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On May 11, 1970, an F5 tornado hit Lubbock, Texas at 9:35 PM, hitting downtown head-on. Though the tornado was short-lived as it only lasted 8 miles, it still caused catastrophic damage in Lubbock, including downtown, where skyscrapers were damaged, including the then-Great Plains Life Insurance building pictured here. As it was a Monday night, residents were already home. The only problem was that it was dark. They couldn't see the tornado itself unless it was illuminated by lightning or exploding power transformers. The tornado left 26 people dead and more than 1,500 others injured. Because the tornado struck in the dark, there are no photos or videos of the funnel itself that exist.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 28, 1990, a storm system spawned numerous tornadoes, including an F5 in Plainfield, Illinois, which left 29 people dead and 353 others injured along a 16 to 16.5-mile path. It moved in an unusual direction, southeast as opposed to the northeast. Despite being in the age of camcorders, there is no video or photo of the tornado itself in progress. All that remains is the destruction it left behind. Low cloud bases and heavy rainfall obscured the circulation, which made the tornado difficult to see and confirm. It was also poorly warned as there was no warning issued until after the tornado lifted. In 1993, three years after the tornado, the National Weather Service in Chicago reduced its workload by creating an office in Romeoville alongside Lincoln, Illinois in 1995, and allowing offices in the Quad Cities, St. Louis, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Paducah, Kentucky to issue forecasts in their respective areas.

For anyone wondering why there are no photographs of the actual tornado itself in progress, here's a simple explanation.

Rain-wrapped appearance: As the tornado started to approach Waco, thick, low-hanging cloud bases, heavy rainfall, and baseball-sized hail began pounding the city. This completely obscured the tornado from view, causing the sky to turn midnight dark despite being late in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Brick structures: The blinding rain and hail forced residents inside multi-story brick buildings. Although architecturally beautiful as many had been built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they were unreinforced and lacked steel reinforcements, meaning they were not designed to withstand violent tornadoes. When the tornado struck, the brick buildings themselves became death traps due to the sheer force of the storm.

The tornado itself: With winds exceeding 260 miles per hour, the tornado was categorized as an F5, the first tornado in the U.S. to officially receive an F5 rating.

Contributing factors: As it was a bustling Monday afternoon, May 11, 1953, The rain-wrapped appearance combined with a densely populated downtown and the collapse of multi-story brick buildings led to the deaths of 114 people and nearly 600 others injured, making it the deadliest tornado in Texas to this day. Many were getting off work, running errands, or going to see a movie at the Joy Theater.

The track of the tornado: The tornado was on the ground for 23 miles, and lasted for 45 minutes, first forming three miles north-northwest of Lorena at 4:10 PM, passing near Hewitt, and by 4:30 PM, the sky turned midnight dark, with driving rain and hail pounding downtown Waco. At 4:36 PM as rain and hail still fell, the tornado entered downtown; the brick structures residents sought shelter inside of collapsed. By 4:55 PM, the tornado dissipated near Axtell.

Damage estimates: Damage along the path was estimated at $51 million in 1953 currency, equivalent to $642.5 million today.

Backstory: On Thursday, May 21, 1953, a tornado touched down in Michigan on the U.S. side, striking Port Huron, killing two people. Ripping across the St. Clair River and obscured by rain, it crossed into Ontario, Canada, impacting Sarnia, killing five people on the Canadian side, bringing the total to 7 people dead and 117 others injured. The tornado was rated F4, and damage was estimated at $17 million in 1953 currency. This cross-border tornado was overshadowed by the Waco, Texas F5 only ten days prior. That too was rain-wrapped, which left 114 people dead and nearly 600 injured. There are no known photographs or videos of either tornado in progress itself that exist. All that's left is the destruction. Several factors contributed.

Rain-wrapped structures: In Waco, heavy rain and baseball-sized hail began pounding downtown, which obscured the tornado. Those who sought shelter inside multi-story brick buildings were killed when they came down. The rain-wrapped structure and collapse of multi-story brick buildings in Waco led to the deaths of 114 people and nearly 600 others injured as already noted. In Sarnia, heavy rainfall and golf ball-sized hail from the parent thunderstorm began pounding the city, which also obscured the tornado, clearing the streets before it arrived. The rain and hail were credited for saving lives because shelter had already been found before the tornado struck. In total, the tornado left two people on the U.S. side dead, while five others on the Canadian side also parished, bringing the death toll to 7 people. The deaths (114 in Waco compared to 7 in Port Huron-Sarnia) can be attributed to several different factors. The tornado that struck Waco, Texas on May 11, 1953 at 4:36 PM, occurred during a busy Monday afternoon. Many were either getting off work, running errands, or going to see a movie at the Joy Theater. In Port Huron-Sarnia, residents were already home for the day as it was a Thursday evening. As noted, the rain and hail in Sarnia were credited for saving lives as shelter had been found before the tornado struck.

1950s camera limitations made real time storm photography rare.

Fast forward motion (35 mph) left little time for documentation.

The tracks of both tornadoes were different. While the Waco F5 lasted for 23 miles, the Port Huron-Sarnia F4 was on the ground for much longer, traveling for 75 to 90 miles.

On May 11, 1953, a destructive and deadly tornado hit Waco, Texas during the end of the workday. Ripping through the city limits and obscured by rain, it downtown head-on, causing multi-story brick buildings to collapse. Residents recalled they couldn't see the approaching tornado at all. It was completely obscured by driving rain and baseball-sized hail. From what the people described, this was a High-Precipitation supercell, where the core of a tornado is obscured by heavy rain and hail being blown around the circulation. By 4:30 PM, witnesses described the sky as midnight, even though it was still daylight. It got so dark they couldn't see anything outside, let alone across the street. People simply thought it was just a thunderstorm as Waco had endured countless thunderstorms before. By 4:36 PM, that assumption would be a fatal mistake as the invisible monster, up to a third of a mile wide, struck downtown. The darkness itself had several causes:

The storm's enormous updraft and precipitation blocked most sunlight.

