Texas, 1997Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, October 23, 1997
October 23, 1997 · NWS HGX · 16 events in 9 counties and zones
13 tornado, 3 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $1.8 million
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Events
- 16
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.
Tornado, Fort Bend
- When
- October 23, 1:00 PM CST to 1:05 PM CST
- Where
- Fort Bend County, Sugarland
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $1.1 million
- Coordinates
- 29.620, -95.630
109 houses/businesses sustained damage. This tornado was mostly F0 with some F1 damage.
Tornado, Walker
- When
- October 23, 2:22 PM CST to 2:25 PM CST
- Where
- Walker County, 10 mi NW of Huntsville
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Coordinates
- 30.820, -95.680
Tornado, Harris
- When
- October 23, 2:32 PM CST to 2:38 PM CST
- Where
- Harris County, Crosby
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 7 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $150,000
- Coordinates
- 29.900, -95.070
The tornado first touched down on the east shore of Lake Houston and moved northeast into extreme western Liberty County. This tornado was mostly F0 and F1 with some F2 damage at Foley Rd and Dallas Rd where a boat house was extremely damaged. An 18-wheeler in the same area was overturned and moved 50 feet.
Tornado, Austin
- When
- October 23, 2:43 PM CST to 2:44 PM CST
- Where
- Austin County, 5 mi SSE of Bellville
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 29.880, -96.230
Tornado, Liberty
- When
- October 23, 2:47 PM CST to 2:50 PM CST
- Where
- Liberty County, Dayton to 7 mi SW of Dayton
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 29.980, -94.970
Trees down and minor structural damage.
Tornado, Liberty
- When
- October 23, 3:07 PM CST to 3:10 PM CST
- Where
- Liberty County, Kenefick
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Coordinates
- 30.100, -94.830
Trees blown down and minor roof damage.
Tornado, Liberty
- When
- October 23, 3:25 PM CST to 3:26 PM CST
- Where
- Liberty County, 7 mi NE of Liberty
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.130, -94.720
Tornado, Montgomery
- When
- October 23, 4:00 PM CST to 4:07 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County, Waukegan to 1 mi ESE of Waukegan
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 5 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $175,000
- Coordinates
- 30.300, -95.350
This tornado was probably the most significant in strength and length that occurred this day. Several homes and mobile homes received major damage. There was one injury when a young boy was in a mobile home when the tornado picked it up and wrapped it around a tree. Damage to trees was extensive with many trees being snapped off above the ground. This storm was surveyed from the air and had continuous tree damage from Midway to Shepherd in San Jacinto County.
Tornado, San Jacinto
- When
- October 23, 4:10 PM CST to 4:25 PM CST
- Where
- San Jacinto County, Shepherd to 18 mi ESE of Shepherd
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 20 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 30.400, -95.300
Mainly tree damage from Midway to Shepherd.
Tornado, San Jacinto
- When
- October 23, 4:15 PM CST to 4:18 PM CST
- Where
- San Jacinto County, Evergreen to 7 mi SSE of Evergreen
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 30.450, -95.250
This tornado touched down in the Bear Creek Community. Damage was mostly trees but a volunteer fire department building was heavily damaged.
Tornado, Montgomery
- When
- October 23, 4:22 PM CST to 4:23 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County, Conroe
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.320, -95.450
Flag poles at Conroe High School Football Stadium bent over. As the storm passed just south of the Conroe Airport the ASOS recorded 57 mph winds from the south.
Tornado, Montgomery
- When
- October 23, 4:30 PM CST to 4:40 PM CST
- Where
- Montgomery County, Cut and Shoot
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 4 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Property damage
- $85,000
- Coordinates
- 30.330, -95.350
This tornado moved along HWY 105. Moderate damage to homes, businesses, and a school.
Hail, San Jacinto
- When
- October 23, 4:45 PM CST
- Where
- San Jacinto County, 7 mi S of Evergreen
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 30.450, -95.250
Hail in the Bear Creek Community.
Tornado, Polk
- When
- October 23, 5:35 PM CST to 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, Segno
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 10 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 30.570, -94.680
Hail, Polk
- When
- October 23, 5:35 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, Segno
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.570, -94.680
Hail, Houston
- When
- October 23, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Houston County, Weches
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 31.530, -95.220
- 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.
- Tornado in Louisiana, October 23, 19974 injured · $500,000 · F2 · 1 event
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, October 23 to 24, 1997$189,000 · F1 · 13 events
- Tornado in Texas, October 23, 19972 injured · $100,000 · F1 · 1 event
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, October 23, 1997$110,000 · F1 · 4 events
- Tornado in Texas, October 23, 1997$75,000 · F1 · 1 event
- Winter Storm and Lightning Strike in Utah, October 23 to 24, 1997$56,000 · 14 events
- Tornado in Louisiana, October 23, 1997$25,000 · F1 · 1 event
- Cold in West Virginia, October 23, 199734 events
- Tornado in Louisiana, October 23, 1997$25,000 · F0 · 1 event
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, October 23 to 25, 199712 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, October 23, 19971.75 in hail · 10 events
- Cold in Ohio, October 23, 19979 events
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: 5622588, 5622589, 5622590, 5622591, 5622602, 5622592, 5622593, 5622594, 5622603, 5622595, 5622596, 5622597, 5622598, 5622599, 5622600, 5622601.