NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit El Paso, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of El Paso, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1929. Since 1950, 11 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 11
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for El Paso
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed El Paso; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1929, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 87% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than El Paso. The highest rating among the 11 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 6 times; the most recent, on June 21, 1992, came within 12 miles. Of the 11, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on April 22, 2019. Of the 753 Texas cities, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than El Paso. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1958, with stones up to 3.25 inches. El Paso has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near El Paso
An unnamed storm in 1929 was moving west as it passed El Paso. Its centre passed 3 miles south of El Paso.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 3 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 El Paso: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of El Paso
By decade
- 2010s2
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1992 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1992 | F1 | 12 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1992 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 31, 1979 | F1 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1972 | F1 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 1959 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 2019 | EF0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 2011 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1988 | F0 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 1972 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1972 | F0 | 15 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 11 of 11, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in El Paso
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of El Paso since 1958, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 58 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on October 22, 1974. The most recent report is from September 26, 2023. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in El Paso
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is El Paso International Airport, TX, 2 miles northwest of El Paso at 3,918 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 73°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 34°F. August is the wettest at 1.7 inches of precipitation on average and March and April the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 8.7 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 117 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 42 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 8.7 inches is more than at 1 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (0%). Sunland Park, NM, 13 miles west, has its own station (Santa Teresa Airport, NM): 10.2 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 95°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 35 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 64 | 39 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 72 | 46 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 80 | 53 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 89 | 62 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 97 | 71 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 96 | 73 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 72 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 65 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 54 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 42 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 58 | 34 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.3 |
| Year | 79 | 54 | 8.7 | 22 | 2.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at El Paso International Airport, TX (3,918 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 El Paso
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 125 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of El Paso: 64 thunderstorm wind reports, 54 flash floods, 6 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 6 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $5.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on July 13, 2018. July has had the most flash floods, 16 of 54. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 685 have had fewer than El Paso.
August 10, 2005: flood 6 miles from the centre of El Paso — 2 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “about 1 mile south of Comanche. however two bodies were found in the creek.”
August 12, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of El Paso — 2 killed.
June 28, 2021: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of El Paso — 1 killed, $500,000 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 El Paso's 18 ZIP codes have filed 753 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 249. 3% 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, 355 have fewer than El Paso.
El Paso County, which includes El Paso, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives El Paso County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail and lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $120.8 million a year, the 20th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.9 million (58%), 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 El Paso
- Fort Bliss, TX2 mi
- Socorro, TX11 mi
- Sunland Park, NM13 mi
- San Elizario, TX16 mi
- Chaparral, NM16 mi
- Canutillo, TX17 mi
- Clint, TX18 mi
- Anthony, NM19 mi
- Anthony, TX19 mi
- Santa Teresa, NM22 mi
- Fabens, TX24 mi
- Vado, NM28 mi
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