Thick, low-hanging clouds made the storm appear to descend almost to the ground, and the late afternoon sun angle also played a part.

By the time people realized something catastrophic was happening, they often heard a roar compared to dozens of trains before buildings began collapsing. With winds exceeding 260 mph, the tornado was categorized as an F5, the highest possible rating for a tornado. The rain-wrapped setup combined with the collapse of multi-story brick buildings led to deaths of 114 people and 597 others injured. This remains the deadliest tornado in Texas history. The tornado was on the ground for 23 miles, first forming three miles north-northwest of Lorena, passing close to Hewitt, sweeping directly through Waco, and dissipating near Axtell. Damage was estimated at $41 million in 1953 currency, equivalent to over $600 million now. Another contributing factor to the death toll is that it was a bustling Monday afternoon. Many were either getting off work, running errands, or going to see a movie. Though the deaths matched the 1902 Goliad F4, which also left 114 people dead, injuries from the 1953 Waco F5 were higher. Today, the 1953 Waco tornado now serves as a modern case study on rain-wrapped tornadoes. Meteorologists continuously note that "The most dangerous tornado is the one you never see coming."

Backstory: On May 11, 1953, a destructive and deadly tornado hit Waco, Texas during the end of the workday. Ripping through the city limits and obscured by rain, it downtown head-on, causing multi-story brick buildings to collapse. Residents recalled they couldn't see the approaching tornado at all. It was completely obscured by driving rain and hail. From what the people described, this was a High-Precipitation supercell, where the core of a tornado is obscured by heavy rain and hail being blown around the circulation. By 4:30 PM, witnesses described the sky as midnight, even though it was still daylight. It got so dark they couldn't see anything outside, let alone across the street. People simply thought it was just a thunderstorm as Waco had endured countless thunderstorms before. This was six minutes before the invisible monster, up to a third of a mile wide, struck downtown. The darkness itself had several causes:

The storm's enormous updraft and precipitation blocked most sunlight.

Thick, low-hanging clouds made the storm appear to descend almost to the ground, and the late afternoon sun angle also played a part.

By the time people realized something catastrophic was happening, they often heard a roar compared to dozens of trains before buildings began collapsing. With winds exceeding 260 mph, the tornado was categorized as an F5, the highest possible rating for a tornado. The rain-wrapped setup combined with the collapse of multi-story brick buildings led to deaths of 114 people and 597 others injured. This remains the deadliest tornado in Texas history. Another contributing factor is that it was a busy Monday afternoon. Many were either getting off work or running errands. Though the deaths matched the 1902 Goliad F4, the injuries from the 1953 Waco F5 were higher. The tornado was on the ground for 23 miles, first forming near Lorena, sweeping directly through Waco, then dissipating near Axtell. The 1953 Waco tornado in other words, was a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", reinforcing the fact that the tornado was completely rain-wrapped. The terms "High-Precipitation Supercell" and "Rain-wrapped tornado" were not part of the public lexicon in the 1950s; tornado science and warning infrastructure were still in early development stages at the time, and radar was primitive. Today, the "It's just a thunderstorm" myth is still deadly in rain-wrapped tornadoes. To an average person, they think it's just another storm as they lived through thunderstorms before. But when the rain suddenly starts blowing sideways and debris is flying around, they would be wrong. The rain is the tornado itself. After the tornado exited Waco, police, paramedics, firefighters, Baylor University students, military and National Guard personnel arrived on scene, still raining, unprepared for what they were about to witness. They thought that Waco had been bombed, a chilling aspect as World War II had ended 8 years prior, in 1945. As this was May 1953, the destruction resembled that of war-torn European cities. The tornado leveled entire blocks, pulverized buildings, and left debris fields indistinguishable from wartime photographs. Today, the 1953 Waco tornado now serves as a modern case study on rain-wrapped tornadoes. Meteorologists continuously note that "The most dangerous tornado is the one you can't see."

Backstory: On May 25, 1955, an F5 tornado struck Udall, Kansas at 10:35 PM, leaving as many as 77 to 82 people dead. To this day, it remains the deadliest tornado in Kansas history, produced by the same supercell that spawned a separate F5 in Blackwell, Oklahoma, which left 20 dead, part of the 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, from May 25-26. What makes the Udall disaster significant from a meteorological standpoint is that it was nighttime. Before the era of Doppler radar, wireless emergency alerts, and tornado sirens, people often relied on visual confirmation of a tornado, but at night, a tornado is frequently invisible unless illuminated by lightning or exploding power transformers. The darkness is what played a part in the number of deaths in Udall. While most retrospectives have the destruction and human impacts centered, what often gets left out is that Udall is located in the heart of what meteorologists now call Tornado Alley, which in 1955, wasn't widely known to the public, having been coined in 1952, only three years prior. Stretching from north Texas up into Oklahoma, and Kansas up to South Dakota, warm, moist Gulf air, dry air from the Southwest, and cool air from the Rockies and Canada, all combine to produce the most violent tornadoes across the Plains. The Udall F5 is now a meteorological case study for nighttime tornadoes as they are 2.5 times more deadly than their daytime counterparts. You can't see them coming unless illuminated by lightning or exploding power transformers. Tornado Alley today remains as volatile as it was in 1955, regardless of the time of day. Oklahoma and Kansas continue to receive the brunt of the activity.