Tornadoes · United States · Texas

1962 tornadoes in Texas

143 tornadoes touched down in Texas in 1962, 13 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 57. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1961 1963 The whole country in 1962

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
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.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
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.

Every tornado in Texas in 1962

February 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 15	1:30 AM GMT-6	F1	Lee	2.0	10			$5,000 to $50,000

February 23 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
February 23	5:15 AM GMT-6	F2	Lee	2.0	50	$5,000 to $50,000
February 23	6:30 AM GMT-6	F1	Harrison	1.0	33	$500 to $5,000
February 23	8:00 AM GMT-6	F1	Angelina	1.0	50	$500 to $5,000

March 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 8	7:15 PM GMT-6	F1	Bowie	0.5	100			$5,000 to $50,000

March 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 20	9:30 AM GMT-6	F1	Erath	0.5	67			$5,000 to $50,000

March 24 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
March 24	1:30 PM GMT-6	F1	Grayson	2.0	33		$500 to $5,000
March 24	1:30 PM GMT-6	F0	Grayson	0.1	33		$500 to $5,000
March 24	3:00 PM GMT-6	F1	Smith	1.0	40
March 24	3:30 PM GMT-6	F3	Wood	0.5	100	8	$500,000 to $5 million
March 24	3:30 PM GMT-6	F2	Hopkins	2.0	300		$5,000 to $50,000
March 24	4:20 PM GMT-6	F0	Smith	1.0	33
March 24	4:20 PM GMT-6	F2	Smith	1.0	50		$50,000 to $500,000
March 24	5:00 PM GMT-6	F1	Camp	0.8	20
March 24	5:00 PM GMT-6	F1	Wood	2.0	100		$5,000 to $50,000
March 24	6:05 PM GMT-6	F1	Angelina	0.3	17		$500 to $5,000

April 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 24	2:30 PM GMT-6	F1	Harrison	1.0	50			$50 to $500

April 26 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 26	4:26 PM GMT-6	F0	Jones	0.3	17
April 26	4:30 PM GMT-6	F2	Jones	4.7	440		$5,000 to $50,000
April 26	4:30 PM GMT-6	F1	Jones	0.5	17
April 26	10:45 PM GMT-6	F3	Wichita	3.3	100	13	$500,000 to $5 million

April 27 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 27	3:30 AM GMT-6	F1	Washington	1.0	33
April 27	6:15 AM GMT-6	F1	Victoria	1.5	17	$5,000 to $50,000
April 27	9:45 AM GMT-6	F1	Galveston	0.5	33

April 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 30	7:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Wood	0.1	10

May 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 7	4:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Lubbock	0.5	13

May 17 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 17	3:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Reeves	2.0	67		3	$50,000 to $500,000
May 17	3:30 PM GMT-5	F0	Reeves	0.5	17

May 20 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 20	4:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Wilbarger	1.0	50
May 20	4:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Motley	1.0	33

May 25 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 25	7:50 PM GMT-5	F3	Jones	4.1	67	1	1	$5,000 to $50,000
May 25	8:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Jones	0.1	10
May 25	8:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Jones	1.0	33

May 26 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 26	9:50 PM GMT-5	F4	Haskell	10.7	133	1	$500,000 to $5 million
May 26	9:50 PM GMT-5	F1	Haskell	1.5	50
May 26	9:50 PM GMT-5	F2	Haskell	1.0	67
May 26	10:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Stonewall	9.1	133

May 27 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 27	5:30 PM GMT-5	F0	Lipscomb	0.1	10
May 27	5:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Hansford	4.5	50
May 27	5:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Lipscomb	0.1	10
May 27	6:30 PM GMT-5	F3	Ochiltree	4.5	200	13	$500,000 to $5 million
May 27	6:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Ochiltree	1.0	83
May 27	6:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Ochiltree	1.5	50

May 28 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 28	4:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Gillespie	5.1	100
May 28	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Gillespie	4.3	27
May 28	12:00 AM GMT-5	F0	Kerr	0.1	10

May 31 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries
May 31	9:10 PM GMT-5	F1	Cottle	2.0	33
May 31	10:10 PM GMT-5	F0	Reagan	0.1	10
May 31	11:00 PM GMT-5	F3	Callahan	2.0	33	2
May 31	11:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Fisher	1.0	20

June 1 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 1	6:50 AM GMT-5	F0	Bee	0.1	10
June 1	6:50 AM GMT-5	F1	Bee	2.0	100		$50,000 to $500,000
June 1	8:30 AM GMT-5	F2	Jim Wells	1.0	50		$5,000 to $50,000
June 1	8:30 AM GMT-5	F1	Jim Wells	0.8	17		$5,000 to $50,000
June 1	8:30 AM GMT-5	F0	Jim Wells	1.0	33		$5,000 to $50,000
June 1	8:45 AM GMT-5	F2	Milam	0.5	50
June 1	11:00 AM GMT-5	F0	Galveston	0.1	10
June 1	12:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Willacy	1.0	50	1
June 1	4:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Callahan	0.1	10	1	$500,000 to $5 million

June 3 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries
June 3	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Gonzales	0.8	27	2
June 3	5:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Ochiltree	0.1	10
June 3	5:35 PM GMT-5	F0	Chambers	1.0	33

June 4 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 4	4:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Cottle	0.1	10
June 4	9:00 PM GMT-5	F0	King	0.2	50
June 4	9:00 PM GMT-5	F0	King	0.2	50

