Texas, 1977

Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 20, 1977

May 20, 1977 · NWS T · 17 events in 14 counties and zones

10 tornado, 5 hail, 2 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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

10 tornado, 5 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Cochran

When
May 20, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Cochran County
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.720, -102.770

Tornado, Terry

When
May 20, 10:10 AM CST
Where
Terry County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
33.180, -102.580

Hail, Hockley

When
May 20, 10:35 AM CST
Where
Hockley County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.580, -102.370

Tornado, Hockley

When
May 20, 10:55 AM CST
Where
Hockley County
Rating
F1
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
33.580, -102.320

Tornado, Hale

When
May 20, 12:09 PM CST
Where
Hale County
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
34.000, -102.000

Hail, Hale

When
May 20, 1:15 PM CST
Where
Hale County
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
34.200, -101.700

Tornado, Briscoe

When
May 20, 1:58 PM CST
Where
Briscoe County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
34.470, -101.300

Tornado, Howard

When
May 20, 2:52 PM CST
Where
Howard County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
32.170, -101.580

Tornado, Donley

When
May 20, 3:28 PM CST
Where
Donley County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$30
Coordinates
35.070, -100.730

Tornado, Wheeler

When
May 20, 5:14 PM CST
Where
Wheeler County
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
20 yd
Coordinates
35.220, -100.250

Tornado, Wilbarger

When
May 20, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Wilbarger County
Rating
F2
Path length
7.3 mi
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
34.300, -99.280

Hail, Nolan

When
May 20, 8:20 PM CST
Where
Nolan County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
32.370, -100.430

Hail, Jones

When
May 20, 8:42 PM CST
Where
Jones County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
32.600, -100.050

Tornado, Wichita

When
May 20, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Wichita County
Rating
F1
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
33.870, -98.670

Tornado, La Salle

When
May 20, 9:10 PM CST
Where
La Salle County
Rating
F1
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
32.450, -100.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When
May 20, 9:20 PM CST
Where
Jones County
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates
32.950, -99.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Archer

When
May 20, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Archer County
Coordinates
33.600, -98.630

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 1977Every state in 1977This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1977

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: 10130545, 10130546, 10130547, 10130548, 10130549, 10130550, 10130551, 10130552, 10130553, 10130554, 10130555, 10130556, 10130557, 10130558, 10130559, 10130560, 10130561.