Apr 2, 2026 10:01 PM
Artist renderings of what the F5 tornado looked like: https://x.com/tornadartz/status/1973000072741929227
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwell%...F5_tornado
Blackwell was a victim of the 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Great Plains States on May 25–26, 1955. [...] Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire.
https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19550525
One eyewitness in Blackwell had an interesting visual observation of the tornado. Floyd Montgomery lived nine blocks west of the main path of the tornado and submitted his account to Weatherwise magazine in June 1956. Mr. Montgomery describes as he looked to the east from the door of his storm cellar as the tornado moved through Blackwell. He described a “fire up near the top of the funnel looked like a child’s Fourth of July pinwheel. The light was so intense I had to look away.” He describes the light as the “same color as an electric arc welder but much brighter, and it seemed to be turning to the right like a beacon lamp on a lighthouse.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/tornado/comment...ernatural/
At Blackwell, very frequent cloud-to-ground lightning was observed ahead of the tornado, and unusual electrical activity was seen in and around the tornado. Very bright electrical discharges were seen within the funnel and ground-originating corona current (also known as St. Elmo’s Fire) was seen just ahead of the tornado.
INTRO: Today we are covering the mysterious 1955 Blackwell Oklahoma Tornado that apparently glowed in the dark. Quite an unusual event.
The night a tornado started glowing ... https://youtu.be/8FYe-qjACPk
1955 news film coverage of town's destruction ... https://youtu.be/Em5HbYt0Fsk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwell%...F5_tornado
Blackwell was a victim of the 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Great Plains States on May 25–26, 1955. [...] Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire.
https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19550525
One eyewitness in Blackwell had an interesting visual observation of the tornado. Floyd Montgomery lived nine blocks west of the main path of the tornado and submitted his account to Weatherwise magazine in June 1956. Mr. Montgomery describes as he looked to the east from the door of his storm cellar as the tornado moved through Blackwell. He described a “fire up near the top of the funnel looked like a child’s Fourth of July pinwheel. The light was so intense I had to look away.” He describes the light as the “same color as an electric arc welder but much brighter, and it seemed to be turning to the right like a beacon lamp on a lighthouse.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/tornado/comment...ernatural/
At Blackwell, very frequent cloud-to-ground lightning was observed ahead of the tornado, and unusual electrical activity was seen in and around the tornado. Very bright electrical discharges were seen within the funnel and ground-originating corona current (also known as St. Elmo’s Fire) was seen just ahead of the tornado.
INTRO: Today we are covering the mysterious 1955 Blackwell Oklahoma Tornado that apparently glowed in the dark. Quite an unusual event.
The night a tornado started glowing ... https://youtu.be/8FYe-qjACPk
1955 news film coverage of town's destruction ... https://youtu.be/Em5HbYt0Fsk