Picture of progress

12 - 6:53pm

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

For those who lived through it, the May 11 tornado that cut an eight-mile gash through Lubbock also severed time into two parts: before and after the storm. Walking through downtown Lubbock today, several of the scars left by the black beast of storm are gone. In their place now stand a civic center and homes rebuilt in the tornado's wake. Now the indelible marks left on the city are in the memories of those who lived through the midst of the storm: The police officers that patrolled the streets that night and those who coordinated the relief efforts from the basement of city hall .

Faith helps Lubbock family build from tragedy 02/03/12 - 6:51pm

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Ethel Garrett gathers at the kitchen table of her South Lubbock home with her daughter, Karen Elkins, and her sister, Thelma Stallings, to talk and share memories, sometimes bursting into laughter. The only outward sign that the three women faced astounding tragedy is the electric wheelchair that Garrett uses. At 26, Garrett was left a paraplegic - and a widow - in the wake of the May 11, 1970 tornado.

Devastated city comes together to rebuild 02/03/12 - 6:49pm

'We had an attitude that there was nothing we couldn't get done.' Those words helped describe how Lubbock overcame a terrible tragedy.

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Toll of the Twister 02/03/12 - 6:46pm

Tornado didn't discriminate when it claimed victims

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Linda Bustillos was visiting her in-laws at 114 N. Ave. O. Patricia Mora and her two sisters were watching "The Carol Burnett Show" on television at 1311 Jarvis St. Teenager Mike White was concentrating on homework at 312 Uvalde Ave. Petra Vega had just arrived home at 113 Ave. L after getting off work early. Dark storm clouds, accompanied by wind, rain and large hail, had turned Monday cool and wet after dusk. Then the electricity went out at 9:46 p.m. in parts of Lubbock.

Tornado casualties 02/03/12 - 6:42pm

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Deaths caused by the tornado that struck Lubbock on May 11, 1970. Victims ranged in age from 9 months to 88 years old. Thirteen women, nine men, three boys and one girl perished. Their names are on memorials about a half-mile apart. A plaque on the south side of the fountain at Buddy Holly Plaza, 7th Street and Avenue Q, bears the inscription, "In memory of those who perished in the 1970 tornado." A stone monument at the northeast corner of Broadway and Avenue Q has the inscription, "In memory of those who lost their lives in the May 11, 1970 tornado."

Lubbock dwells on edge of Tornado Alley 02/03/12 - 6:46pm

'The U.S. has the most tornados in the world and Tornado Alley has the most in the U.S.'

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 The roiling, turbulent skies that often set up over Lubbock during the springtime are among the most uniquely conducive to spawning tornadoes in the world. That's because Lubbock sits at the southern edge of what's commonly referred to as Tornado Alley, the world's biggest breeding ground for twisters. The only area on Earth that rivals Tornado Alley is the South Asian nation of Bangladesh, said Chris Weiss, assistant professor at Texas Tech's Atmospheric Science Group. Lubbock County tornadoes since 1950

'We knew something was happening ...' 02/03/12 - 6:35pm

Rumbling was first sign of trouble on downtown block

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Joe Nage and Tom Milam were wrapping up preparation for an antitrust suit on the 10th floor of the First National Bank building at 9:45 p.m. May 11, 1970. One of the clients leaned against a wall in Milam's office in the northwest corner of the building. "This building's shaking," the client said. Nage walked to a nearby South window, looking out at the skyline where earlier in the evening a storm was brewing on the horizon. "We knew something was happening, but we weren't anticipating a tornado," Nage said.

Civic Center, library, parks spring up in tornado's wake 02/03/12 - 6:09pm

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Residents in south Lubbock who went to bed early May 11, 1970, awakened on May 12 to find the heart of Lubbock a pile of rubble, the calling card of a killer tornado on the central to north side. Until then, Lubbock had seemed content as the hub of the plains, but somewhat reluctant to position itself as a full-grown urban center.

Three neighborhoods bore brunt of tornado's impact 02/03/12 - 6:08pm

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

"I've talked to a lot of people about it, but I have yet to talk to anybody who actually saw that tornado," retired police officer Ray Huffman said of the May 11, 1970 tornado. "I heard it and I felt it, but I never saw it. Have you ever heard big jet airplanes when they take off from the ground?" Huffman said. "That's what it sounded like.

Picture of Progress 02/03/12 - 6:08pm

City, people have come a long way since May 11, 1970

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 The weather forecast in the early afternoon of May 11, 1970, was mostly moderate with only distant overtones of ominous possibilities. The Severe Local Storms Unit had advised at 1:25 p.m. that the air mass in the high country of West Texas was unstable, according to 1970 archives retrieved recently by National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist Brian LaMarre. Then at 6:55 p.m. that day, Lubbock weather radar detected a moderate thunderstorm 15 miles south of Lubbock International Airport near Woodrow.