NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Denton, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Denton, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Denton
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Denton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Denton begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 12 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Denton. The highest rating among the 138 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2024, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 2, 1957, killed 10 people. Of the 138, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on August 28, 2025. Denton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 339 times since 1963, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Denton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Denton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Denton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Denton: 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 Denton
By decade
- 2020s15(2 EF3+)
- 2010s29
- 2000s22
- 1990s11
- 1980s11
- 1970s20(1 EF3+)
- 1960s20(1 EF3+)
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.2 mi | 10 / 200 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 18 mi | 47.27 mi | 7 / 80 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 23 mi | 0.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1966 | F3 | 10 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | EF2 | 25 mi | 9.71 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 24, 2011 | EF2 | 5 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 1991 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1981 | F2 | 10 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1975 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 27, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Denton
The Storm Prediction Center has 339 hail reports within 10 miles of Denton since 1963, made on 150 separate days. Of these, 238 were 1 inch across or larger, and 49 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.25 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently March 26, 2017. The most recent report is from November 24, 2025. April has the most reports, 111.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Denton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Denton 2 SE, TX, in Denton at 630 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 34°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 95 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 38 nights a year. That 38.5 inches is more than at 200 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (64%). Argyle, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Denton Municipal Airport, TX): 35.7 inches a year, 2.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 34 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Feb | 60 | 37 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 68 | 45 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 53 | 3.7 | 5 |
| May | 83 | 63 | 4.9 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 75 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 74 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Sep | 89 | 67 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 55 | 4.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 66 | 44 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 57 | 36 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Year | 76 | 55 | 38.5 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Denton 2 SE, TX (630 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 Denton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 246 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Denton: 182 thunderstorm wind reports, 40 flash floods, 14 lightning strikes and 10 floods. They killed 6 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $12.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on April 26, 1999. May has had the most flash floods, 11 of 40. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 629 have had fewer than Denton.
July 1, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Denton — 2 killed.
July 7, 2012: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Denton — 2 killed.
May 14, 2016: flood 2 miles from the centre of Denton — 1 killed.
NWS: “Two homeless people were swept into a canal near Bell Place and McKinney Street around 5 AM Saturday May 14. A female adult was rescued about half a mile downstream.”
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 Denton's 6 ZIP codes have filed 181 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $2.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2007, with 56. 14% 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, 284 have fewer than Denton.
Denton County, which includes Denton, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 fires, 5 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Denton County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $354.7 million a year, the 7th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $145.3 million (41%), is from tornadoes.
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.