May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence

May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak

Map of tornadoes on May 21, 1957.
Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	May 19-May 21, 1957
Tornadoes confirmed	57 confirmed
Max rating1	F5 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak2	~54 hours
Damage	Not available
Casualties	59 fatalities; total injuries unknown
Areas affected	Great Plains, Midwestern United States
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado

¹Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence was a tornado outbreak sequence that took place across the US Central Plains from May 19 to May 21, 1957. The most destructive tornado of the outbreak was rated at F5, the highest level, and is often called the Ruskin Heights tornado. The worst of the damage occurred in the Ruskin Heights area, a suburb and housing development south of Kansas City, Missouri. 57 tornadoes were reported from Colorado to the Mississippi Valley and 59 people were killed during the outbreak, including 44 in the Ruskin Heights tornado.