The night in 1955 that Udall was destroyed
The F5 tornado that hit Udall on May 25, 1955, killed 77 people and is still the deadliest in Kansas history.
By Jolene Marquardt
At 10:35 p.m. on May 25, 1955, a tornado about three-quarters of a mile wide hit Udall.
The same storm had already produced an F5 tornado that killed 20 people in Blackwell, Okla. The one that struck Udall was also an F5, and no building inside the city limits escaped damage. The grain elevator, the water tower, both schools, city hall and three churches were hit. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards.
Seventy-seven people died and 270 were hurt. One hundred ninety-two buildings were destroyed, 170 of them homes. About half the families in town lost at least one member. It remains the deadliest tornado in Kansas history.
Udall rebuilt. Today it is a town of about 660 people, with its own school district, USD 463.