Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Brewster County, Texas

21 tornadoes have crossed Brewster County since 1950, 185th of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.6 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 3. None was rated F4 or 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
21
Deaths
0
Injuries
3
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F2, June 9, 1962

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 17 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Brewster County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20211Unrated
20192EF0
20171EF0
20151EF0
20131EF0
20052F0
20031F0
19952F0
19872F0
19811F1
19791F0
19761F0
19751F0
19671F0
19621F2
19581F1
195413F0

Every tornado that crossed Brewster County

21 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 28, 20212:54 PM CDTUnratedBrewster1.150
May 31, 20197:25 PM CDTEF0Brewster0.430
May 3, 201912:59 PM CDTEF0Brewster0.150
March 19, 20174:19 PM CDTEF0Brewster0.250
May 22, 20156:13 PM CDTEF0Brewster0.4100
April 13, 20133:30 PM CDTEF0Brewster2.6300
June 10, 20054:18 PM CDTF0Brewster1.0100
June 9, 20056:29 PM CDTF0Brewster0.7100
June 5, 20034:15 PM CDTF0Brewster0.250
June 9, 19957:45 PM CDTF0Brewster0.110
June 9, 19956:27 PM CDTF0Brewster0.110
May 31, 19879:30 AM CDTF0Brewster1.540
May 19, 19871:30 PM CDTF0Brewster3.030
May 7, 19815:15 PM CDTF1Brewster1.030$50,000 to $500,000
June 4, 19794:25 PM CDTF0Brewster6.213under $50
July 15, 197612:12 PM CDTF0Brewster0.210
May 10, 19754:30 PM CDTF0Brewster2.0880$500 to $5,000
September 21, 19674:00 PM GMT-5F0Brewster0.133
June 9, 19626:30 PM GMT-5F2Brewster0.2100$500 to $5,000
June 16, 19587:45 PM GMT-5F1Brewster1.0100$500 to $5,000
June 11, 19549:00 PM GMT-5F0Brewster4.71003$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Brewster CountyThe forecast for Brewster CountyThe live radar over Brewster 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.