NWS Lubbock

1968: Lightning struck and killed John Bean of Silverton this afternoon while he was fishing at a small lake near
Quitaque. Later this afternoon, severe thunderstorms wrought havoc in north and northeast sections of Lubbock, and also in
parts of Castro, Bailey, and Floyd Counties. In Muleshoe, a small tornado produced a measured wind gust to 115 mph at the
airport before two T-type hangars were demolished. The two aircraft inside each hangar were untouched. The sheet iron
hangars were lifted apart and the twisted remains were strewn over a portion of the airport. From the roof of an old
airport building, a 30-foot tower was lifted completely out of the roof. Other hangar doors were damaged several hundred
feet away when lifted off their tracks. After this tornado dissipated, a funnel cloud was observed six miles southeast of
the airport; although it is unclear if this was the remnants of the tornado or a new vortex altogether. Also this
afternoon, non-tornadic winds wrecked a hangar and caused extensive damage to aircraft at the Town and Country Air Park on
South Quirt Ave north of Lubbock. The nearby Weather Bureau Office measured a wind gust to 70 mph. Similar winds blew
bricks from the 7th and 8th stories of the First National Bank building under construction at Broadway and Ave M. These
winds also blew over a trailer house three miles east of Lubbock and damaged a few fences, trees and signs in the
northeast side of Lubbock. Heavy rains also flooded many underpasses in Lubbock. Farther east, a hailstorm inflicted
$25,000 crop damage northeast of Paducah and the parent storm produced a funnel cloud with a distinct audible roar 9-12
miles northeast of the city. At some point this night, a severe windstorm which may have included a tornado, destroyed
cotton storage buildings and unroofed homes and buildings on the northeast side of Crosbyton. Large trees and fences were
felled and sheets of metal were sent flying into electrical lines disrupting the power service. Evidence to support a
possible tornado included a 2x6 timber that was driven through the west wall of the Don Collier home. Just before this
storm arrived, Tommy Hawkes, enroute from the lake to Crosbyton, mentioned seeing two funnels between him and the city,
but these may have been scud clouds and not necessarily funnels or tornadoes. Farther east at the R.W. Self home, a boat
was blown toward the highway and the Selfs pickup truck was deposited upright on the highway.'