Tornadoes in Texas
9,610 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 126.4 a year, 1st of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 609 people and injured 9,829. 57 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 6 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Texas
- F5 Waco tornado, TexasMay 11, 1953
- F4 Wichita Falls tornado, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 1979
- F4 Saragosa tornado, TexasMay 22, 1987
- F5 Jarrell tornado, TexasMay 27, 1997
- F5 Lubbock tornado, TexasMay 11, 1970
- F4, Briscoe County, TexasMay 15, 1957
- F4, Haskell and Knox counties, TexasMarch 13, 1953
- F4, Swisher, Briscoe, Armstrong and Donley counties, TexasApril 18, 1970
- F4, Tom Green County, TexasMay 11, 1953
- F4, Wilbarger, Tillman and Foard counties, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 1979
- EF4 Garland–Rowlett tornado, TexasDecember 26, 2015
- F4, Lamar and Red River counties, TexasApril 2, 1982
The strongest
- F5 Waco tornado, TexasMay 11, 1953
- F5 Valley Mills tornado, TexasMay 6, 1973
- F5 Brownwood tornado, TexasApril 19, 1976
- F5 Lubbock tornado, TexasMay 11, 1970
- F5 Jarrell tornado, TexasMay 27, 1997
- F5 Wichita Falls tornado, TexasApril 3, 1964
- F4, Parmer, Randall, Armstrong and Carson counties, TexasApril 17, 1970
- F4, Hale, Floyd, Swisher and Briscoe counties, TexasApril 17, 1970
- F4, Moore, Hansford, Ochiltree and Beaver counties, Texas and OklahomaMarch 18, 1982
- F4, Foard, Wilbarger, Tillman and Kiowa counties, Texas and OklahomaMay 1, 1954
- F4, Swisher, Briscoe, Armstrong and Donley counties, TexasApril 18, 1970
- EF4 Clarksville–Idabel tornado, Texas and OklahomaNovember 4, 2022
The longest paths
- F3, Williamson, Travis, Milam and Robertson counties, TexasApril 30, 1954
- F4, Parmer, Randall, Armstrong and Carson counties, TexasApril 17, 1970
- F3, Bowie, Little River, Sevier, Hempstead and Howard counties, Texas and ArkansasApril 30, 1954
- F1, Kinney, Maverick, Val Verde and Zavala counties, TexasMay 15, 1980
- F4, Hale, Floyd, Swisher and Briscoe counties, TexasApril 17, 1970
- F2, Carson, Armstrong, Gray and Roberts counties, TexasApril 13, 1973
- F4, Moore, Hansford, Ochiltree and Beaver counties, Texas and OklahomaMarch 18, 1982
- F3, Morris, Cass and Nevada counties, Texas and ArkansasApril 30, 1954
- F3, San Augustine, Sabine, Sabine, Natchitoches and Winn counties, Texas and LouisianaMarch 20, 1974
- F2, Wilbarger, Wichita, Tillman, Cotton, Comanche and Stephens counties, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 1979
- F3, Franklin, Titus, Red River, Bowie, Little River and Sevier counties, Texas and ArkansasMay 4, 1999
- F2, Parmer, Randall, Potter and Delta counties, TexasMay 24, 1957
The costliest
- EF3, Dallas County, TexasOctober 20, 2019
- EF2, Ellis and Dallas counties, TexasApril 3, 2012
- EF2, Dallas County, TexasOctober 20, 2019
- F1, Rusk and Panola counties, TexasMarch 12, 2001
