The Lubbock County Historical Commission is set to dedicate two Texas Historical Markers to commemorate the deadly 1970 Lubbock tornado and Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita.
The public is invited to attend the ceremony at the Tornado Memorial at Lubbock National Bank Park— northeast corner of Glenna Goodacre and Avenue Q — at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
What is the 1970 Lubbock tornado?
As dusk turned to night on May 11, 1970, the clouds over Lubbock grew dark, signalling an event that would forever change and scar the city’s landscape.
At 8:30 p.m., the first of two tornadoes touched down in central Lubbock. The tornadoes would go on to destroy most homes in the Guadalupe Neighborhood and would ultimately claim the lives of 26 people and injure 1,500 people.
Who is Dr. Tetsuya Theodore Fujita?
Dr. Fujita, a severe storm researcher and meteorologist from the University of Chicago, came to Lubbock to assess the tornadoes’ aftermath.
Fujita gathered data from the paths the two vortices made and created intricate maps that detailed the tornado’s movements, which the Lubbock Tornado Memorial was created after.
This data led to the development of the Fujita Scale (F0-F5) in 1971, which was later updated in 2007 to the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EFU-EF5). It still bears the creator’s namesake and is tied to Lubbock’s history.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock County Historical Commission to honor 55th anniversary of tornado, Dr. Fujita
Reporting by Mateo Rosiles, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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