Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 17, 1988

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 17, 1988
Start: 1988-09-17T04:10
End: 1988-09-17T17:52
Location: Texas

September 17, 1988 · 29 events in 17 counties and zones

26 tornado, 3 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: 1
Injuries: 11
Property damage: $55 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 29

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

26 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Karnes

When: September 17, 4:10 AM CST
Where: Karnes County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 28.880, -97.970

Tornado, Bexar

When: September 17, 4:45 AM CST
Where: Bexar County
Rating: F1
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 29.280, -98.430

Tornado, Bexar

When: September 17, 5:49 AM CST
Where: Bexar County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 29.400, -98.630

Tornado, Bexar

When: September 17, 6:30 AM CST
Where: Bexar County
Rating: F1
Path length: 6 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 29.430, -98.520

Tornado, Fayette

When: September 17, 6:44 AM CST
Where: Fayette County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 29.830, -96.930

Tornado, Comal

When: September 17, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Comal County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 29.900, -98.270

Tornado, Atascosa

When: September 17, 8:40 AM CST
Where: Atascosa County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 28.950, -98.530

Tornado, Caldwell

When: September 17, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Caldwell County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 29.730, -97.750

Tornado, Edwards

When: September 17, 9:50 AM CST
Where: Edwards County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 29.850, -100.680

Tornado, Maverick

When: September 17, 11:13 AM CST
Where: Maverick County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 29.050, -100.500

Tornado, McCulloch

When: September 17, 11:43 AM CST
Where: McCulloch County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 31.130, -99.450

Tornado, McCulloch

When: September 17, 11:43 AM CST
Where: McCulloch County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 31.400, -99.600

Tornado, Dimmit

When: September 17, 12:45 PM CST
Where: Dimmit County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 28.520, -99.900

Tornado, Val Verde

When: September 17, 1:20 PM CST
Where: Val Verde County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 29.930, -101.170

Tornado, Runnels

When: September 17, 1:56 PM CST
Where: Runnels County
Rating: F0
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 60 yd
Coordinates: 31.780, -99.770

Tornado, Bosque

When: September 17, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Bosque County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 31.920, -97.680

Tornado, Concho

When: September 17, 3:09 PM CST
Where: Concho County
Rating: F0
Path length: 3.5 mi
Path width: 80 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 31.220, -99.850

Tornado, Concho

When: September 17, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Concho County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Coordinates: 31.220, -99.950

Tornado, Concho

When: September 17, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Concho County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Coordinates: 31.170, -99.850

Tornado, Concho

When: September 17, 3:58 PM CST
Where: Concho County
Rating: F0
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 31.570, -100.100

Tornado, Concho

When: September 17, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Concho County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Coordinates: 31.220, -99.980

Tornado, Concho

When: September 17, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Concho County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 40 yd
Coordinates: 31.220, -99.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Collin

When: September 17, 4:40 PM CST
Where: Collin County
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 33.120, -96.650

Tornado, Val Verde

When: September 17, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Val Verde County
Rating: F2
Path length: 11 mi
Path width: 63 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 29.370, -100.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Denton

When: September 17, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Denton County
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 33.220, -97.150

Tornado, Runnels

When: September 17, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Runnels County
Rating: F1
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 60 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.620, -99.950

Tornado, Val Verde

When: September 17, 5:39 PM CST
Where: Val Verde County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 29.550, -101.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Cooke

When: September 17, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Cooke County
Coordinates: 33.480, -97.170

Tornado, Val Verde

When: September 17, 5:52 PM CST
Where: Val Verde County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 29.700, -101.170

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, Bexar	1988-09-17				Direct

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.
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

Hail in Iowa, September 17, 19881.75 in hail · 1 event

Every storm in Texas in 1988 Every state in 1988 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Texas, 1988 Warnings in Texas, September 1988

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: 10139252, 10139253, 10139254, 10139255, 10139256, 10139257, 10139468, 10139469, 10139470, 10139471, 10139472, 10139473, 10139474, 10139475, 10139476, 10139477, 10139478, 10139479, 10139480, 10139481, 10139482, 10139483, 10139484, 10139485, 10139486, 10139487, 10139488, 10139489, 10139490.