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NOUS43 KICT 201200
PNSICT
KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-201500-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Wichita KS
700 AM CDT Mon May 20 2024

...ON THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY...

In 1957, an F4 tornado cut a track of near total
devastation from Williamsburg Kansas through the
Southeast suburbs of Kansas City.  The track was 71 miles
long and nearly one half mile wide.  There 44 deaths and
531 injuries.  Of these totals, 7 deaths and 31 injuries
occurred in Kansas where many homes were leveled.  In
Missouri, 37 were killed and 500 more were injured.  Most
injuries and fatalities were in the Southeast Kansas City
suburbs of Ruskin Heights and Hickman Mills where F5
damage may have occurred to housing developments and to
some of the 15 stores at a shopping center.  It was the
worst weather related disaster to date in Kansas City.
The most bizarre incident involved a small house that was
destroyed.  All that remained was a small table with a
fish bowl on top.  Reportedly, the fish continued to
swim, apparently unconcerned.

&&

In 1916, Codell was struck by an F2 tornado with a track
15 miles long and nearly 450 yards wide.  There were no
injuries or fatalities but there was around $12,000
damage.  This marked the beginning of an eerie tornadic
occurrence, for tornadoes would strike Codell on May
20th, 1917 and again on May 20th, 1918.  Each successive
event would be more intense than its predecessor.  In
1917, an F3 twister with a track 25 miles long and three
fourths of a mile wide began 2 miles west of Codell.
Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries as the
twister struck rural areas.  In 1918, the eerie tornadic
"hat trick" was completed, but this event would be
deadly.  The strongest of the 3 tornadoes had a track 65
miles long and around one half mile wide.  This violent
F4 began 3 miles south of Ellis in Western Ellis County.
Moving northeast, the tornado tore through Codell, where
many buildings were blown apart.  Amazingly there were no
deaths or injuries.  After leaving Codell, the tornado
greatly intensified.  Farms were leveled and 2 people
were killed.  The first fatality was 2 miles northeast of
Codell while the second was 6 miles northeast of town.
The tornado then invaded Osborne County where around 30
farms were destroyed and one person was killed.  In all,
the tornado killed 9, injured 65, and caused around
$475,000 damage of which $50,000 occurred in Codell.

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