Tornadoes · United States · Texas

1981 tornadoes in Texas

176 tornadoes touched down in Texas in 1981, 39 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 83. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1980 1982 The whole country in 1981

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 1981

February 10 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 10	1:13 AM CST	F2	Williamson	0.8	100			$50,000 to $500,000
February 10	2:45 AM CST	F1	Brazos	2.0	77		1	$5,000 to $50,000
February 10	3:10 AM CST	F2	Grimes	2.5	77		2	$50,000 to $500,000
February 10	3:25 AM CST	F2	Walker	19.9	100	1	8	$50,000 to $500,000

February 21 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
February 21	4:40 PM CST	F1	Upshur	0.1	10
February 21	5:30 PM CST	F1	Cass	0.1	10
February 21	7:10 PM CST	F1	Marion	0.1	10

March 3 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
March 3	2:50 PM CST	F0	Lubbock	11.9	30		$5,000 to $50,000
March 3	3:15 PM CST	F0	Crosby	0.7	10		under $50
March 3	3:27 PM CST	F0	Lubbock	23.3	30		under $50
March 3	4:25 PM CST	F0	Hutchinson	1.0	50	1	under $50

March 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 7	4:00 PM CST	F1	Baylor	4.1	100

March 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 17	7:30 PM CST	F2	Grayson	1.0	73		1	$50,000 to $500,000

March 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 29	3:30 AM CST	F1	Bowie	0.1	10			$50,000 to $500,000

April 20 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 20	1:30 PM CST	F0	Tom Green	0.5	40
April 20	1:40 PM CST	F1	Tom Green	2.0	20	under $50
April 20	2:17 PM CST	F0	Tom Green	0.2	17
April 20	2:56 PM CST	F0	Concho	0.1	10

April 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 21	2:50 PM CST	F1	Palo Pinto	7.7	100		1	$50,000 to $500,000

April 22 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 22	3:15 PM CST	F1	Crane	1.0	30			under $50
April 22	4:35 PM CST	F0	Haskell	0.1	10

April 23 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 23	11:15 AM CST	F2	Jefferson	13.4	50		2	$50,000 to $500,000
April 23	2:15 PM CST	F1	Harris	0.2	50			$5,000 to $50,000

May 3 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 3	2:15 PM CDT	F1	Harris	0.5	33		$50,000 to $500,000
May 3	3:15 PM CDT	F1	Burleson	0.4	27		$50,000 to $500,000
May 3	7:40 PM CDT	F2	Brazoria	7.2	73	10	$50,000 to $500,000

May 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 4	5:45 PM CDT	F0	Fort Bend	0.6	30

May 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 6	9:20 PM CDT	F0	Hansford	0.5	30

May 7 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 7	5:15 PM CDT	F1	Brewster	1.0	30	$50,000 to $500,000
May 7	5:55 PM CDT	F2	Crosby	6.1	40
May 7	6:00 PM CDT	F2	Crosby	1.5	40	$50,000 to $500,000
May 7	6:15 PM CDT	F0	Floyd	0.3	10
May 7	6:34 PM CDT	F2	Crosby	1.0	30	$50,000 to $500,000
May 7	6:54 PM CDT	F0	Crosby	0.5	20
May 7	6:54 PM CDT	F0	Crosby	0.5	20
May 7	6:54 PM CDT	F0	Crosby	0.5	20
May 7	6:54 PM CDT	F0	Crosby	0.5	20
May 7	6:54 PM CDT	F2	Crosby	2.7	150	$50,000 to $500,000

May 8 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 8	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Parker	0.2	30
May 8	7:05 PM CDT	F0	Parker	0.2	30
May 8	9:20 PM CDT	F2	Dallas	4.9	73	$5,000 to $50,000
May 8	11:30 PM CDT	F1	Hemphill	1.0	30	$5,000 to $50,000

May 9 15 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 9	12:45 PM CDT	F2	Hill	9.6	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 9	1:13 PM CDT	F3	Hill	5.2	73		$500,000 to $5 million
May 9	1:34 PM CDT	F1	Navarro	0.5	50
May 9	1:45 PM CDT	F1	Bell	1.0	100		$5,000 to $50,000
May 9	2:10 PM CDT	F1	Henderson	0.1	10
May 9	3:00 PM CDT	F2	Milam	22.3	60		$50,000 to $500,000
May 9	3:10 PM CDT	F3	Anderson	15.0	100		$50,000 to $500,000
May 9	3:30 PM CDT	F2	Anderson	9.9	73		$5,000 to $50,000
May 9	3:30 PM CDT	F2	Gregg	7.7	73		$5,000 to $50,000
May 9	3:50 PM CDT	F1	Panola	0.1	10
May 9	4:00 PM CDT	F1	Gregg	0.1	10
May 9	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Trinity	0.1	10
May 9	5:30 PM CDT	F2	Montgomery	5.1	40	2	$5,000 to $50,000
May 9	5:50 PM CDT	F2	Fort Bend	3.3	40		$5,000 to $50,000
May 9	7:15 PM CDT	F2	Galveston	1.5	50	1	$50,000 to $500,000

