Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Dawson County, Texas

55 tornadoes have crossed Dawson County since 1950, 63rd of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.4 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 9. 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
55
Deaths
0
Injuries
9
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F2, June 19, 1980

The strongest

  1. F2, Dawson County, TexasJune 8, 1965F2, 19.4 mi (31 km)
  2. F2, Martin and Dawson counties, TexasMay 31, 1970F2, 18.6 mi (30 km)
  3. F2, Dawson County, TexasJune 19, 1980F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  4. F2, Dawson County, TexasMay 8, 1971F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Dawson County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF1
20241Unrated
20211EF0
20101EF0
20087EF0
20021F0
20001F1
19972F1
19961F1
19952F1
19922F1
19916F1
19902F1
19893F1
19874F1
19861F0
19854F1
19841F0
19821F0
198011F2
19781F0
19711F2
19701F2
19694F0
196518F2
19631F0
19541F0
19501F1

Every tornado that crossed Dawson County

55 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 29, 20256:46 PM CDTEF1Dawson4.450$20,000
May 29, 20256:09 PM CDTEF1Dawson6.8100$3,000
June 10, 20247:23 PM CDTUnratedDawson0.525
May 18, 20216:03 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.150
June 14, 20105:00 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.650
May 27, 20088:00 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.350
May 27, 20087:44 PM CDTEF0Dawson1.050
May 27, 20087:02 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.350
April 23, 20085:29 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.425
April 23, 20084:08 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.150
April 23, 20083:56 PM CDTEF0Dawson1.1150
April 23, 20083:45 PM CDTEF0Dawson0.450
May 27, 20025:20 PM CDTF0Dawson0.150
March 2, 20002:07 AM CSTF1Dawson2.0200
April 24, 19975:10 PM CDTF0Dawson0.240
April 10, 19976:43 PM CDTF1Dawson0.280
May 25, 19966:41 PM CDTF1Dawson0.5100
June 4, 19957:29 PM CDTF1Dawson2.0110
June 4, 19955:30 PM CDTF0Dawson0.240
September 6, 19927:15 PM CDTF0Dawson0.213
June 11, 19927:35 PM CDTF1Dawson0.460
October 27, 19915:06 PM CSTF1Dawson4.0120under $50
October 27, 19915:02 PM CSTF0Dawson0.573
June 6, 19916:25 PM CDTF0Dawson0.330
May 7, 19916:38 PM CDTF0Dawson1.5100$50 to $500
May 7, 19916:21 PM CDTF0Dawson1.280
May 7, 19916:14 PM CDTF0Dawson2.2100$500 to $5,000
June 24, 19905:40 PM CDTF0Dawson1.360
May 31, 19908:48 PM CDTF1Dawson2.5130
June 4, 19893:52 AM CDTF0Dawson1.560
June 1, 19899:40 PM CDTF1Dawson4.5150$5,000 to $50,000
June 1, 19899:23 PM CDTF0Dawson2.0100
September 9, 198711:40 PM CDTF0Dawson2.080
September 9, 198710:10 PM CDTF1Dawson10.0120
May 29, 19876:10 PM CDTF1Dawson2.060
May 29, 19875:53 PM CDTF1Dawson4.0110
February 5, 19864:35 PM CSTF0Dawson0.110
April 28, 19854:30 PM CDTF0Borden0.5100
April 28, 19853:30 PM CDTF1Dawson3.0300$5,000 to $50,000
April 28, 19853:25 PM CDTF1Dawson2.0200
April 28, 19852:58 PM CDTF1Dawson2.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 19843:18 PM CDTF0Dawson0.130
May 24, 198211:30 PM CDTF0Dawson0.210under $50
June 19, 19807:00 PM CDTF2Dawson2.51001$5,000 to $50,000
April 9, 19784:30 PM CSTF0Dawson0.310under $50
May 8, 19714:50 PM CDTF2Dawson1.0440
May 31, 197010:20 PM CDTF2Martin18.667
May 15, 196911:55 PM GMT-5F0Dawson0.117
May 14, 196910:15 PM GMT-5F0Dawson0.110
May 5, 19695:45 PM GMT-5F0Dawson0.550
May 5, 19695:45 PM GMT-5F0Dawson1.050
June 8, 19655:50 PM GMT-5F2Dawson19.4178$5,000 to $50,000
October 22, 19638:05 PM GMT-5F0Dawson1.033
April 21, 19548:00 PM GMT-6F0Dawson2.033
May 25, 19505:30 PM GMT-5F1Dawson3.0880$500 to $5,000

Nearby

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