NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Balch Springs, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Balch Springs, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 164 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 164
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
25 deaths in all
What the records show for Balch Springs
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Balch Springs; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 62 miles away. The record near Balch Springs begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 47 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 67% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Balch Springs. The highest rating among the 164 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 26, 2015, came within 5 miles. Of the 164, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 42. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2025. Balch Springs has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 147 times since 1959, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Balch Springs has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Balch Springs's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Balch Springs
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 5 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Balch Springs: 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 Balch Springs
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s31(5 EF3+)
- 2000s11(1 EF3+)
- 1990s42(1 EF3+)
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s39(1 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s10(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF4 | 5 mi | 13.04 mi | 10 / 468 |
| Apr 25, 1994 | F4 | 5 mi | 6 mi | 3 / 48 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 15 mi | 17.2 mi | 10 / 200 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF3 | 16 mi | 15.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF3 | 17 mi | 8.52 mi | 0 / 46 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 20 mi | 3.34 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 9 mi | 7.73 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 28, 2000 | F3 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1984 | F3 | in town | 10 mi | 0 / 28 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 17 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 12, 1969 | F3 | 9 mi | 45.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 11, 1963 | F3 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 164, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Balch Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 147 hail reports within 10 miles of Balch Springs since 1959, made on 100 separate days. Of these, 115 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3.5 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently April 3, 2012. The most recent report is from March 25, 2025. April has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Balch Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ferris, TX, 13 miles south of Balch Springs at 470 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 36°F. October is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 41.0 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 106 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 40 nights a year. That 41.0 inches is more than at 221 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (71%). Mesquite, 4 miles north, has its own station (Dallas Love Field, TX): 38.4 inches a year, 2.6 less than here, and the same August average high, 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 36 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Feb | 62 | 39 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Mar | 69 | 45 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Apr | 77 | 53 | 3.9 | 5 |
| May | 84 | 63 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Jun | 92 | 71 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Jul | 96 | 74 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Aug | 97 | 73 | 2.8 | 3 |
| Sep | 90 | 66 | 2.7 | 3 |
| Oct | 80 | 55 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 67 | 45 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Dec | 59 | 37 | 3.5 | 4 |
| Year | 77 | 55 | 41.0 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ferris, TX (470 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Balch Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 115 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Balch Springs: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 flash floods, 7 floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $504.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 1, 2019. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 35. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 602 have had fewer than Balch Springs.
May 29, 2015: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Balch Springs — 1 killed, $90,000 damage.
August 22, 2022: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Balch Springs — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
December 26, 2018: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Balch Springs — 3 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Balch Springs's ZIP code 75180 have filed 133 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $3.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1994: 32 claims (24% of all) and $285,000, then Dallas Flash Floods in 2022 with 14. 38% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 433 Texas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 253 have fewer than Balch Springs.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1994 | 32 | $285,000 |
| Dallas Flash Floods2022 | 14 | $1.1 million |
Dallas County, which includes Balch Springs, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 4 fires, 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 Dallas County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $973.2 million a year, the 2nd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $323.7 million (33%), 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.