May 13 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 13	7:07 PM CDT	F2	Fannin	1.0	73		$5,000 to $50,000
May 13	7:15 PM CDT	F4	Lamar	8.8	400	30	$500,000 to $5 million
May 13	9:15 PM CDT	F2	Van Zandt	5.4	200		$50,000 to $500,000
May 13	9:55 PM CDT	F1	Smith	0.1	10
May 13	10:10 PM CDT	F2	Wood	6.5	50		$5,000 to $50,000
May 13	10:20 PM CDT	F1	Henderson	0.1	10

May 15 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 15	7:30 PM CDT	F1	Irion	1.0	40
May 15	8:25 PM CDT	F1	Tom Green	0.5	20
May 15	10:15 PM CDT	F1	McCulloch	2.0	100
May 15	10:50 PM CDT	F2	San Saba	8.0	150
May 15	11:20 PM CDT	F1	Lampasas	0.1	10
May 15	12:25 AM CDT	F0	Llano	0.3	30

May 16 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 16	1:25 AM CDT	F1	Burnet	16.9	60	4
May 16	2:50 AM CDT	F0	Milam	0.2	33
May 16	3:10 AM CDT	F2	Burleson	9.7	73	1	$50,000 to $500,000
May 16	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Burnet	3.6	47

May 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 17	6:53 PM CDT	F2	Denton	4.9	123			$500 to $5,000

May 18 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 18	6:00 PM CDT	F2	Nacogdoches	1.0	100
May 18	6:00 PM CDT	F2	Nacogdoches	7.1	150
May 18	6:30 PM CDT	F1	Trinity	0.1	10

May 24 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 24	12:58 PM CDT	F0	Floyd	0.3	10
May 24	1:10 PM CDT	F0	Lubbock	0.3	10
May 24	1:59 PM CDT	F0	Lubbock	0.5	20
May 24	5:10 PM CDT	F0	Bailey	0.3	10
May 24	6:55 PM CDT	F1	Wilbarger	2.5	50
May 24	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Baylor	0.1	10
May 24	7:05 PM CDT	F0	Baylor	0.1	10
May 24	7:10 PM CDT	F0	Baylor	0.1	10
May 24	9:00 PM CDT	F2	Maverick	2.0	50	$50,000 to $500,000

May 26 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 26	8:00 PM CDT	F0	Briscoe	0.3	10
May 26	8:20 PM CDT	F0	Briscoe	1.0	30
May 26	9:54 PM CDT	F0	Motley	0.5	30
May 26	10:40 PM CDT	F0	Cottle	0.5	20

May 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 28	3:14 PM CDT	F0	Hockley	0.5	20

May 29 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 29	6:15 PM CDT	F0	Bee	0.4	27			$5,000 to $50,000
May 29	8:30 PM CDT	F1	Montague	2.0	73

May 31 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 31	12:45 PM CDT	F1	Matagorda	0.2	27

June 1 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 1	6:10 PM CDT	F0	Hall	0.5	30	under $50
June 1	6:20 PM CDT	F0	Collingsworth	0.3	20	under $50
June 1	6:30 PM CDT	F2	Collingsworth	5.7	50	$50,000 to $500,000
June 1	10:40 PM CDT	F0	Cottle	0.3	10	under $50

June 2 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 2	6:00 PM CDT	F0	Moore	0.3	10	under $50
June 2	6:00 PM CDT	F0	Moore	0.3	10	under $50
June 2	9:50 PM CDT	F0	Hall	0.4	20	$5,000 to $50,000
June 2	10:00 PM CDT	F1	Collingsworth	1.0	40	$50 to $500

June 3 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 3	1:05 AM CDT	F0	Brazoria	0.1	20	$500 to $5,000
June 3	2:55 PM CDT	F0	Smith	0.1	10
June 3	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Jones	0.1	10
June 3	9:30 PM CDT	F2	Terry	2.0	40	$5,000 to $50,000
June 3	9:55 PM CDT	F1	Lynn	1.0	30	under $50
June 3	11:00 PM CDT	F0	Scurry	0.5	30	under $50

June 5 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 5	2:40 AM CDT	F2	Galveston	2.7	100	2	$500,000 to $5 million
June 5	4:00 AM CDT	F1	Galveston	1.2	60		$500 to $5,000
June 5	4:30 AM CDT	F2	Chambers	1.5	60	1	$50,000 to $500,000
June 5	9:30 AM CDT	F0	Chambers	0.7	30		$5,000 to $50,000

June 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 6	8:55 PM CDT	F0	Sabine	0.1	10

June 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 10	5:30 PM CDT	F1	Henderson	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000
June 10	7:17 PM CDT	F0	Gregg	0.1	10

June 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 11	10:30 PM CDT	F0	Carson	0.5	30			under $50

June 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 13	4:00 PM CDT	F1	Travis	0.2	33			$5,000 to $50,000

June 15 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 15	7:50 PM CDT	F1	Hamilton	0.1	10
June 15	8:05 PM CDT	F1	Hamilton	0.1	10

