One of the most impressive and forgotten tornado outbreaks of the 20th century is the May 1977 outbreak sequence. Per the Tornado Archive, this period saw 116 tornadoes touch down from New Mexico, across the Plains and as far east as Michigan from May 13-21. The significant tornado count varies based on the source - per official data, 14 F2's, 11 F3's and one F4. Per Grazulis, 14 F2's, five F3's and three F4's from May 14-21. Though all of this carnage tornadoes claimed one life, a woman who was killed by an F3 (F4 according to Grazulis) tornado near Alma, Oklahoma on May 15. Since there's so much to uncover from this outbreak, this post will focus on May 18.
A minimum of 25 tornadoes touched down across the Plains that day, though there were likely several more. The official significant tornado count for the day is three F2's, an F3 and one F4. What makes it impressive in my book is the location of one cyclic supercell that produced at least three tornadoes in the Oklahoma Panhandle, extreme southeastern Colorado and eventually into western Kansas. The day's strongest tornado was one of these, a long-tracked F4 that struck farms and the western edge of Keyes in Cimarron County, Oklahoma before crossing into Baca County, Colorado. The supercell would also produce two F2 tornadoes: one in Cimarron County (which may have been a weaker twin to the F4), and a very long-tracked tornado that began near Elkhart, KS, remaining on the ground for over 117 miles per the official NCEI database. However, there are discrepancies with these F2 tornadoes. Grazulis does not list the Cimarron County F2 as a significant tornado and mentions the Kansas F2 tracked from 7 miles east of Richfield to the small town of Hickok, which would place the actual path length at right around 30 miles. The remainder of the 117.2 mile path likely consisted of separate, weaker tornadoes. Whatever the case, the parent supercell was likely a tornado producing machine and would have made for a huge chase day if it happened in 2024.
It's a shame this outbreak is so poorly documented as a whole, since the Cimarron to Baca County F4 was probably an F5 candidate and likely tied with Thurman (Thurman
article on TornadoTalk) as a candidate for the strongest tornado in Colorado's history. The tornado reportedly produced Chapman-esque damage to vehicles and heavy farm machinery, tossing them up to half a mile and completely mangling them into unrecognizable heaps, with some equipment "disappearing completely". Pieces of a grain elevator from the western side of Keyes were found in Colorado on Walter Hamilton's property, a
minimum of 13 miles away.
Unfortunately, no damage photographs were available on the internet to prove these feats... until today. I give a HUGE shout-out to Lexi from the Plainsman Herald, who graciously sent me the Herald's coverage of this tornado. These photos haven't been seen outside of Baca County for over 40 years, and it's time to shed some light on this event.
The Eskew farm in Baca County may have been the hardest hit location along the entire path. The tornado took everything except for the Eskews' home and one garage, both of which were severely damaged regardless. This is the site of a quonset hut that literally vanished along with whatever farm equipment was inside of it:
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Another photo from the Eskew farm, with tractors and vehicles mangled together into a useless pile of scrap:
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A few other mangled vehicles:
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Tree damage:
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A few other shots:
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Unbelievably, considering how violent this tornado was, there were no fatalities or injuries anywhere along its 38.6 mile path.
Speaking of the Oklahoma side of the damage path, I've already gotten in touch with an individual at the Cimarron County Heritage Center. Don't have much yet besides the front page of The Boise City News issue covering the tornado, but I'll follow up to see if they have more damage photos. From what I do have though, a farm southwest of Keyes was hit, with two large oil tanks being rolled considerable distances. According to the article, one of these tanks was rolled a half mile while the other was rolled a full mile. If they have more damage photos (and I get permission to use them), there will be a Part 2 to this post.
As for the remaining significant tornadoes that occurred on May 18, there is one F2 and an F3 that touched down in Cherry County, Nebraska, likely produced by another cyclic supercell. However, Grazulis does not mention either of these as significant tornadoes. The Cherry County Historical Society may have something but I haven't tried contacting them as of yet.