Lubbock’s Weather Coverage Collapsed Just When We Needed It Most

Severe weather slammed Lubbock on the night of June 5th. The only thing messier than the aftermath? The coverage.

Chaos shouldn’t breed more chaos—and I stand by that. Keeping a cool head is critical during tough times. It’s hard enough to make a plan when the sky’s falling, let alone when you’re being bombarded with conflicting information from every direction.

Read More: Severe Weather Hits Lubbock: Tornado Threat And Damage Reports

Lubbock faced a nightmare scenario: multiple possible tornadoes on the ground, high winds, hail, and torrential rain. I’m putting that in the most generic way possible because, honestly, I still have no idea what actually happened last night.

Let’s talk about the alerts. I received 21 of them, plus 8 phone calls. Yes, I signed up for Lubbock Alert, and I still recommend you do the same. But the information was overlapping, rapid-fire, and overwhelming.

Weather Chaos and Confusion in Lubbock

While dodging those notifications (I got the message loud and clear with the first one), I tried to tune into live storm coverage across all three local channels—and it was a complete mess. Reporters didn’t seem to know where they were, what was happening, or even who was supposed to be talking. Everyone was stepping on each other, adding to the confusion.

It wasn’t until a graphic came on screen and someone drew an arrow that it became clear a major part of the storm was heading up 19th Street. That was the moment it finally clicked: people in that area really needed to take cover.

I hope those involved in the coverage come down from the adrenaline of what sounded like their first storm in the field and take time to learn from last night’s debacle. Because it was just… not good.