Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Clay County, Texas

40 tornadoes have crossed Clay County since 1950, 108th of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 43 people and injured 1,760. 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
40
Deaths
43
Injuries
1,760
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, April 10, 1979

The deadliest in Clay County

  1. F4, Wichita, Archer, Clay and Jefferson counties, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 197942 killed, 1,740 injured
  2. F3, Wichita and Clay counties, TexasApril 2, 19581 killed, 14 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Wichita, Archer, Clay and Jefferson counties, Texas and OklahomaApril 10, 1979F4, 46.9 mi (75 km)
  2. F3, Jack and Clay counties, TexasApril 6, 1955F3, 21.7 mi (35 km)
  3. F3, Archer and Clay counties, TexasMay 14, 1986F3, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  4. F3, Wichita and Clay counties, TexasApril 2, 1958F3, 16.4 mi (26 km)
  5. F2, Clay County, TexasAugust 8, 1956F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  6. F2, Clay County, TexasMay 1, 1954F2, 1.3 mi (2 km)
  7. F2, Clay County, TexasApril 5, 1955F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  8. F2, Wichita and Clay counties, TexasAugust 11, 1953F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 27 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clay County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20243EF1
20232EF1
20202EF1
20192EF1
20152EF0
20071EF1
20061F1
20041F0
20011F0
20001F0
199812F1
19973F1
19951F0
19933F1
19902F1
198614F3
19791421740F4
19722F1
19701F0
19681F1
19671F0
19641F1
19581114F3
19561F2
19552F3
19541F2
19531F2

Every tornado that crossed Clay County

40 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Texas.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 3, 20241:33 AM CDTEF1Clay8.4250
May 25, 20245:33 PM CDTEF1Clay3.4100$2,000
May 25, 20245:16 PM CDTEF1Archer3.4200$20,000
June 15, 20238:02 PM CDTEF1Clay2.5100$8,000
May 4, 20237:06 PM CDTEF0Clay0.120
May 22, 20207:27 PM CDTEF1Clay2.350$2,000
May 22, 20207:23 PM CDTUnratedClay2.5100
April 30, 20194:36 PM CDTEF1Clay10.0300$40,000
April 30, 20194:34 PM CDTUnratedClay1.540
May 19, 20156:45 PM CDTEF0Clay0.230
May 19, 20156:21 PM CDTEF0Clay1.0200
August 18, 20077:53 PM CDTEF1Clay1.0100$10,000
April 24, 20068:23 PM CDTF1Cotton to TX6.3200$10,000
April 30, 20042:02 PM CDTF0Clay1.0100
May 30, 20016:45 PM CDTF0Clay0.325
July 12, 20005:20 PM CDTF0Clay0.330
April 26, 19985:35 PM CDTF1Clay0.2502$50,000
June 16, 19979:50 PM CDTF1Clay6.5100$150,000
May 8, 19978:55 PM CDTF0Clay0.123$1,000
May 8, 19978:15 PM CDTF0Clay0.123$1,000
April 19, 19957:43 PM CDTF0Clay0.120
May 8, 19936:42 PM CDTF1Clay8.090$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19935:20 PM CDTF0Clay0.120
May 8, 19935:08 PM CDTF0Clay0.120
May 27, 19905:35 PM CDTF1Clay2.050
May 27, 19905:30 PM CDTF1Clay0.210
May 14, 19867:30 PM CDTF3Archer20.02504$500,000 to $5 million
April 10, 19795:50 PM CSTF4Wichita to OK46.91,320421740$50 million to $500 million
August 13, 19728:15 PM CDTF1Clay0.320$5,000 to $50,000
August 8, 19729:15 PM CDTF1Clay1.067$5,000 to $50,000
September 27, 197012:00 PM CDTF0Clay0.517
May 16, 19683:35 PM GMT-5F1Clay0.117
May 20, 196712:40 PM GMT-5F0Clay0.533
April 3, 19643:53 PM GMT-6F1Clay1.523under $50
April 2, 19585:55 PM GMT-6F3Wichita16.4333114$50,000 to $500,000
August 8, 19565:00 PM GMT-5F2Clay2.050$500 to $5,000
April 6, 19552:45 AM GMT-6F3Jack21.710$50,000 to $500,000
April 5, 19558:30 AM GMT-6F2Clay0.110$500 to $5,000
May 1, 195410:15 PM GMT-5F2Clay1.367
August 11, 19538:00 PM GMT-5F2Wichita0.1880$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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