Tornadoes · United States · Texas

1974 tornadoes in Texas

116 tornadoes touched down in Texas in 1974, 8 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 3 people and injured 84.

1973 1975 The whole country in 1974

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 1974

January 19 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 19	3:10 AM CDT	F3	San Augustine	0.8	400		2

January 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 27	10:30 PM CDT	F1	Rusk	0.1	10		1	$50,000 to $500,000

February 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 21	9:11 AM CDT	F1	Jefferson	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

March 9 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
March 9	2:10 PM CDT	F1	Lamb	9.3	20	$500 to $5,000
March 9	2:22 PM CDT	F1	Randall	3.0	20
March 9	4:15 PM CDT	F1	Crosby	18.5	20

March 20 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 20	6:30 PM CDT	F1	Bastrop	1.1	50			$500 to $5,000
March 20	7:35 PM CDT	F3	Angelina	0.1	10
March 20	8:00 PM CDT	F2	Shelby	0.5	77			$50,000 to $500,000
March 20	8:30 PM CDT	F3	San Augustine to LA	85.2	200	1	9	$500,000 to $5 million
March 20	8:30 PM CDT	F3	Sabine to LA	44.7	77		18	$50,000 to $500,000

April 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 10	10:10 PM CDT	F1	Collingsworth	2.0	10

April 11 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 11	5:15 AM CDT	F1	Johnson	3.3	100			$5,000 to $50,000
April 11	6:10 AM CDT	F2	Dallas	0.3	100			$50,000 to $500,000

April 13 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 13	6:30 PM CDT	F2	McLennan	0.5	10		1	$5,000 to $50,000
April 13	6:52 PM CDT	F1	McLennan	1.0	17

April 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 18	7:00 PM CDT	F1	Howard	0.3	10

April 19 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 19	4:35 PM CDT	F1	Carson	1.9	20
April 19	8:20 PM CDT	F2	Roberts	5.9	30

April 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 20	5:30 PM CDT	F1	Wichita	0.5	100			$50 to $500

April 21 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 21	3:00 PM CDT	F1	Wise	0.1	10	1	$500 to $5,000
April 21	5:45 PM CDT	F2	Lamar	0.3	10		$5,000 to $50,000
April 21	6:05 PM CDT	F1	Red River	1.0	10
April 21	6:15 PM CDT	F2	Lamar	1.0	10	6	$5,000 to $50,000
April 21	6:50 PM CDT	F2	Kaufman	1.0	200

April 26 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 26	2:14 AM CDT	F2	Reeves	0.5	110		12	$50,000 to $500,000

April 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 28	11:20 PM CDT	F1	Collingsworth	1.0	20

April 30 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 30	6:30 AM CDT	F0	Jackson	0.5	10	$50 to $500
April 30	6:30 AM CDT	F1	Jackson	1.0	10	$50 to $500
April 30	3:00 PM CDT	F1	Pecos	0.1	10

May 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 3	7:00 PM CDT	F2	Lamar	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

May 4 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 4	4:15 PM CDT	F1	Bailey	3.0	30
May 4	8:10 PM CDT	F1	Martin	3.8	30	1
May 4	10:20 PM CDT	F1	Tom Green	0.5	10		under $50

May 9 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 9	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Scurry	1.0	20
May 9	10:00 PM CDT	F1	Travis	7.9	100	10	$50,000 to $500,000
May 9	10:00 PM CDT	F1	Bandera	2.0	200		$500 to $5,000

May 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 10	2:00 AM CDT	F1	Duval	0.5	200			$5,000 to $50,000

May 14 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 14	7:10 PM CDT	F3	Grayson	2.0	33
May 14	7:40 PM CDT	F2	Tarrant	0.3	100			$50 to $500

May 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 17	5:40 PM CDT	F1	Ward	1.5	150			under $50

May 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 20	9:30 PM CDT	F1	Childress	11.8	30

May 24 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 24	7:05 PM CDT	F1	Hale	8.5	30
May 24	9:55 PM CDT	F1	Deaf Smith	3.0	30

May 25 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 25	8:25 PM CDT	F1	Tom Green	0.5	27
May 25	10:15 PM CDT	F2	Lamar	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

May 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 28	6:05 PM CDT	F1	Hale	0.5	30

May 31 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 31	8:18 PM CDT	F0	Tom Green	0.5	17

June 1 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 1	1:10 AM CDT	F0	Fayette	0.5	10			$500 to $5,000
June 1	3:00 AM CDT	F0	Fayette	0.5	10			$500 to $5,000

June 2 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 2	8:20 PM CDT	F1	Lamb	1.0	27
June 2	9:15 PM CDT	F1	Hale	0.8	30
June 2	9:45 PM CDT	F1	Hale	0.8	27

