Growing Up in Lubbock Meant Preparing for Tornadoes Constantly

If you grew up in Lubbock, you know that tornado drills were just another part of childhood. Right alongside math homework, dodgeball, and cafeteria pizza, there was always the looming possibility that at any moment, you'd be participating in a tornado drill.

The whole classroom would transform into a tiny emergency response unit at a moment's notice.

Tornado Drills At School

We'd line ourselves up against the hallway walls, crouch down, cover our heads with a heavy textbook, and do our best not to laugh while our teachers reminded us this was a "very serious" drill. Some kids treated it like a game. Other kids were fully convinced a tornado would eventually rip through the school and tear us to shreds.

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The Lubbock Tornado

Most of that fear came from growing up in the shadow of the 1970 Lubbock tornado. Decades later, that disaster still lives in the background of our city. We'd all heard a story or two about the twister that wiped out downtown, and there was always a real and underlying fear that it might happen again.

Every spring, the season felt personal in Lubbock.

The sky would turn a dark purplish green, the wind would start whipping dirt through the air, and suddenly every adult in town would be standing in the yard staring down the clouds like an unpaid meteorologist. Meanwhile, kids were internally preparing for the end times.

The funny thing about it is that for most of us, that giant tornado we spent our entire childhood preparing for never actually came.

Still, those countless fire drills stuck with us. Even now, hearing about any severe weather instantly brings back memories of us all crouched down together in the hallway under fluorescent lighting, wondering if today was the day.

We were lucky.

Tornado Safety

If you ever get caught in the middle of some bad weather, make sure you immediately move to the lowest floor possible, stay away from windows, and shelter in an interior room, hallway, bathroom, or closet. If you happen to be driving, find a sturdy building nearby instead of attempting to outrun the storm.

Hopefully, you'll make it out just fine. We always did. Fingers crossed this season is the same.

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