NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hawley, 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 Hawley, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1886. Since 1950, 149 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 149
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Hawley
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Hawley; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1886, a tropical storm with 41 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 87% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Hawley. The strongest of the 149 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 28, 1950; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 5 people. Of the 149, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 69. The most recent tornado was on May 25, 2025. Hawley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 162 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Hawley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hawley
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 21 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hawley: 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 Hawley
By decade
- 2020s9(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8
- 2000s23
- 1990s28(1 EF3+)
- 1980s28
- 1970s17(2 EF3+)
- 1960s18(2 EF3+)
- 1950s18(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 1950 | F4 | 23 mi | 1.3 mi | 5 / 5 |
| May 25, 1962 | F3 | 18 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 2, 2024 | EF3 | 2 mi | 3.29 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 14, 1990 | F3 | 19 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 1976 | F3 | 9 mi | 20.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 15, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 23, 2023 | EF2 | 8 mi | 4.61 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 19, 2020 | EF2 | 10 mi | 5.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 2020 | EF2 | 21 mi | 10.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2019 | EF2 | 12 mi | 5.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1990 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 149, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hawley
The Storm Prediction Center has 162 hail reports within 10 miles of Hawley since 1959, made on 110 separate days. Of these, 133 were 1 inch across or larger, and 32 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 13, 1989. The most recent report is from November 3, 2024. May has the most reports, 59.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hawley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Anson, TX, 11 miles north of Hawley at 1,717 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 29°F. June is the wettest at 3.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 25.6 inches over 41 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 111 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 56 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.8 inches a year, most of it in November. That 25.6 inches is more than at 82 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (26%). Abilene, 13 miles south, has its own station (Abilene Regional Airport, TX): 25.2 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 29 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 62 | 33 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 69 | 40 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 78 | 49 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.5 |
| May | 86 | 59 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 93 | 67 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 96 | 71 | 2.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 95 | 71 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 63 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 51 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 40 | 1.5 | 3 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 58 | 32 | 1.4 | 2 | 0.8 |
| Year | 77 | 50 | 25.6 | 41 | 3.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Anson, TX (1,717 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 Hawley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hawley: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $805,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 10, 2023. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 275 have had fewer than Hawley.
October 17, 2018: flood 8 miles from the centre of Hawley — $394,000 damage.
June 3, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hawley — $200,000 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
Jones County, which includes Hawley, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1990, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 fires, 5 floods, 3 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jones County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.9 million a year, the 153rd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.6 million (40%), 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 Hawley
- Anson, TX10 mi
- Abilene, TX13 mi
- Dyess Afb, TX14 mi
- Merkel, TX16 mi
- Stamford, TX23 mi
- Hamlin, TX26 mi
- Clyde, TX26 mi
- Tuscola, TX27 mi
- Albany, TX33 mi
- Baird, TX34 mi
- Sweetwater, TX35 mi
- Haskell, TX37 mi
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