What the record says
On 11 May 1970, a tornado touched down near Lubbock, Texas. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 8.4 miles long and up to 1,333 yards wide, rated F5 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 26 people and injured 500.
- F5Fujita rating
- 26deaths
- 500injuries
- 8.4 mipath length
- 1,333 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 33.55, -101.90 and the end point at 33.60, -101.77 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Texas
- Waco, Texas tornado11 May 1953, F5, 114 deaths, 597 injuries, 20.9 miles long
- Wichita Falls, Texas tornado10 April 1979, F4, 42 deaths, 1,740 injuries, 46.9 miles long
- Balmorhea, Texas tornado22 May 1987, F4, 30 deaths, 121 injuries, 3 miles long
- Jarrell, Texas tornado27 May 1997, F5, 27 deaths, 12 injuries, 5.1 miles long
- Silverton, Texas tornado15 May 1957, F4, 21 deaths, 80 injuries, 17 miles long
- Rochester, Texas tornado13 March 1953, F4, 17 deaths, 25 injuries, 13.9 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1970
- Tulia, Texas tornado18 April 1970, F4, 16 deaths, 42 injuries, 65 miles long
- Plainview, Texas tornado17 April 1970, F4, 5 deaths, 51 injuries, 96.6 miles long
- Ripley, Mississippi tornado19 April 1970, F4, 4 deaths, 78 injuries, 47.6 miles long
- Shawnee, Oklahoma tornado5 October 1970, F4, 4 deaths, 84 injuries, 25 miles long
- Springfield, Tennessee tornado27 April 1970, F4, 3 deaths, 85 injuries, 42.6 miles long
All tornadoes of 1970 · Texas tornado history · All notable tornadoes