Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, April 17, 1970

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, April 17, 1970
Start: 1970-04-17T19:45
End: 1970-04-17T23:56
Location: Texas

April 17, 1970 · 26 events in 14 counties and zones

12 tornado, 8 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 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: 6
Injuries: 78
Property damage: $108 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 26

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

12 tornado, 8 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Bailey

When: April 17, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Bailey County
Coordinates: 34.000, -102.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Bailey

When: April 17, 8:15 PM CST
Where: Bailey County
Coordinates: 34.200, -102.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Castro

When: April 17, 8:26 PM CST
Where: Castro County
Measured: 88 kt (101 mph)
Coordinates: 34.500, -102.280

Tornado, Cochran

When: April 17, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Cochran County
Rating: F4
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Injuries: 20 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.600, -102.630

Hail, Hockley

When: April 17, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Hockley County
Measured: 4 in hail
Coordinates: 33.580, -102.580

Tornado, Hockley

When: April 17, 8:54 PM CST
Where: Hockley County
Rating: F4
Path length: 18.5 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.600, -102.600

Hail, Hockley

When: April 17, 9:03 PM CST
Where: Hockley County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.700, -102.500

Hail, Hockley

When: April 17, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Hockley County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.780, -102.500

Tornado, Hockley

When: April 17, 9:31 PM CST
Where: Hockley County
Rating: F4
Path length: 9.5 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 33.730, -102.330

Hail, Hockley

When: April 17, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Hockley County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.780, -102.180

Tornado, Hale

When: April 17, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Hale County
Rating: F4
Path length: 19.8 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 47 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.000, -101.980

Hail, Oldham

When: April 17, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Oldham County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.200, -102.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Hale

When: April 17, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Hale County
Coordinates: 34.280, -101.900

Tornado, Parmer

When: April 17, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Parmer County
Rating: F4
Path length: 7.4 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.380, -102.620

Tornado, Floyd

When: April 17, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Floyd County
Rating: F4
Path length: 10.1 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Coordinates: 34.180, -101.720

Tornado, Randall

When: April 17, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Randall County
Rating: F4
Path length: 103 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 34.450, -102.520

Hail, Potter

When: April 17, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Potter County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 35.200, -101.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Potter

When: April 17, 10:48 PM CST
Where: Potter County
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Coordinates: 35.280, -101.680

Hail, Briscoe

When: April 17, 10:50 PM CST
Where: Briscoe County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 34.380, -101.500

Tornado, Swisher

When: April 17, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Swisher County
Rating: F4
Path length: 11 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 34.320, -101.650

Tornado, Briscoe

When: April 17, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Briscoe County
Rating: F4
Path length: 12.6 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.370, -101.470

Hail, Briscoe

When: April 17, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Briscoe County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 34.500, -101.280

Tornado, Briscoe

When: April 17, 11:15 PM CST
Where: Briscoe County
Rating: F4
Path length: 24.2 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Coordinates: 34.470, -101.280

Tornado, Hall

When: April 17, 11:40 PM CST
Where: Hall County
Rating: F4
Path length: 6.6 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Coordinates: 34.680, -100.950

Tornado, Donley

When: April 17, 11:47 PM CST
Where: Donley County
Rating: F4
Path length: 12.3 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Coordinates: 34.750, -100.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Potter

When: April 17, 11:56 PM CST
Where: Potter County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 35.280, -101.680

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Parmer	1970-04-17				Direct
Tornado, Briscoe	1970-04-17				Direct

What these are

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.
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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 1970 Every state in 1970 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Texas, 1970

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: 10133809, 10133810, 10133811, 10133812, 10133813, 10133814, 10133815, 10133816, 10133817, 10133818, 10133819, 10133820, 10133821, 10133822, 10133823, 10133824, 10133825, 10133826, 10133827, 10133828, 10133829, 10133830, 10133831, 10133832, 10134693, 10134694.