Tornadoes · United States · Texas

1986 tornadoes in Texas

132 tornadoes touched down in Texas in 1986, about the average of the record for the state. They killed 3 people and injured 120.

1985 1987 The whole country in 1986

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 1986

February 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 2	9:40 PM CST	F2	Parker	10.0	100		2	$50,000 to $500,000

February 5 11 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 5	3:15 PM CST	F1	Hopkins	0.5	30
February 5	3:40 PM CST	F1	Hopkins	0.7	30
February 5	3:45 PM CST	F2	Waller	8.0	170		5	$50,000 to $500,000
February 5	4:00 PM CST	F1	Franklin	0.5	30
February 5	4:15 PM CST	F1	Franklin	0.5	30
February 5	4:15 PM CST	F2	Harris	2.5	70			$500,000 to $5 million
February 5	4:30 PM CST	F3	Harris	5.0	70	2		$5 million to $50 million
February 5	4:30 PM CST	F1	Harris	1.0	30			$500,000 to $5 million
February 5	4:35 PM CST	F0	Dawson	0.1	10
February 5	4:50 PM CST	F1	Titus	0.5	30
February 5	5:40 PM CST	F0	Bowie	0.5	30

March 11 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
March 11	3:20 PM CST	F0	Eastland	0.5	30
March 11	3:30 PM CST	F0	Stephens	1.0	30
March 11	5:08 PM CST	F2	Parker	9.0	40

March 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 12	12:05 AM CST	F1	Sabine	1.0	200

April 4 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 4	5:10 PM CST	F1	Bowie	0.2	10		$500 to $5,000
April 4	5:20 PM CST	F0	Bowie	0.2	10
April 4	5:30 PM CST	F0	Bowie	0.2	10
April 4	5:30 PM CST	F0	Fannin	0.2	10
April 4	8:30 PM CST	F1	Van Zandt	0.2	10	2	$50,000 to $500,000

April 6 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 6	8:55 PM CST	F0	Terry	0.2	300
April 6	9:15 PM CST	F0	Bailey	0.2	300

April 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 18	7:00 PM CST	F0	Erath	0.2	10

April 19 12 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 19	6:55 AM CST	F1	Nolan	3.0	250			$5,000 to $50,000
April 19	7:15 AM CST	F3	Nolan	4.5	600	1	100	$5 million to $50 million
April 19	9:00 AM CST	F0	Jones	0.2	10
April 19	11:38 AM CST	F0	Palo Pinto	0.2	10
April 19	1:05 PM CST	F0	Coleman	0.2	10
April 19	1:45 PM CST	F0	Comanche	0.2	10
April 19	2:28 PM CST	F0	Harrison	0.2	10
April 19	2:45 PM CST	F1	Ellis	1.0	10			$5,000 to $50,000
April 19	3:15 PM CST	F0	Cass	0.2	10
April 19	3:30 PM CST	F1	McLennan	0.2	10			$50,000 to $500,000
April 19	3:40 PM CST	F1	Hill	0.2	10		2	$50,000 to $500,000
April 19	4:17 PM CST	F1	Limestone	0.2	10		2	$50,000 to $500,000

April 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 25	7:14 PM CST	F0	Fisher	0.2	30

May 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 4	11:02 PM CDT	F0	Hale	4.0	40			$500 to $5,000

May 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 6	8:45 PM CDT	F0	Coleman	0.2	10

May 7 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 7	4:25 PM CDT	F0	Tom Green	0.2	30
May 7	5:12 PM CDT	F0	Hemphill	1.0	100
May 7	5:18 PM CDT	F2	Hemphill	8.0	100
May 7	5:35 PM CDT	F3	Hemphill	7.0	300	$50,000 to $500,000
May 7	5:57 PM CDT	F0	Hemphill	0.2	50
May 7	6:00 PM CDT	F0	Stonewall	0.2	30
May 7	7:08 PM CDT	F0	Lipscomb	0.2	50
May 7	7:50 PM CDT	F0	Lipscomb	0.2	10	$5,000 to $50,000

May 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 8	2:25 PM CDT	F0	Comanche	0.2	10			$500 to $5,000

May 13 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 13	6:49 PM CDT	F0	Nolan	0.2	40
May 13	6:54 PM CDT	F0	Nolan	0.2	20
May 13	6:58 PM CDT	F0	Nolan	0.2	40
May 13	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Nolan	0.2	50
May 13	8:10 PM CDT	F0	Jones	0.2	10
May 13	9:40 PM CDT	F0	Mitchell	0.2	30
May 13	10:15 PM CDT	F0	Nolan	0.2	30

May 14 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 14	2:30 PM CDT	F0	Dallam	0.2	10
May 14	2:30 PM CDT	F0	Randall	3.0	50
May 14	3:08 PM CDT	F0	Armstrong	0.2	30
May 14	5:30 PM CDT	F0	Baylor	1.0	10
May 14	7:30 PM CDT	F3	Archer	20.0	250	4	$500,000 to $5 million
May 14	8:42 PM CDT	F0	Montague	0.2	10