June 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 28	11:30 AM CDT	F0	Kleberg	0.1	13

July 4 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
July 4	4:03 PM CDT	F0	Bailey	0.2	10	under $50
July 4	5:30 PM CDT	F0	Hansford	0.2	10	$50 to $500
July 4	10:40 PM CDT	F0	Upton	0.3	10	$50 to $500

July 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 5	7:15 PM CDT	F0	Navarro	0.2	10			$50 to $500

July 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 7	12:15 AM CDT	F1	Deaf Smith	0.3	10			$5,000 to $50,000

August 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 4	10:30 AM CDT	F0	Harris	0.1	17			$5,000 to $50,000

August 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 6	1:58 PM CDT	F0	Dallam	0.1	67

August 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 11	11:45 AM CDT	F0	Refugio	0.1	20

August 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 12	9:45 AM CDT	F0	San Patricio	0.1	20

August 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 17	12:00 PM CDT	F1	Howard	0.1	67			under $50

August 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 28	4:38 PM CDT	F0	Ector	0.1	67

August 29 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
August 29	2:47 PM CDT	F1	Hidalgo	2.0	37	$5,000 to $50,000
August 29	3:30 PM CDT	F0	Nueces	0.1	20	$500 to $5,000
August 29	4:20 PM CDT	F0	Hidalgo	0.2	27
August 29	4:30 PM CDT	F1	San Patricio	0.2	50	$5,000 to $50,000

August 30 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
August 30	3:45 PM CDT	F1	Live Oak	1.0	40	2	$50,000 to $500,000
August 30	4:15 PM CDT	F0	Atascosa	0.5	40
August 30	4:45 PM CDT	F0	Bexar	0.8	27
August 30	5:10 PM CDT	F1	Bee	0.8	43		$50,000 to $500,000
August 30	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Karnes	0.3	37		$5,000 to $50,000
August 30	6:50 PM CDT	F0	Goliad	0.2	27

August 31 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
August 31	9:15 AM CDT	F1	Brazoria	0.3	30		$50,000 to $500,000
August 31	9:30 AM CDT	F0	Austin	0.1	37		$5,000 to $50,000
August 31	12:45 PM CDT	F1	Brazoria	0.4	43		$5,000 to $50,000
August 31	7:05 PM CDT	F1	Galveston	12.9	83	2	$5 million to $50 million

September 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 2	4:03 PM CDT	F1	Chambers	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

September 4 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 4	2:00 PM CDT	F0	Martin	0.1	10			$50 to $500
September 4	2:52 PM CDT	F0	Gaines	0.1	10

September 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 13	3:40 PM CDT	F0	King	0.1	10

September 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 24	6:03 PM CDT	F0	Castro	0.1	10			under $50

October 7 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 7	2:00 AM CDT	F1	Bexar	0.3	33			$50,000 to $500,000
October 7	10:52 AM CDT	F0	Galveston	0.1	27

October 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 11	7:45 PM CDT	F1	Harris	0.1	27		1	$5,000 to $50,000

October 13 14 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
October 13	9:00 AM CDT	F3	Navarro	7.2	100	1	$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	10:00 AM CDT	F1	Henderson	6.2	50		$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	10:10 AM CDT	F1	Llano	1.0	40		$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	10:20 AM CDT	F1	Van Zandt	5.7	27		$500 to $5,000
October 13	12:27 PM CDT	F2	McLennan	2.0	150	4	$5 million to $50 million
October 13	12:45 PM CDT	F2	Johnson	2.7	50		$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	12:50 PM CDT	F1	Johnson	0.1	10
October 13	1:00 PM CDT	F1	Johnson	5.7	50		$500 to $5,000
October 13	1:00 PM CDT	F2	Hill	2.7	100		$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	2:30 PM CDT	F1	Tarrant	1.0	100	2	$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	2:40 PM CDT	F1	Dallas	1.0	50
October 13	3:15 PM CDT	F1	Hunt	5.6	73		$5,000 to $50,000
October 13	4:00 PM CDT	F1	Lamar	0.1	10		$50 to $500
October 13	4:30 PM CDT	F2	Lamar	6.6	50		$5,000 to $50,000

October 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 14	7:50 AM CDT	F1	Montgomery	0.8	40

October 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 15	10:30 PM CDT	F2	Ector	1.5	30		2	$5,000 to $50,000

October 16 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 16	3:55 PM CDT	F1	Grayson	0.1	10
October 16	6:15 PM CDT	F0	Ellis	0.1	10

October 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 18	10:53 PM CDT	F0	Victoria	0.1	27			$500 to $5,000

October 22 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 22	12:40 PM CDT	F1	Goliad	5.7	50			$50,000 to $500,000

November 8 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 8	5:22 PM CST	F1	Johnson	2.0	73			$5,000 to $50,000
November 8	5:30 PM CST	F0	Johnson	0.1	10

November 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 13	12:50 AM CST	F1	Bell	0.1	10		2	$5,000 to $50,000

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.