That Time A Tornado Hit Midland, Texas And No One Was Ready

Midland, Texas --  If locals made an attempt to try to explain to outsiders what the weather was like in the Permian Basin, then "bipolar" would probably be a great adjective to use.  Where else can you have torrential downpour in the AM and bright sunny weather in the PM?  Due to our geographical location and the flat terrain of the region, we are subject to vast and sometimes odd weather patterns as they pass through.

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Unexpected And Unwelcomed Weather 

One such incident happened on May 31, 2024. An unexpected yet powerful EF-2 tornado quickly touched down near Midland and surprised almost everyone.  Local residents had almost no forewarning and experienced it fully unprepared.  It was later learned that winds reached up to 111 mph and lasted roughly 31 minutes, leaving chaos and utter destruction behind.  In the aftermath, this incident encouraged city officials for better city preparation protocols and emergency plans to deal with potentially hazardous weather.  This was mainly due to the tornado shining an undeniable light on just how unprepared the city of Midland was for such an event.

Unfortunately, this freak storm caused some loss of life and millions of dollars in damage around the area.  While this certainly could have been worse, the overall results, excluding the loss of life, made Midland a better place overall by forcing needed change so that something like this never takes us by surprise again.  Also, possibly saving lives in the future.