Texas, 1956

Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, October 20, 1956

October 20, 1956 · 10 events in 8 counties and zones

6 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$3,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

6 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Grayson

When
October 20, 7:16 AM CST
Where
Grayson County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
33.700, -96.580

Tornado, Travis

When
October 20, 12:56 PM CST
Where
Travis County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
30.350, -97.680

Tornado, McMullen

When
October 20, 1:35 PM CST
Where
McMullen County
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
28.450, -98.550

Tornado, McMullen

When
October 20, 1:35 PM CST
Where
McMullen County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
17 yd
Coordinates
28.450, -98.550

Tornado, McMullen

When
October 20, 1:35 PM CST
Where
McMullen County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
17 yd
Coordinates
28.450, -98.550

Tornado, Live Oak

When
October 20, 1:35 PM CST
Where
Live Oak County
Rating
F2
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
28.450, -98.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Brazos

When
October 20, 2:24 PM CST
Where
Brazos County
Coordinates
30.580, -96.280

Tornado, Guadalupe

When
October 20, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Guadalupe County
Rating
F2
Path length
1 mi
Path width
33 yd
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
29.580, -97.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When
October 20, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Jefferson County
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates
30.080, -94.080

Thunderstorm Wind,

When
October 20, 5:45 PM CST
Where
County
Coordinates
29.280, -94.780

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 1956Every state in 1956This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1956

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10121102, 10121103, 10121104, 10121105, 10121106, 10121107, 10121108, 10121109, 10121110, 10121111.