On May 20, 2018, the town of Codell celebrated the dedication of a new sculpture to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the 1918 tornado. Well over 100 people attended the event, including KWCH Meteorologist Merrill Teller, who helped commemorate the historic event.
The little village of Codell went through an experience, the effects of which rated sufficiently to make Ripley’s Believe It or Not. It had a tornado three times in successive years-1916, 1917, and 1918 on the 20th day of May. The first year the twister passed at the west edge of town in the late afternoon. The second year it passed very close to the east edge of town in mid-afternoon. The third year, it came after dark wiping out a large part of town.
The 1918 tornado was a hard blow to the town, the effects of which it has never fully recovered. In spite of that and other deterrent influences, Codell remains a peaceful, friendly little village.
A Codell resident, Celesta Adams Glendening, wrote this article about the May 20, 1918 Codell tornado that hit the town after previous tornadoes on May 20 in 1916 and 1917. Click here to check it out!