June 5 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 5	3:20 PM GMT-5	F0	Pecos	2.0	50
June 5	3:20 PM GMT-5	F0	Pecos	2.0	50
June 5	3:20 PM GMT-5	F1	Pecos	1.0	50
June 5	9:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Wilbarger	1.0	50	$5,000 to $50,000
June 5	9:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Hardeman	0.8	50

June 6 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 6	6:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Hansford	2.5	1,320	$5,000 to $50,000
June 6	6:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Hansford	1.0	27
June 6	12:10 AM GMT-5	F0	Hemphill	2.0	100

June 7 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 7	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Swisher	2.0	33
June 7	4:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Kent	0.1	10
June 7	5:30 PM GMT-5	F0	Floyd	0.1	10
June 7	5:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Briscoe	1.5	33
June 7	5:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Briscoe	1.0	33
June 7	5:30 PM GMT-5	F0	Briscoe	1.5	17
June 7	8:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Fisher	3.6	200
June 7	8:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Fisher	2.0	200

June 8 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 8	4:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Johnson	1.5	133
June 8	6:50 PM GMT-5	F1	Howard	2.0	33
June 8	7:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Ellis	0.1	10
June 8	7:30 PM GMT-5	F0	Mitchell	2.0	50

June 9 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 9	12:15 PM GMT-5	F0	Limestone	0.1	10
June 9	6:30 PM GMT-5	F2	Brewster	0.2	100			$500 to $5,000

June 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 12	1:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Falls	2.0	40
June 12	6:25 PM GMT-5	F1	Harris	1.0	50

June 14 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 14	4:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Randall	1.4	67	$50,000 to $500,000
June 14	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Hockley	1.0	33	$500 to $5,000
June 14	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Pecos	4.0	33
June 14	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Reeves	1.5	33
June 14	8:40 PM GMT-5	F1	Randall	4.7	13
June 14	8:57 PM GMT-5	F1	Randall	2.0	27	$50,000 to $500,000
June 14	9:11 PM GMT-5	F0	Randall	2.0	10
June 14	10:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Potter	0.5	33
June 14	10:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Swisher	5.7	10

June 16 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 16	8:15 PM GMT-5	F2	Andrews	0.8	20
June 16	9:25 PM GMT-5	F2	Garza	11.9	33

June 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 18	4:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Waller	0.1	10

June 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 20	5:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Kleberg	1.0	33			$500 to $5,000

June 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 24	1:05 AM GMT-5	F2	Potter	1.5	27			$500 to $5,000

June 26 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 26	12:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Jim Wells	6.9	50

June 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 28	7:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Johnson	1.0	27

June 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 30	4:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Jim Wells	0.1	10

July 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 1	5:20 PM GMT-5	F0	Jim Wells	2.0	27

July 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 10	12:00 AM GMT-5	F0	Howard	0.1	10
July 10	12:00 AM GMT-5	F2	Crane	0.1	10

July 11 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 11	12:00 AM GMT-5	F1	Lynn	2.0	33
July 11	12:00 AM GMT-5	F1	Lynn	0.8	33

July 14 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 14	7:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Taylor	1.0	17		5
July 14	8:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Taylor	0.8	27

July 24 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 24	1:40 PM GMT-5	F0	Floyd	14.9	10
July 24	11:10 PM GMT-5	F1	Midland	4.9	33

July 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 25	4:28 PM GMT-5	F0	Terry	6.0	20

July 26 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 26	4:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Terry	0.1	10
July 26	8:00 PM GMT-5	F2	Parker	0.1	10

August 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 1	6:15 PM GMT-5	F1	Midland	3.3	10

August 2 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 2	12:30 PM GMT-5	F0	Knox	1.0	20
August 2	10:14 PM GMT-5	F0	Knox	0.1	10

August 10 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries
August 10	11:15 AM GMT-5	F0	Jefferson	0.8	17
August 10	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	San Augustine	1.0	23
August 10	4:45 PM GMT-5	F1	Jefferson	0.8	17	6

August 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 15	3:50 PM GMT-5	F1	Hidalgo	1.0	440

August 16 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
August 16	8:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Llano	1.0	17
August 16	8:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Burnet	1.0	33
August 16	8:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Burnet	0.8	13

August 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 20	3:00 PM GMT-5	F2	San Patricio	1.5	43

August 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 21	2:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Nueces	1.0	50			$500 to $5,000

August 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 24	4:00 PM GMT-5	F1	Denton	1.0	27

August 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 30	8:10 PM GMT-5	F1	Runnels	0.1	50

August 31 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 31	7:45 PM GMT-5	F1	Scurry	1.0	13

September 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 5	6:55 PM GMT-5	F0	Bastrop	2.0	33

September 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 7	9:40 PM GMT-5	F2	Johnson	2.0	167		1	$50,000 to $500,000

September 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 8	6:15 AM GMT-5	F1	Colorado	1.0	33			$50 to $500

September 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 10	4:00 PM GMT-5	F0	Webb	1.8	33
September 10	4:20 PM GMT-7	F0	Hudspeth	0.1	10

September 17 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 17	2:20 PM GMT-5	F1	San Patricio	0.8	27
September 17	5:10 PM GMT-5	F1	Matagorda	0.4	33			$5,000 to $50,000

October 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 14	7:30 PM GMT-5	F1	Gregg	0.5	27

October 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 28	11:45 AM GMT-6	F1	Guadalupe	3.0	100			$5,000 to $50,000

December 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 2	7:15 AM GMT-6	F1	Guadalupe	0.4	50			$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Texas since 1950 Warnings in force in Texas The 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.