This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1955, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
Events
Several unusual events occurred during the 1955 tornado season. May 25 saw two F5 tornadoes on the ground at the same time in the same general area of Northern Oklahoma and Southern Kansas, both of which caused catastrophic damage and hundreds of casualties. In addition, 1955 saw five people killed by F0 tornadoes, with four of them being in Georgia alone. This was the most deaths from F0/EF0 tornadoes in a single year at the time.
United States yearly total
January
There were 3 tornadoes confirmed in the US in January.
January 18
A rare F1 tornado moved through areas just west of Downtown Los Angeles. There were no casualties.
February
There were 4 tornadoes confirmed in the US in February.
February 1
Two tornadoes were confirmed in Tennessee with one rated as F2 and other rated as F1. However, according to Grazulis, two other deadly tornadoes occurred in Mississippi with one rated as F3 and other rated as F2. The tornadoes killed 23 people in total with 20 in Commerce Landing and 3 in Lewisburg. It is likely that there are other tornadoes occurring on that day in Alabama and Arkansas but at the time of the event, however, surveys did not conclude that the damage was caused by tornadoes. As a result, both of these tornadoes were not included in the official database.
March
There were 42 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March.
March 1
Three damaging tornadoes struck Ohio and Indiana. The first one was an F1 tornado that struck the southwest side of Troy, Ohio, injuring one. A destructive F2 than struck south of Bedford, Indiana. The final tornado was a strong F3 tornado in Tyrrell, Ohio that killed one and injured six. Overall, the three tornadoes killed one and injured seven.
March 13–16
A destructive series of tornadoes struck South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky, and North Carolina. On March 13, an isolated, but strong F2 tornado moved through the north sides of Ridge Spring and Monetta, South Carolina, killing two and injuring 10. The next day, an F3 tornado moved through rural areas of Clinton and Caldwell Counties in Missouri, injuring one. On March 15, a brief, but strong F2 tornado hit the southeast side of Cleaton, Kentucky, injuring nine. Finally, on March 16, another isolated, but large F2 tornado tore through areas southeast of Black Creek, North Carolina, killing one and injuring another. Overall, the six tornadoes killed three and injured 21.
March 19
A rare F0 tornado briefly touched down near Wainaku, Hawaii north of Hilo. There were no casualties.
March 20–22
An unusually intense outbreak of 17 tornadoes impacted areas from Texas to Vermont. On March 20, the first tornado of the outbreak struck Illinois Bend, Texas just south of the Red River, injuring one. Later, a long-tracked F2 tornado hit the southeastern part of Jonesboro, Arkansas, before moving into Missouri and striking the towns of Arbyrd, Hollywood, Caruth, and Pascola. The tornado then lifted just before reaching the Mississippi River after injuring one along its 89.4 mile path. An F1 tornado then moved directly through Killeen, Texas, injuring one. This was followed by a strong F3 tornado that injured 17 east of East Prairie, Missouri.
The next day, an F2 tornado northeast of Allsboro, Alabama injured one. March 22 then produced destructive and deadly tornado activity. An F1 tornado struck Willow Crest and Southern Poland, Ohio south of Youngstown, injuring three. Later, the one fatal tornado of the outbreak touched down and struck West Chester, Caswallen, West Goshen, Malvern, and Paoli, Pennsylvania at F3 strength, killing one. The final tornado was a brief, but unusually strong F2 tornado in Shaftsbury, Vermont, although there were no casualties. In the end, the outbreak killed one and injured 26.
April
There were 99 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April.