Tornado, Burnet
- When
- May 16, 12:25 AM CST
- Where
- Burnet County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 2.7 mi
- Path width
- 60 yd
- Coordinates
- 30.580, -98.100
Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 16, 1981
16 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 6 tornado, 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 5
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 30
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
16 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 6 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Burnet
- When
- May 16, 12:25 AM CST
- Where
- Burnet County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.750, -98.220
Tornado, Travis
- When
- May 16, 12:30 AM CST
- Where
- Travis County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 9 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Coordinates
- 30.580, -98.070
Tornado, Williamson
- When
- May 16, 12:50 AM CST
- Where
- Williamson County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 5.2 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Injuries
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 30.570, -97.920
Hail, Travis
- When
- May 16, 12:50 AM CST
- Where
- Travis County
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.320, -97.920
Hail, Williamson
- When
- May 16, 12:56 AM CST
- Where
- Williamson County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.670, -97.920
Thunderstorm Wind, Dallas
- When
- May 16, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Dallas County
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 32.870, -97.030
Hail, Williamson
- When
- May 16, 1:30 AM CST
- Where
- Williamson County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.570, -97.420
Hail, Milam
- When
- May 16, 1:45 AM CST
- Where
- Milam County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.800, -96.970
Tornado, Milam
- When
- May 16, 1:50 AM CST
- Where
- Milam County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Coordinates
- 30.600, -96.930
Tornado, Burleson
- When
- May 16, 2:10 AM CST
- Where
- Burleson County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 9.7 mi
- Path width
- 73 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 30.450, -96.800
Thunderstorm Wind, Burleson
- When
- May 16, 2:15 AM CST
- Where
- Burleson County
- Coordinates
- 30.480, -96.600
Hail, Washington
- When
- May 16, 2:30 AM CST
- Where
- Washington County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.230, -96.430
Hail, Burleson
- When
- May 16, 2:30 AM CST
- Where
- Burleson County
- Measured
- 3 in hail
- Coordinates
- 30.430, -96.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Grimes
- When
- May 16, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Grimes County
- Coordinates
- 30.550, -96.000
Thunderstorm Wind, Washington
- When
- May 16, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Washington County
- Coordinates
- 30.170, -96.400
Thunderstorm Wind, Walker
- When
- May 16, 3:15 AM CST
- Where
- Walker County
- Coordinates
- 30.780, -95.600
Thunderstorm Wind, San Jacinto
- When
- May 16, 3:45 AM CST
- Where
- San Jacinto County
- Coordinates
- 30.630, -95.120
Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery
- When
- May 16, 4:20 AM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County
- Coordinates
- 30.370, -95.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Liberty
- When
- May 16, 4:30 AM CST
- Where
- Liberty County
- Coordinates
- 30.200, -94.800
Thunderstorm Wind, Tyler
- When
- May 16, 4:45 AM CST
- Where
- Tyler County
- Coordinates
- 30.770, -94.350
Thunderstorm Wind, Hardin
- When
- May 16, 5:10 AM CST
- Where
- Hardin County
- Coordinates
- 30.330, -94.400
Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper
- When
- May 16, 5:40 AM CST
- Where
- Jasper County
- Coordinates
- 30.720, -94.000
Thunderstorm Wind, Newton
- When
- May 16, 6:20 AM CST
- Where
- Newton County
- Coordinates
- 30.820, -93.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Hopkins
- When
- May 16, 6:30 AM CST
- Where
- Hopkins County
- Coordinates
- 33.130, -95.600
Hail, Dallas
- When
- May 16, 7:00 AM CST
- Where
- Dallas County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 32.830, -96.780
Thunderstorm Wind, Galveston
- When
- May 16, 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Galveston County
- Coordinates
- 29.470, -94.980
Thunderstorm Wind, Chambers
- When
- May 16, 10:10 AM CST
- Where
- Chambers County
- Coordinates
- 29.700, -94.620
Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson
- When
- May 16, 10:20 AM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County
- Coordinates
- 29.920, -94.170
Tornado, Burnet
- When
- May 16, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Burnet County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3.6 mi
- Path width
- 47 yd
- Coordinates
- 30.780, -98.380
What these are
- 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.
- 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 1981Every state in 1981This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1981
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: 10131273, 10131274, 10131275, 10131276, 10131277, 10131278, 10131279, 10131492, 10131493, 10131494, 10131495, 10131496, 10131497, 10131498, 10131499, 10131500, 10131501, 10131502, 10131503, 10131504, 10131505, 10131506, 10131507, 10131508, 10131509, 10131510, 10131511, 10131512, 10131513, 10131514.