May 16 14 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 16	6:00 PM CDT	F0	Swisher	0.2	30
May 16	6:04 PM CDT	F0	Briscoe	11.0	100
May 16	6:12 PM CDT	F0	Swisher	22.0	100
May 16	6:33 PM CDT	F0	Hall	0.2	30
May 16	6:33 PM CDT	F0	Donley	0.2	30
May 16	7:35 PM CDT	F0	Cottle	0.1	50
May 16	7:48 PM CDT	F0	Foard	5.0	200
May 16	8:10 PM CDT	F0	Foard	5.0	150
May 16	9:13 PM CDT	F0	Hardeman	0.2	10
May 16	9:23 PM CDT	F0	Wilbarger	0.2	10
May 16	9:45 PM CDT	F0	Hardeman	0.2	10
May 16	9:51 PM CDT	F1	Hardeman	2.0	150	$5,000 to $50,000
May 16	9:53 PM CDT	F0	Wilbarger	0.2	10
May 16	10:50 PM CDT	F0	Wilbarger	0.2	10

May 17 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 17	10:45 AM CDT	F1	Bell	0.2	10	$500 to $5,000
May 17	11:55 AM CDT	F0	Falls	0.2	10
May 17	12:00 PM CDT	F0	McLennan	0.2	10
May 17	5:17 PM CDT	F0	Goliad	1.0	30
May 17	5:17 PM CDT	F0	Victoria	1.0	30
May 17	8:01 PM CDT	F0	Runnels	0.2	10

May 24 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 24	7:23 PM CDT	F0	Howard	0.2	10
May 24	8:40 PM CDT	F0	Midland	0.2	10
May 24	9:30 PM CDT	F0	Stonewall	0.2	30

May 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 29	2:50 PM CDT	F0	Lynn	0.2	10

May 31 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 31	5:14 PM CDT	F0	Tom Green	0.2	40

June 2 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 2	2:20 PM CDT	F0	Hale	0.2	30
June 2	2:20 PM CDT	F0	Hale	0.2	30
June 2	5:20 PM CDT	F0	Midland	0.2	30

June 4 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 4	1:45 PM CDT	F0	Bailey	0.2	30
June 4	2:00 PM CDT	F0	Bailey	0.2	30
June 4	2:10 PM CDT	F0	Lamb	0.2	40
June 4	2:10 PM CDT	F0	Hale	0.2	40
June 4	2:40 PM CDT	F0	Bailey	0.2	30
June 4	2:55 PM CDT	F0	Franklin	0.2	10
June 4	5:30 PM CDT	F0	Crosby	0.2	40
June 4	8:20 PM CDT	F0	Fannin	0.2	10
June 4	8:25 PM CDT	F0	Fannin	0.2	10
June 4	8:45 PM CDT	F0	Fannin	0.2	10

June 8 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 8	2:14 PM CDT	F0	Donley	0.2	40
June 8	4:10 PM CDT	F0	Donley	0.2	30

June 9 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 9	11:00 AM CDT	F0	Angelina	0.2	10

June 16 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 16	5:15 PM CDT	F0	Jones	0.2	10
June 16	5:45 PM CDT	F0	Taylor	0.2	10
June 16	5:50 PM CDT	F0	Callahan	0.2	10

June 18 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 18	12:13 PM CDT	F0	Martin	0.2	30
June 18	12:21 PM CDT	F0	Martin	0.2	30
June 18	12:33 PM CDT	F0	Martin	17.0	60
June 18	12:45 PM CDT	F0	Howard	0.2	50

June 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 30	9:05 PM CDT	F0	Moore	0.2	30

July 11 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 11	8:23 PM CDT	F0	Runnels	0.2	10			$500 to $5,000
July 11	8:40 PM CDT	F0	Concho	0.2	10

July 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 12	7:55 PM CDT	F0	Armstrong	0.2	30

August 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 2	9:30 PM CDT	F1	Castro	0.2	40			$50,000 to $500,000

August 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 3	3:00 PM CDT	F0	Bell	0.1	10

August 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 10	9:30 PM CDT	F1	Nacogdoches	0.2	10		1	$50,000 to $500,000

August 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 15	8:15 PM CDT	F0	Midland	0.2	30

August 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 17	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Brown	0.2	10			$5,000 to $50,000

September 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 2	12:30 PM CDT	F0	Archer	0.2	10			$5,000 to $50,000

September 22 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 22	5:14 PM CDT	F0	Hockley	0.2	10
September 22	7:18 PM CDT	F0	Hockley	0.2	10

September 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 30	6:35 PM CDT	F1	Runnels	0.2	50			$5,000 to $50,000

October 1 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
October 1	5:50 PM CDT	F0	Ward	0.2	30
October 1	7:40 PM CDT	F0	Hall	0.2	30
October 1	7:40 PM CDT	F0	Collingsworth	0.2	30

October 2 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 2	4:53 PM CDT	F1	Andrews	0.3	40			$50,000 to $500,000
October 2	6:31 PM CDT	F1	Upton	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

October 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 3	8:50 PM CDT	F0	Crane	0.2	30

October 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 7	1:23 PM CDT	F0	Cameron	0.2	13

November 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 4	1:42 PM CST	F1	Angelina	1.0	30		2	$50,000 to $500,000

November 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 7	2:50 PM CST	F0	San Jacinto	2.0	10

November 9 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 9	12:40 PM CST	F0	Jim Wells	2.0	10

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.