NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Desoto, 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 Desoto, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 196 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 196
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Desoto
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Desoto; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. The record near Desoto begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 34 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 Desoto. The highest rating among the 196 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 26, 2015, came within 21 miles. Of the 196, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2025. Desoto has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 222 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Desoto has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Desoto's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Desoto
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 5 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Desoto: 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 Desoto
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s34(4 EF3+)
- 2000s23(1 EF3+)
- 1990s38(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s48(1 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s12(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF4 | 21 mi | 13.04 mi | 10 / 468 |
| Apr 25, 1994 | F4 | 6 mi | 6 mi | 3 / 48 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.2 mi | 10 / 200 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF3 | 19 mi | 15.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF3 | 2 mi | 8.52 mi | 0 / 46 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 25 mi | 7.73 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 28, 2000 | F3 | 13 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1984 | F3 | 16 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 28 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 12, 1969 | F3 | 5 mi | 45.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 26, 1961 | F3 | 25 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Oct 4, 1959 | F3 | 20 mi | 27.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 196, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Desoto
The Storm Prediction Center has 222 hail reports within 10 miles of Desoto since 1955, made on 123 separate days. Of these, 160 were 1 inch across or larger, and 26 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 12, 1986. The most recent report is from June 1, 2025. April has the most reports, 67.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Desoto
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dallas Redbird Airport, TX, 6 miles north of Desoto at 658 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 38°F. October is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 104 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 27 nights a year. That 37.8 inches is more than at 190 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (61%). Lancaster, 5 miles east, has its own station (Ferris, TX): 41.0 inches a year, 3.2 more 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 | 38 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Feb | 62 | 41 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Mar | 69 | 48 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 55 | 3.7 | 4 |
| May | 84 | 64 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 72 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 75 | 1.9 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 75 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Sep | 89 | 68 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 79 | 58 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 67 | 47 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Dec | 59 | 39 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Year | 77 | 57 | 37.8 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dallas Redbird Airport, TX (658 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 Desoto
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 142 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Desoto: 101 thunderstorm wind reports, 34 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes, 2 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on April 11, 2011. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 34. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 592 have had fewer than Desoto.
December 21, 2013: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Desoto — 1 killed, 1 injured, $13,000 damage.
May 24, 2015: heavy rain event 2 miles from the centre of Desoto — 1 killed.
NWS: “A DeSoto teenager and his dog were found dead Monday Morning in a storm drain. He was last seen Sunday afternoon.”
March 4, 2025: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Desoto — $600,000 damage.
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 Desoto's ZIP code 75115 have filed 151 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 1989: 33 claims (22% of all) and $1.3 million. 25% 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, 264 have fewer than Desoto.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1989 | 33 | $1.3 million |
Dallas County, which includes Desoto, 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.