- EF2, Tarrant County, TexasApril 3, 2012
- EF4 Granbury tornado, TexasMay 15, 2013
- F3, Franklin, Titus, Red River, Bowie, Little River and Sevier counties, Texas and ArkansasMay 4, 1999
- EF3, Johnson County, TexasMay 15, 2013
- EF3, Kaufman County, TexasApril 3, 2012
- EF3, Maverick County, TexasApril 24, 2007
- F2, Nueces County, TexasOctober 24, 2002
- F3, Williamson and Travis counties, TexasMay 27, 1997
The biggest days in Texas
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 24 tornado tracks surveyed in Texas so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 24 | 1 | 7 | |
| 2025 | 125 | 12 | ||
| 2024 | 131 | 9 | 153 | |
| 2023 | 78 | 8 | 139 | |
| 2022 | 118 | 3 | 113 | 2 |
| 2021 | 94 | 1 | 13 | |
| 2020 | 84 | 4 | 46 | |
| 2019 | 167 | 2 | 32 | |
| 2018 | 53 | |||
| 2017 | 167 | 4 | 70 | 1 |
| 2016 | 100 | 1 | 10 | |
| 2015 | 242 | 17 | 708 | 1 |
| 2014 | 46 | 8 | ||
| 2013 | 83 | 7 | 67 | 1 |
| 2012 | 115 | 47 | ||
| 2011 | 103 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 108 | 8 | ||
| 2009 | 128 | 8 | 65 | 1 |
| 2008 | 120 | 20 | ||
| 2007 | 206 | 9 | 35 | |
| 2006 | 115 | 4 | 54 | |
| 2005 | 105 | 2 | ||
| 2004 | 178 | 2 | 15 | |
| 2003 | 155 | 94 | ||
| 2002 | 174 | 3 | 72 | |
| 2001 | 137 | 49 | ||
| 2000 | 147 | 4 | 93 | |
| 1999 | 165 | 6 | 75 | 1 |
| 1998 | 120 | 2 | 31 | |
| 1997 | 191 | 29 | 60 | 2 |
| 1996 | 138 | 22 | ||
| 1995 | 231 | 6 | 108 | 3 |
| 1994 | 187 | 4 | 98 | 1 |
| 1993 | 117 | 2 | 113 | |
| 1992 | 189 | 53 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 192 | 1 | 24 | |
| 1990 | 158 | 2 | 62 | 2 |
| 1989 | 160 | 1 | 75 | 1 |
| 1988 | 89 | 1 | 22 | |
| 1987 | 126 | 43 | 438 | 1 |
| 1986 | 132 | 3 | 120 | |
| 1985 | 90 | 4 | 54 | |
| 1984 | 93 | 2 | 93 | |
| 1983 | 186 | 8 | 85 | |
| 1982 | 203 | 14 | 262 | 2 |
| 1981 | 176 | 1 | 83 | 1 |
| 1980 | 152 | 1 | 52 | 1 |
| 1979 | 157 | 54 | 1839 | 2 |
| 1978 | 137 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 123 | 1 | 59 | |
| 1976 | 178 | 2 | 65 | 2 |
| 1975 | 117 | 10 | 58 | |
| 1974 | 116 | 3 | 84 | |
| 1973 | 147 | 14 | 212 | 3 |
| 1972 | 144 | 2 | 63 | |
| 1971 | 191 | 2 | 178 | 3 |
| 1970 | 121 | 51 | 736 | 5 |
| 1969 | 127 | 3 | 69 | |
| 1968 | 136 | 15 | ||
| 1967 | 232 | 5 | 44 | |
| 1966 | 77 | 11 | ||
| 1965 | 108 | 6 | 96 | 1 |
| 1964 | 77 | 8 | 132 | 1 |
| 1963 | 82 | 6 | ||
| 1962 | 143 | 1 | 57 | 1 |
| 1961 | 124 | 11 | 278 | 1 |
| 1960 | 77 | 3 | 73 | |
| 1959 | 86 | 6 | 64 | 1 |
| 1958 | 74 | 1 | 53 | |
| 1957 | 145 | 38 | 489 | 4 |
| 1956 | 56 | 11 | ||
| 1955 | 104 | 4 | 71 | 1 |
| 1954 | 77 | 3 | 131 | 1 |
| 1953 | 32 | 150 | 834 | 4 |
| 1952 | 13 | 13 | 1 | |
| 1951 | 15 | 3 | 118 | 1 |
| 1950 | 20 | 11 | 106 | 1 |
Every county in Texas
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 9,610. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in TexasForecast for your townThe live radar over Texas
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.