ANDOVER, Kan. (KWCH) – It has been 35 years since a massive F-5 tornado tore through Andover, killing 17 people and leaving neighborhoods in ruins as homes were destroyed and families’ lives were upended.
The tornado began just southeast of Clearwater, tearing its way through the plains. By the time the tornado reached the air force base, it had roared its way to an F-2 rating, and ripped through the installation, destroying a hospital and several other buildings. A fleet of bombers sat just 1,000 feet north, armed with nuclear weapons.
The National Weather Service said surveyors recorded some of the worst damage they had ever seen in Andover. Much of the loss was concentrated at a mobile home park, where many of the storm’s fatalities occurred and mobile homes were wiped out, leaving mangled debris…