Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Archer County, Texas

31 tornadoes have crossed Archer County since 1950, 137th of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 42 people and injured 1,747. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

Now

Tornadoes
31
Deaths
42
Injuries
1,747
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, April 10, 1979

The deadliest in Archer County

  1. F4, Wichita, Archer, Clay and Jefferson counties, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 197942 killed, 1,740 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Wichita, Archer, Clay and Jefferson counties, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 1979F4, 46.9 mi (75 km)
  2. F3, Archer and Clay counties, TexasMay 14, 1986F3, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  3. F3, Archer County, TexasApril 8, 1961F3, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  4. EF2, Archer County, TexasMay 6, 2015EF2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  5. F2, Archer County, TexasApril 26, 1994F2, 9.5 mi (15 km)
  6. F2, Young and Archer counties, TexasApril 21, 1985F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Archer County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251Unrated
20241EF1
20171Unrated
20153EF2
20051F0
20002F0
19972F0
19951F0
19943F2
19931F1
19921F0
19891F0
198624F3
198512F2
19821F1
19803F0
19791421740F4
19661F1
196111F3
19591F0
19571F0
19551F1

Every tornado that crossed Archer County

31 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 3, 20256:10 PM CDTUnratedArcher0.150
May 25, 20245:16 PM CDTEF1Archer3.4200$20,000
May 19, 20176:00 PM CDTUnratedArcher0.550
May 19, 20155:55 PM CDTEF0Archer0.230
May 16, 20157:22 PM CDTEF0Archer0.230
May 6, 20158:49 PM CDTEF2Archer12.0400
June 4, 20057:38 PM CDTF0Archer0.230
May 27, 20001:28 PM CDTF0Archer1.020$3,000
May 27, 20001:24 PM CDTF0Archer0.220
August 17, 19978:15 PM CDTF0Archer0.123
August 17, 19977:45 PM CDTF0Archer0.573
May 7, 19951:05 PM CDTF0Archer0.123
May 29, 19945:30 PM CDTF0Archer0.130
April 26, 19941:05 PM CDTF2Archer9.5150$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 199412:50 PM CDTF0Archer0.120
May 8, 19936:42 PM CDTF1Clay8.090$50,000 to $500,000
March 8, 19925:59 PM CSTF0Archer0.210
March 28, 19899:14 PM CSTF0Archer0.210
September 2, 198612:30 PM CDTF0Archer0.210$5,000 to $50,000
May 14, 19867:30 PM CDTF3Archer20.02504$500,000 to $5 million
April 21, 19856:30 PM CSTF2Young5.03002$50,000 to $500,000
May 12, 19828:30 PM CDTF1Archer0.110under $50
April 2, 19801:16 PM CSTF0Archer0.110
April 2, 19801:15 PM CSTF0Archer0.110
April 2, 198012:45 PM CSTF0Archer0.110
April 10, 19795:50 PM CSTF4Wichita to OK46.91,320421740$50 million to $500 million
April 10, 19665:00 PM GMT-6F1Archer2.027
April 8, 19613:00 PM GMT-6F3Archer1.0331
May 8, 195911:10 PM GMT-5F0Archer0.110
April 25, 19574:05 PM GMT-6F0Archer0.110under $50
June 8, 19554:00 PM GMT-5F1Baylor0.110

Nearby

Warnings in force in Archer CountyThe forecast for Archer CountyThe live radar over Archer CountyEvery county in 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.