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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Arp, TX

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Arp, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 135 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
12

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
135

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
10

4 deaths in all

What the records show for Arp

None of the 12 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Arp; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1879, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Arp begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 6 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 4 systems. Of the 12 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Arp has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 135 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 10 times; the most recent, on April 6, 2003, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 15, 1987, killed 4 people. Of the 135, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on November 20, 2025. Arp has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1957, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Of the 753 Texas cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Arp.

Compare Arp's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Arp

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Arp, Texas, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 136 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
2005RitaSep 2460 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
1949Unnamed 1949 stormOct 548 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2018 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2438 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 3
1940Unnamed 1940 stormAug 946 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1918Unnamed 1918 stormAug 726 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 1872 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1891Unnamed 1891 stormJul 651 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 2371 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1871Unnamed 1871 stormJun 1066 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1871Unnamed 1871 stormJun 555 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Arp: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Arp

By decade

  • 2020s10
  • 2010s23
  • 2000s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s18(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s24(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s15
  • 1950s12(4 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Arp, Texas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Nov 15, 1987F36 mi33 mi4 / 81
Apr 6, 2003F317 mi38.2 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 1991F316 mi3 mi0 / 1
Apr 1, 1988F322 mi13 mi0 / 9
Feb 23, 1979F317 mi10.3 mi0 / 1
Mar 3, 1970F36 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
May 3, 1958F39 mi59.2 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 1957F312 mi14.2 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 1957F313 mi1 mi0 / 0
Apr 12, 1955F325 mi5.6 mi0 / 7
May 5, 2022EF220 mi8.62 mi0 / 1
Apr 29, 2016EF225 mi25.94 mi0 / 2

The strongest 12 of 135, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Arp

The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Arp since 1957, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on April 11, 1962. The most recent report is from March 8, 2024. April has the most reports, 26.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Arp

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tyler, TX, 14 miles west of Arp at 550 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 39°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.7 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 46% of the year's precipitation (22.1 of 47.7 inches); the other six months are wetter. Highs reach 90°F on about 96 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 28 nights a year. That 47.7 inches is more than at 256 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (82%). Overton, 7 miles east, has its own station (Henderson, TX): 50.4 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 94°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Tyler, TX
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan58394.06
Feb63424.36
Mar70494.36
Apr77554.05
May84644.36
Jun90714.86
Jul93742.74
Aug94732.94
Sep88673.24
Oct78574.75
Nov66473.85
Dec59404.76
Year775647.764

Averages for 1991–2020 at Tyler, TX (550 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Texas weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Arp

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 146 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Arp: 115 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $508,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on November 7, 1996. April has had the most flash floods, 11 of 27. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 527 have had fewer than Arp.

  • April 5, 2022: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Arp — 1 killed.

  • July 14, 2022: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Arp — 2 injured.

    NWS: “Numerous trees were downed in the East Lake Woods Subdivision along the eastern shore of Lake Tyler East and a large tree also fell through a mobile home nearby along Highway 64, injuring a female and baby in the home.”

  • April 26, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Arp — 1 injured.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.

Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings

Smith County, which includes Arp, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 fires, 5 severe storms, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Smith County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $43.1 million a year, the 40th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.4 million (50%), is from inland flooding.

Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Arp