Lubbock Spared Major Damage as Tornadoes Tear Through Surrounding Counties

Lubbock almost had a disaster as an intense supercell thunderstorm on Thursday night caused at least eight tornadoes in Cochran, Hockley, and Lubbock counties, according to the National Weather Service. 

The city's chief meteorologist, Justin Weaver, said it was almost a disaster. He said, "This is probably the best warning scenario we can have." He said that early warnings and people being ready helped keep injuries to a minimum.

One of the confirmed tornadoes was an EF-2 that happened north of Morton. It was about a mile wide and had winds of about 125 mph. Weaver said, "That would have been terrible if it had gone through Morton." Near Whitharral, there was another EF-2 tornado that went about 10 miles and broke power poles along the way.

A short-lived EF-1 tornado hurt two people near Smyer, and a final EF-1 that finished near Inler Avenue in Lubbock caused homes to lose their roofs. Teams looked at the damage by using structural signs to guess how fast the wind was blowing.

Weaver busted the idea that Lubbock's Loop keeps tornadoes out of the city by saying that the storm's right turn, which happens a lot of times in the evening with supercells, was just a stroke of luck.

"There is no magic to protect them," Weaver said. "In 23 years, we have only sent out six tornado warnings for the city."

Still, Weaver praised the people who hid when the warning went out. He said, "That is what we want to hear." "Everyone was ready."