June 3 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 3	4:30 PM CDT	F0	Hale	0.5	30
June 3	6:20 PM CDT	F0	Hale	0.5	27
June 3	7:30 PM CDT	F0	Moore	0.5	30
June 3	7:35 PM CDT	F0	Crosby	0.5	27	under $50
June 3	11:10 PM CDT	F1	Taylor	0.1	10
June 3	11:10 PM CDT	F1	Fisher	4.7	30

June 4 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 4	4:15 AM CDT	F2	Young	1.0	467
June 4	12:10 AM CDT	F0	Hall	0.5	20

June 7 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 7	4:30 PM CDT	F2	Hunt	1.0	100	1	$5,000 to $50,000
June 7	5:30 PM CDT	F2	Hunt	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
June 7	7:50 PM CDT	F1	Potter	4.7	200		under $50
June 7	8:45 PM CDT	F1	Hall	1.0	30

June 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 11	3:34 PM CDT	F0	Donley	0.5	17

June 12 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 12	6:15 AM CDT	F0	Dallas	0.1	10
June 12	3:20 PM MDT	F1	Hudspeth	4.5	30
June 12	5:00 PM MDT	F1	Hudspeth	2.0	20

June 13 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 13	3:00 PM CDT	F0	Nueces	0.1	10
June 13	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Oldham	0.5	10

June 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 17	8:55 PM CDT	F0	Hall	0.3	17		1

June 21 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 21	1:20 PM CDT	F0	Jefferson	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000
June 21	6:47 PM CDT	F0	Sherman	0.5	20

July 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 13	1:56 PM CDT	F0	Jim Wells	0.1	10

July 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 14	4:30 PM CDT	F2	Harris	0.8	880			$500,000 to $5 million

July 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 27	5:15 PM CDT	F1	Orange	1.0	100			$50,000 to $500,000

August 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 1	10:10 PM MDT	F0	Hudspeth	0.3	17

August 7 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 7	7:45 PM CDT	F0	Dallam	0.5	20
August 7	10:20 PM CDT	F0	Carson	0.3	17

August 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 8	11:30 AM CDT	F0	Caldwell	0.5	100

August 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 18	2:00 PM CDT	F1	Galveston	0.2	17			$500 to $5,000

August 27 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 27	2:00 PM CDT	F1	Knox	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000
August 27	4:50 PM CDT	F1	Lubbock	1.0	77

August 29 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 29	12:05 PM CDT	F2	Harris	1.0	67			$50,000 to $500,000
August 29	4:00 PM CDT	F1	Montgomery	0.2	10			$500 to $5,000

September 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 12	10:00 AM CDT	F0	Harris	0.3	13			under $50

September 13 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 13	10:00 AM CDT	F3	Fort Bend	3.6	73		2
September 13	12:45 PM CDT	F0	Brazoria	0.2	13			under $50

September 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 21	10:14 AM CDT	F0	Nueces	0.2	17			under $50

September 28 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 28	4:05 PM CDT	F0	Matagorda	0.3	13			under $50
September 28	5:45 PM CDT	F1	Nueces	0.3	17			under $50

October 28 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 28	4:17 AM CST	F2	Cooke	3.3	10			$50,000 to $500,000
October 28	11:40 AM CST	F2	Chambers	20.5	10			$50,000 to $500,000
October 28	1:30 PM CST	F2	Jefferson	0.1	10		2	$5,000 to $50,000
October 28	1:55 PM CST	F2	Jefferson	16.7	50		3	$50,000 to $500,000
October 28	4:40 PM CST	F3	Harris	3.3	50	1	7	$500,000 to $5 million
October 28	4:47 PM CST	F0	Liberty	0.1	10
October 28	5:00 PM CST	F3	Chambers	9.6	67	1
October 28	5:58 PM CST	F2	Jefferson	0.1	10

October 30 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
October 30	3:00 PM CST	F1	Eastland	0.1	10		$500 to $5,000
October 30	3:20 PM CST	F0	Cooke	4.5	10
October 30	3:45 PM CST	F2	Cooke	0.5	40	1	$50,000 to $500,000
October 30	4:00 PM CST	F2	Grayson	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
October 30	4:30 PM CST	F1	Lavaca	0.5	50		$500 to $5,000
October 30	7:00 PM CST	F2	Williamson	1.8	200

October 31 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
October 31	12:46 AM CST	F2	Navarro	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
October 31	2:00 AM CST	F1	Hill	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
October 31	3:00 AM CST	F1	Mills	0.1	10		$500 to $5,000
October 31	4:30 AM CST	F2	Hopkins	4.7	40	1	$500,000 to $5 million
October 31	8:50 AM CST	F3	Anderson	2.0	500	4
October 31	10:30 AM CST	F1	Anderson	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
October 31	12:20 PM CST	F2	Harris	1.9	167
October 31	3:30 PM CST	F2	Harris	4.3	77	1	$50,000 to $500,000

November 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 1	6:45 AM CST	F0	Harris	0.1	10

November 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 2	10:45 PM CST	F0	Garza	6.2	30

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.