Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Refugio County, Texas

25 tornadoes have crossed Refugio County since 1950, 170th of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.0 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 2. 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
25
Deaths
0
Injuries
2
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, November 8, 1963

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 15 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Refugio County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20201Unrated
20181EF0
20153EF0
20141EF0
20131EF0
20121EF0
20104EF0
199511F0
19922F1
19912F0
19811F0
19701F0
19673F0
19651F2
196321F3

Every tornado that crossed Refugio County

25 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 25, 202012:48 PM CDTUnratedRefugio0.125
March 28, 201812:56 AM CDTEF0Refugio0.975$100,000
April 16, 20153:31 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.150$5,000
April 16, 20152:51 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.150$5,000
April 16, 20152:16 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.010
June 25, 20144:14 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.450$50,000
April 29, 20131:56 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.210
May 10, 201210:52 PM CDTEF0Refugio3.7150$30,000
September 15, 201010:49 AM CDTEF0Refugio0.010
June 30, 20103:10 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.130
June 30, 201011:46 AM CDTEF0Refugio7.130
June 2, 201011:18 PM CDTEF0Refugio0.320
December 17, 19954:10 AM CSTF0Refugio0.1101$5,000 to $50,000
May 28, 19928:30 PM CDTF1Refugio0.220$5,000 to $50,000
May 28, 19927:58 PM CDTF0Refugio0.110
June 20, 199111:40 AM CDTF0Refugio0.210
June 20, 199111:35 AM CDTF0Refugio0.210
August 11, 198111:45 AM CDTF0Refugio0.120
August 3, 19704:00 PM CDTF0Refugio0.110
September 22, 196712:52 PM GMT-5F0Refugio0.110
September 22, 196711:40 AM GMT-5F0Refugio0.110
September 22, 196711:00 AM GMT-5F0Refugio0.110
May 18, 19656:51 AM GMT-5F2Refugio11.2100$500 to $5,000
November 8, 19631:00 PM GMT-6F0Refugio0.517
November 8, 196311:00 AM GMT-6F3Refugio1.0501$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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