Texas sees an average of 137 tornadoes each year, the most of any U.S. state. Here's a look at the worst ones in the Lone Star State's history.
Year after year, Texas is a hotbed for tornadoes. The state’s geography allows warm, moist air of the Gulf of Mexico to collide with the cooler, drier air from the west to create the perfect environment for rotating severe thunderstorms.
Texas averages 135 tornadoes each year, the most of any state in the country, according to the National Weather Service. Back in 1973, the National Weather Service began ranking tornadoes on the Fujita Scale, which rated tornadoes from F0 to F5, based on estimated wind speeds and observed damage. Then, in 2007, the weather service adopted the Enhanced Fujita scale, which better reflected actual storm wind speeds based on new science. The vast majority of tornadoes are considered “weak.” Of the 9,000-plus tornadoes reported in Texas since 1950, more than 75% have been rated either an F0/EF0 or F1/EF1. Only about 1% of tornadoes are considered “violent” — rated as either an F4/EF4 or F5/EF5. Here’s a look at some of the strongest, and deadliest, to ever strike the state. 5 deadliest tornadoes in Texas Waco: May 11, 1953 — A tornado initially touched down in the town of Lorena and moved northeast into Waco. The tornado strengthened aggressively into an F5 tornado a third of a mile wide with wind speeds of more than 200 mph. It carved a 23-mile path through Central Texas that took it straight through downtown Waco at the end of the work day. When it was over, 114 people had lost their lives and 597 others were injured. The tornado also destroyed 600 homes and damaged more than 1,000 more. The twister was blamed for causing damage worth $41 million in 1953, or the equivalent of $487 million today. Goliad: May 18, 1902 — An F4 tornado crossed the San Antonio River and moved into the west side of Goliad, about 90 miles southeast of San Antonio. Like the Waco tornado in 1953, this twister also killed 114 people. This tornado is ranked second on most lists though, because fewer people were reported injured. Rocksprings: April 12, 1927 — A mile-wide F5 tornado completely leveled the town of Rocksprings, about 60 miles northeast of Del Rio, in Southwest Texas. The tornado destroyed more than 90% of the buildings in the town. It killed 74 people and injured 205 others, about a third of the town’s population at the time. Sherman: May 15, 1896 — After starting near Pilot Point, the twister moved northeast for 28 miles, on a direct path for Sherman, just south of the Texas-Oklahoma border. This tornado, estimated to be an F5, killed 73 people along its path. Glazier-Higgins: April 9, 1947 — Also rated an F5, this tornado tore through two small towns in the northeast Texas Panhandle, where a total of 68 people were killed in Higgins and Glazier. The tornadic supercell also tore a 221-mile path into Oklahoma and southern Kansas, resulting in 101 more deaths outside of Texas. It’s important to note that each of the top five deadliest Texas tornadoes occurred before 1960. That’s because in those days, tornado forecasting was not nearly as accurate as is it now, and many twisters happened without any warning at all. Many of these communities had no idea a tornado was coming or even possible until it was too late. In the past few decades, tornado forecasting has improved significantly, and tornado warnings issued by he National Weather Service give people more time to prepare and take shelter. The internet and cellphones also have given people access to vital warning information that people did not have in the past. Other noteworthy F5 tornadoes Jarrell: May 27, 1997 — The most recent F5 tornado to strike the state of Texas, the Jarrell tornado killed 27 people, along with hundreds of cattle. This tornado followed a very unusual path, moving south-southwest, rather than a more northeasterly direction that tornadoes typically follow. Lubbock: May 11, 1970 — An F5 tornado touched down just south of downtown Lubbock, moving just east of the Texas Tech campus. On its 8-mile path, the tornado killed 26 and injured 500 others. It also destroyed 1,000 homes and apartment units, along with 10,000 vehicles. This tornado was studied and mapped in detail by University of Chicago meteorology professor Ted Fujita, and was an important key in the development of the scale that bears his name. Occasionally, the strongest tornadoes are not necessarily the deadliest. An F5 tornado struck near Valley Mills, west of Waco, on May 6, 1973, resulting in zero deaths or injuries. Another F5 tornado hit the Brownwood area, east of San Angelo, in 1976, resulting in 11 injuries, but zero deaths.
National Weather Service F5 F4 Texas Tech University Of Chicago Ted Fujita Sherman Glazier-Higgins Lorena Jarrell Glazier Central Texas Texas Panhandle Texas Waco U.S. Gulf Of Mexico Southwest Texas Goliad Rocksprings San Antonio San Antonio River Del Rio Oklahoma Pilot Point Lubbock Valley Mills Brownwood San Angelo Higgins Kansas Enhanced Fujita Scale Fujita Scale F0 EF4 F1
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