Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Some things you may not want to know about tornadoes and the month of May:
• Five of the six deadliest tornadoes in Texas history occurred in the month of May. Two of those killer storms occurred within a two-hours drive of Clovis-Portales.
On May 15, 1957, a twister tore through Silverton, Texas, and killed 22 of its 850 residents. About 80 people were injured. Witnesses said the tornado picked up a 5,000 pound gasoline storage tank and dropped it in a lake more than a mile away.
On May 11, 1970, a tornado ripped an eight-mile path through Lubbock, killing 26 and leaving an estimated 500 injured. Officials said 1,000 homes were destroyed, along with 10,000 vehicles.
Texas’ deadliest tornado occurred May 11, 1953, in Waco. It killed 114.
The Fujita scale, which measures tornado intensity from 0 to 5, was developed in response to the Lubbock storm.
The Silverton twister was scored F4, while Lubbock’s was recorded as F5.
The F5 features wind speeds in excess of 261 mph, capable of lifting houses off of their foundations and tossing vehicles 100 meters or more.
• Eastern New Mexico has never seen an F5 tornado, but it has witnessed five F2 tornadoes (winds in excess of 113 mph) in the past 85 years, including one in May that did some serious damage — on May 24, 1957. No injuries were reported in the 1957 storm, which was centered 10-15 miles northwest of Clovis, but 10 farm homes were destroyed.
The tornado struck about 4 a.m., uprooting trees and tearing down fences.
“Accompanying the twisting winds were downpours of rain up to 3 inches in less than an hour and terrific hail storms,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
The National Weather Service reported the storm likely formed in Roosevelt County and spawned six different tornadoes.
That same morning, tornadoes were reported in Parmer, Bailey, Deaf Smith and Lamb counties in the Texas Panhandle.
The worst damage was reported in Olton, Texas, where 77 homes were destroyed and three people were injured.
Beware of May. Tornadoes may be near.
David Stevens is editor for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at: [email protected]
Do you have a question?
A comment you'd like to see published?
Or maybe a story idea for a future edition?
— Please email the publisher: [email protected]
