Texas, 1987

Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 22, 1987

May 22, 1987 · 10 events in 8 counties and zones

4 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 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
30
Injuries
121
Property damage
$2.5 million
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

4 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Hockley

When
May 22, 9:20 AM CST
Where
Hockley County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
30 yd
Coordinates
33.450, -102.500

Hail, Haskell

When
May 22, 3:10 PM CST
Where
Haskell County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.180, -99.900

Hail, Archer

When
May 22, 3:45 PM CST
Where
Archer County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
33.450, -98.920

Tornado, Hockley

When
May 22, 5:41 PM CST
Where
Hockley County
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
40 yd
Coordinates
33.550, -102.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Camp

When
May 22, 6:55 PM CST
Where
Camp County
Coordinates
33.000, -94.970

Tornado, Reeves

When
May 22, 7:10 PM CST
Where
Reeves County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
60 yd
Coordinates
30.980, -103.820

Tornado, Reeves

When
May 22, 7:16 PM CST
Where
Reeves County
Rating
F4
Path length
3 mi
Path width
1,000 yd
Deaths
30 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
121 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
31.000, -103.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Upshur

When
May 22, 7:40 PM CST
Where
Upshur County
Coordinates
32.730, -94.930

Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor

When
May 22, 7:58 PM CST
Where
Taylor County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
32.450, -99.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When
May 22, 8:45 PM CST
Where
Jones County
Coordinates
32.580, -99.730

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 1987Every state in 1987This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1987Warnings in Texas, May 1987

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: 10143347, 10143348, 10143349, 10143350, 10143351, 10143352, 10143353, 10143354, 10143355, 10143356.