 190 structures in the city, including the Hazel-Atlas Glass plant and Acme Foundry.
- 1955 (aftermath)
- In the days after the storm, the National Guard is deployed and martial law is declared in Blackwell; the Red Cross assists with relief, and utilities are largely restored within the week.
- 2015 (photo retrospective)
- Time.com republishes contemporaneous photographs of the tornado's aftermath taken by LIFE magazine photographer Joseph Scherschel.
- 2019-05
- The Blackwell Journal-Tribune publishes a retrospective on the tornado, naming individual victims and detailing the town's recovery.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Sources vary on the exact death toll: the National Weather Service reports 20 killed in Blackwell plus one additional death northeast of town (21 total), while the Blackwell Journal-Tribune's retrospective lists 17 to 21 named victims. This profile reports the range rather than picking one figure.
- A 1957 paper reportedly published in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences on unusual electrical activity associated with the tornado could not be independently fetched and read, so its claims are not represented here.
Sources
3 sources (1 tier 1, 2 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
The National Weather Service Norman, Oklahoma forecast office's page on the 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, a Time.com photo feature drawing on LIFE magazine's contemporaneous photography, and a Blackwell Journal-Tribune retrospective were all fetched and read in full. The NWS page is a government damage-survey record; Time and the Journal-Tribune are editorially independent news outlets, with the Journal-Tribune being Blackwell's own local paper and thus closest to the affected community. A 1957 academic paper reportedly discussing the tornado's electrical activity could not be fetched (it returned an access error in prior research) and is not cited here.
- The Great Plains Tornado Outbreak and Blackwell Tornado of 25-26 May 1955 Supports: The tornado's date, time, F5 rating, path length and width, casualty figures, and the damage survey finding of about 190 structures completely destroyed, including the Hazel-Atlas Glass plant and Acme Foundry.
- Oklahoma Tornado Flashback: Photos From the Blackwell Twister Supports: Confirmation that LIFE photographer Joseph Scherschel documented the Blackwell tornado's aftermath, and the broader May 1955 outbreak's toll across Oklahoma and Kansas.
- Remembering the 1955 tornado Supports: Named individual victims, the estimated $12.5 million damage figure, the extent of the devastated area (29 city blocks), and recovery details including National Guard deployment, martial law, and Red Cross assistance.
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