NWS Lubbock

1967 (1st-2nd): Severe thunderstorms with flooding rains, large hail and at least four tornadoes lashed the central and
southern South Plains this evening and overnight killing two persons and injuring one. At 6 PM, two tornadoes occurred
north of Cotton Center over open land. Then by 8:30 PM, a five-minute tornado developed one mile north of New Deal on the
Tex Stephenson farm demolishing a large barn which crushed farm equipment and a pickup truck. A railroad boxcar in the
vicinity was overturned as well. The most significant and unfortunately fatal storm hit eastern Hockley and much of
central Lubbock County later this evening. The accounts suggest this storm was a high-precipitation supercell which dumped
more than five inches of rain in less than one hour, unleashed baseball size hail, high winds, and at least one tornado
that caused substantial damage just north and northeast of Lubbock. The fatalities involved an elderly couple that drowned
near Smyer as the result of swift-moving floodwaters that swept their vehicle off Highway 114. The tornado developed in
the industrial area near the Lubbock Municipal Airport where three warehouses were destroyed scattering debris for miles.
A peak wind of 92 mph was measured at the ESSA-Weather Bureau Office movements before the weather observer spotted the
tornado. Several private facilities nearby suffered $474,000 in damage and 14 T-41 training aircraft parked at the airport
were damaged. Extensive damage was incurred at the TX Agricultural Experiment Station east of the New Deal overpass north
of Lubbock. Mrs. Mary E. Thackery at 2604 N Quirt Street suffered minor injuries when the tornado overturned her trailer
home. Although this tornado became erratic and began moving southwesterly, it did not touch Lubbock proper, but did uproot
and damage trees at the Lubbock Country Club. The tornado then diminished to just a funnel cloud before passing directly
over a heavily populated residential section. The parent storm still managed to pound the Hub City with baseball size
hail, high winds and torrential rains that created at least $825,000 in damage. Many homes, vehicles and greenhouses
suffered significant hail damage. Streets and roads were also badly damaged from flash flooding that inundated low-lying
residential areas, playa lakes, city parks, and recreational areas. No accurate estimate of agricultural losses could be
determined given the widespread scope of damage, but several thousand acres of cotton were washed out by flooding or
flattened by wind and hail.