Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Hays County, Texas

31 tornadoes have crossed Hays County since 1950, 135th of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 33. 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
31
Deaths
1
Injuries
33
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, April 28, 1953

The deadliest in Hays County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 19 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Hays County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF0
20172EF1
20152EF1
20073EF0
20022F0
200147F1
19982F0
19971F1
19941F0
19911F1
19851F2
1980120F2
197621F2
19751F1
19672F1
19611F2
19581F1
19541F1
1953115F3

Every tornado that crossed Hays County

31 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 12, 20251:06 AM CDTEF0Hays0.675
June 12, 20251:02 AM CDTEF0Hays1.450$10,000
February 19, 201711:48 PM CSTEF0Hays3.0100
February 19, 201711:26 PM CSTEF1Hays9.8300
October 30, 20157:28 AM CDTEF1Hays0.9440
May 23, 20158:53 PM CDTEF0Hays5.7100
March 30, 200710:25 AM CDTEF0Hays0.350
March 30, 200710:03 AM CDTEF0Hays0.250
January 13, 20077:08 AM CSTUnratedHays0.8200$50,000
December 30, 20023:25 PM CSTF0Hays1.250
October 8, 200211:20 AM CDTF0Hays1.0200$70,000
November 15, 20013:21 PM CSTF1Hays3.55003$500,000
November 15, 20013:20 PM CSTF1Hays3.55003$500,000
November 15, 200110:20 AM CSTF0Hays2.050$50,000
November 15, 20019:45 AM CSTF0Hays2.01001$50,000
April 8, 19984:57 AM CDTF0Hays1.0150
April 8, 19984:40 AM CDTF0Hays0.5100
May 27, 19975:38 PM CDTF1Hays3.560$10,000
May 13, 19941:26 PM CDTF0Hays0.230$50 to $500
August 22, 19914:40 PM CDTF1Hays0.230$500 to $5,000
April 22, 19857:16 PM CSTF2Hays0.550$50,000 to $500,000
August 10, 19805:02 PM CDTF2Hays47.720020$5 million to $50 million
March 30, 19763:30 AM CSTF2Hays2.52001$50,000 to $500,000
March 30, 19763:20 AM CSTF2Hays1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
May 10, 19758:15 AM CDTF1Hays0.110$5,000 to $50,000
September 20, 196711:45 AM GMT-5F0Hays0.110under $50
September 20, 196711:45 AM GMT-5F1Hays0.110$50 to $500
November 12, 196111:30 PM GMT-6F2Hays0.110$500 to $5,000
May 2, 19584:20 PM GMT-5F1Hays7.4440under $50
April 30, 19546:37 AM GMT-5F1Hays15.067$50,000 to $500,000
April 28, 19539:45 PM GMT-5F3Hays4.920015$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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