NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit De Kalb, 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 De Kalb, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 83
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for De Kalb
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed De Kalb; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1879, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The record near De Kalb begins with an unnamed storm in 1879; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 14 miles away. The 1940s and the 2000s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 6 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 59% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than De Kalb. The strongest of the 83 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 12, 1971; its path came within 8 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF3 on November 4, 2022, killed 1 person. Of the 83, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on April 4, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than De Kalb. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 52% have more hail reports within 10 miles than De Kalb.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near De Kalb
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 25 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 7 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in De Kalb: 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 De Kalb
By decade
- 2020s10(2 EF3+)
- 2010s13
- 2000s14
- 1990s12(1 EF3+)
- 1980s17(2 EF3+)
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 1971 | F4 | 8 mi | 5.1 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Nov 4, 2022 | EF3 | 21 mi | 16.91 mi | 1 / 8 |
| May 4, 1999 | F3 | 2 mi | 71.5 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 8 mi | 52 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Nov 4, 2022 | EF3 | 10 mi | 15.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1987 | F3 | 22 mi | 12.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 1, 1977 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F3 | 8 mi | 111.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 13, 2014 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.51 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Oct 18, 1984 | F2 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Feb 12, 1950 | F2 | 12 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 4, 2025 | EF2 | 22 mi | 21.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in De Kalb
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of De Kalb since 1974, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently September 20, 1996. The most recent report is from May 9, 2024. April has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in De Kalb
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dekalb, TX, 3 miles south of De Kalb at 341 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 32°F. April is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 52.7 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 87 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 49 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.7 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 52.7 inches is more than at 290 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (93%). Foreman, AR, 20 miles northeast, has its own station (Ashdown 4 SSE, AR): 53.2 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 32 | 4.1 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Feb | 59 | 35 | 4.2 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 67 | 42 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 75 | 50 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 60 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 67 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 70 | 3.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 69 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 63 | 4.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 51 | 5.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 66 | 41 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 57 | 34 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Year | 75 | 51 | 52.7 | 66 | 2.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dekalb, TX (341 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 De Kalb
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 89 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of De Kalb: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $14.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 13, 2022. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 19. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 414 have had fewer than De Kalb.
May 25, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of De Kalb — 1 killed.
June 1, 2015: flood 9 miles from the centre of De Kalb — $14.0 million damage.
NWS: “Excessive heavy rainfall during the month of May resulted in very high water on the Red River bordering Little River, Hempstead, Miller and Lafayette Counties in Southwest Arkansas as well as Bowie County in Northeast Texas during the entire month of June.”
May 10, 2009: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of De Kalb — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous city and county roads in and around New Boston, Texas were flooded from excessive heavy rainfall. Two homes were flooded by three to four feet of water on Lacy Street in Hooks, Texas.”
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 De Kalb's ZIP code 75559 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $22,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 80% 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, 0 have fewer than De Kalb.
Bowie County, which includes De Kalb, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 fires, 3 floods, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bowie County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Moderate for strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.4 million a year, the 53rd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.3 million (31%), 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 De Kalb
- Avery, TX10 mi
- New Boston, TX12 mi
- Foreman, AR20 mi
- Hooks, TX20 mi
- Naples, TX21 mi
- Maud, TX21 mi
- Cookville, TX23 mi
- Omaha, TX24 mi
- Clarksville, TX25 mi
- Idabel, OK28 mi
- Nash, TX29 mi
- Ashdown, AR30 mi
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