NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Worth, 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 Fort Worth, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 208 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 208
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Worth
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fort Worth; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The record near Fort Worth begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 5 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Fort Worth. The highest rating among the 208 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on April 16, 2002, passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F3 on March 28, 2000, killed 2 people. Of the 208, 20 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 80 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 67. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2025. Fort Worth has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 561 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Fort Worth has more hail reports within 10 miles than 99% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Fort Worth's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fort Worth
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fort Worth: 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 Fort Worth
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s32
- 2000s29(3 EF3+)
- 1990s19
- 1980s16
- 1970s58
- 1960s23(2 EF3+)
- 1950s12(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 2000 | F3 | in town | 4 mi | 2 / 80 |
| Apr 16, 2002 | F3 | in town | 2.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2000 | F3 | 13 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1961 | F3 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1960 | F3 | 6 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 4, 2022 | EF2 | 20 mi | 9.72 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 24, 2020 | EF2 | 12 mi | 5.05 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF2 | 9 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 23, 2008 | EF2 | 14 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1995 | F2 | in town | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1993 | F2 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 208, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Worth
The Storm Prediction Center has 561 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Worth since 1956, made on 236 separate days. Of these, 395 were 1 inch across or larger, and 68 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 28, 1989. The most recent report is from June 1, 2025. April has the most reports, 197.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Worth
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Worth Meacham Field, TX, 5 miles north of Fort Worth at 687 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 35°F. October is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 50 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 106 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 33 nights a year. That 35.4 inches is more than at 156 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (50%). Haltom City, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Fort Worth Wsfo, TX): 38.2 inches a year, 2.8 more than here, and an August average high of 94°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 35 | 2.1 | 3 |
| Feb | 61 | 39 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Mar | 68 | 47 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 54 | 3.1 | 4 |
| May | 84 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Jun | 92 | 71 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 75 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 75 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Sep | 88 | 67 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 56 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 66 | 45 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Dec | 58 | 37 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Year | 76 | 55 | 35.4 | 50 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Worth Meacham Field, TX (687 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 Fort Worth
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 448 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Worth: 313 thunderstorm wind reports, 105 flash floods, 18 lightning strikes, 8 floods and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 12 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $43.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on March 4, 2025. April has had the most flash floods, 20 of 105. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 733 have had fewer than Fort Worth.
May 23, 2015: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Fort Worth — 3 killed.
September 8, 2018: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Fort Worth — 2 killed, $10,000 damage.
March 29, 2017: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Fort Worth — 2 killed.
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 Fort Worth's 28 ZIP codes have filed 1,199 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $15.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 208 claims (17% of all) and $2.3 million, then Thunderstorms in 2007 with 49 and Dallas Flash Floods in 2022 with 29. 29% 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, 381 have fewer than Fort Worth.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 208 | $2.3 million |
| Thunderstorms2007 | 49 | $861,000 |
| Dallas Flash Floods2022 | 29 | $974,000 |
| Early summer storms2015 | 17 | $212,000 |
| Texas Spring Flooding2024 | 13 | $466,000 |
Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 5 fires, 5 severe storms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Tarrant County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $608.1 million a year, the 5th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $258.1 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.