During the evening hours of May 11, 1970, an extremely violent multiple-vortex tornado struck a large portion of the city of Lubbock, located in the state of Texas, United States. The incident resulted in 26 fatalities and an estimated $250 million in damage (equivalent to $ billion in ). Known as the Lubbock tornado, Later, it was downgraded to an F5 rating. The extremity of the damage and the force required to displace heavy objects as much as was observed indicated that winds produced by vortices within the tornado may have exceeded .
Although skies were clear, dry, and sunny in Lubbock during the afternoon of May 11, the westward push of a dry line brought moist air into West Texas, providing suitable conditions for thunderstorm development. After 6:30 p.m., thunderstorms were in progress over the Lubbock area. At least two tornadoes developed prior to the main F5 tornado, including one that tracked across parts of eastern Lubbock near U.S. 87. The primary F5 tornado touched down in southwestern Lubbock at 9:35.00 p.m. and over the next half-hour carved a path of devastation encompassing roughly a quarter of the city, with the twister lifting near the Lubbock Municipal Airport shortly after 10 p.m. The tornado varied in size, spanning across when it first touched down before narrowing to around by the time it lifted. Severe damage was wrought to high-rises and other buildings in downtown Lubbock, including the 20-story Great Plains Life Building. The tornado briefly moved west and weakened, causing light damage to the campus of Texas Tech University before reintensifying and resuming a northward path. The tornado's most destructive impacts were observed in the Guadalupe barrio, north of 4th Street, along Texas State Highway Loop 289, and near the Lubbock County Club. In those locales, some homes were completely leveled and many others were irreparably damaged. Around 119 aircraft were damaged at the Lubbock airport where the Lubbock office of the United States Weather Bureau was located. As of 2026, this remains the westernmost F5/EF5 tornado recorded in the United States.
Meteorological synopsis
Developing storms (before 8 p.m.)
thumb|An annotated [[surface weather analysis of northwestern Texas at 7:00 p.m., showing where storms (shaded in red) developed along the dry line (brown scalloped line). The afternoon was warm and dry in Lubbock with the temperature rising above and the dew point remaining at around .
thumb|The [[Environmental Science Services Administration damage survey for the violent tornado.]]
Hospitals turned away people with minor injuries due to the sheer number of casualties inflicted by the tornado. With its water pumps rendered inoperable, the city relied on external sources of water including the Pearl Brewing Company in San Antonio.
Fifty years after the disaster, the Lubbock Tornado Memorial Gateway Park was opened at Ave Q and Glenna Goodacre Blvd in downtown Lubbock: a spot along the destructive path of the larger tornado.The memorial includes two flowing black granite-clad walls representing the two paths of the tornadoes. There are also artistically bent street lights representing the power of the tornadoes, and one relic from the destruction: a snapped-off utility pole. The walls are engraved with timelines of the tornado events, a map of the destructive paths overlaid on a street map of the city at the time, and location references on the map indexed to the individual names and ages of the 26 victims who died as a result of the second tornado. There are also quotes from survivors and other details.
See also
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
- List of tornadoes striking downtown areas
- Disagreements on the intensity of tornadoes
Notes
References
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