NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clifton, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Clifton, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Alicia in 1983. Since 1950, 85 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 85
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Clifton
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Clifton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 8 miles away. The record near Clifton begins with an unnamed storm in 1897; the most recent system was Alicia in 1983, a tropical storm 53 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 59% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Clifton. The strongest of the 85 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 6, 1973; its path came within 10 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on March 31, 1959, killed 6 people. Of the 85, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on June 11, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clifton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 58% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clifton.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Clifton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | AliciaAug 19 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Clifton: 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 Clifton
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s6
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s8
- 1970s20(2 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s11(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1973 | F5 | 10 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 1959 | F4 | 18 mi | 10.4 mi | 6 / 31 |
| Apr 21, 1952 | F4 | 21 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2000 | F3 | 12 mi | 7 mi | 2 / 0 |
| May 23, 1971 | F3 | 15 mi | 7.1 mi | 1 / 49 |
| May 3, 2021 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 15, 2017 | EF2 | 10 mi | 12.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 29, 2006 | F2 | 21 mi | 7.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 29, 2006 | F2 | 1 mi | 7.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 2001 | F2 | 21 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 2001 | F2 | 9 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1990 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 85, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clifton
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Clifton since 1961, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 25, 1976. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clifton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Whitney Dam, TX, 10 miles northeast of Clifton at 574 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 34°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 37.7 inches over 49 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 114 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 43 nights a year. That 37.7 inches is more than at 189 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (61%). China Spring, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Waco Regional Airport, TX): 36.5 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and an August average high of 97°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 34 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Feb | 61 | 38 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Mar | 68 | 46 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 53 | 3.6 | 5 |
| May | 84 | 63 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 70 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Jul | 95 | 72 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 72 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Sep | 89 | 66 | 3.8 | 3 |
| Oct | 79 | 55 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 68 | 44 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Dec | 59 | 37 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Year | 77 | 54 | 37.7 | 49 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Whitney Dam, TX (574 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 Clifton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 37 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clifton: 21 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 10, 2009. April has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 227 have had fewer than Clifton.
May 15, 2023: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Clifton — 2 killed.
June 11, 2003: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Clifton — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A lightning started fire destroyed a church.”
April 17, 2016: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Clifton — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “The Bosque County emergency manager reported Farm to Market Road 219 at SH 6 was closed due to flash flooding. During the late morning hours, some homes in Clifton had to be evacuated due to rising flood waters.”
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 Clifton's ZIP code 76634 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $552,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 46% 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, 98 have fewer than Clifton.
Bosque County, which includes Clifton, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1989, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 6 severe storms, 4 floods, 3 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bosque County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.1 million a year, the 150th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.8 million (42%), 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 Clifton
- Valley Mills, TX9 mi
- Meridian, TX13 mi
- China Spring, TX15 mi
- Whitney, TX16 mi
- Crawford, TX18 mi
- West, TX26 mi
- Waco, TX27 mi
- Elm Mott, TX27 mi
- Mc Gregor, TX27 mi
- Hillsboro, TX28 mi
- Gatesville, TX29 mi
- Rio Vista, TX30 mi
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