The devastating 1970 tornado that forever changed Lubbock may be the key to being more prepared should disaster strike again.
According to Justin Weaver, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, the landmark tornado that turned downtown upside down was also the driving force behind Texas Tech's Wind Science and Engineering Research Center.
He says the center has been vital to figuring out the do's and dont's of tornado preparation.
"The advice was to open your window if a tornado was coming. That was one of the misconceptions, that the low pressure, the tornado, would some how blow your house up, blow the building up that you were in. And the folks at the wind science and engineering research center, one of their findings was that it's not low pressure blowing your house up. It's just the wind pressure and debris that destroys homes," Weaver said.
He says the 1970 tornado was vital to developing the "F" tornado scale. Its inventor came to Lubbock to do research after the tornado, Weaver says.
"Dr. Fujita was able to use the damage and the Metro tower downtown and other houses, and different types of businesses and stuff throughout the city to develop a ratings scale from zero to F5 for all the tornadoes that followed. And that scale was used all the way from 1971 to 2007," Weaver said.
He says an enhanced Fujita scale, developed by Texas Tech researchers, is now used.
To add these innovations, Weaver says huge strides have also been made in weather prediction and alert systems.
