NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Leander, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Leander, Texas since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delia in 1973. Since 1950, 121 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 121
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
31 deaths in all
What the records show for Leander
The strongest storm to pass near Leander was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. The record near Leander begins with an unnamed storm in 1897; the most recent system was Delia in 1973, a tropical storm 20 miles away. The 1900s and the 1960s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. None of the 9 systems has come since 2000. Leander has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 121 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 27, 1997; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 27 people. Of the 121, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on May 1, 2025. Leander has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 207 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Leander has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Leander's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Leander
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 29 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 66 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 50 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 Leander: 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 Leander
By decade
- 2020s7(1 EF3+)
- 2010s16
- 2000s19
- 1990s16(4 EF3+)
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s20(1 EF3+)
- 1960s19
- 1950s12(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1997 | F5 | 19 mi | 5.1 mi | 27 / 12 |
| May 27, 1997 | F4 | 15 mi | 5.6 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 17, 1989 | F3 | 21 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 10 mi | 31.7 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 12, 2022 | EF3 | 24 mi | 16.55 mi | 0 / 23 |
| May 27, 1997 | F3 | 3 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 15 |
| May 13, 1994 | F3 | 22 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 10, 1973 | F3 | 25 mi | 7.8 mi | 0 / 40 |
| May 10, 1959 | F3 | 17 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1970 | F2 | 9 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 13 mi | 34.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 2000 | F2 | 4 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Leander
The Storm Prediction Center has 207 hail reports within 10 miles of Leander since 1961, made on 87 separate days. Of these, 162 were 1 inch across or larger, and 23 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 19, 1982. The most recent report is from May 28, 2025. May has the most reports, 70.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Leander
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Austin Great Hills, TX, 11 miles southeast of Leander at 880 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 60°F and 38°F. October is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 37.1 inches over 48 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 114 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 27 nights a year. That 37.1 inches is more than at 179 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (57%). Liberty Hill, 11 miles north, has its own station (Austin 33 NW, TX): 33.2 inches a year, 3.9 less than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 38 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Feb | 65 | 41 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 72 | 48 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Apr | 79 | 55 | 2.3 | 4 |
| May | 84 | 64 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Jun | 92 | 70 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 73 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Aug | 96 | 72 | 2.3 | 2 |
| Sep | 89 | 67 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Oct | 80 | 57 | 4.6 | 4 |
| Nov | 69 | 47 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Dec | 61 | 39 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Year | 79 | 56 | 37.1 | 48 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Austin Great Hills, TX (880 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 Leander
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 109 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Leander: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 48 flash floods, 8 lightning strikes and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on August 29, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 12 of 48. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 661 have had fewer than Leander.
August 22, 2020: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Leander — $1.0 million damage.
July 24, 2017: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Leander — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a house on Goodnight Tr. causing a fire in Leander.”
May 20, 2001: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Leander — $350,000 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 Leander's ZIP code 78641 have filed 104 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $3.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 29 claims (28% of all) and $641,000, then 2025 July Central TX Flooding in 2025 with 19 and Thunderstorms in 2007 with 12. The year with the most claims was 2025, with 21. 64% 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, 229 have fewer than Leander.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 29 | $641,000 |
| 2025 July Central TX Flooding2025 | 19 | $1.5 million |
| Thunderstorms2007 | 12 | $522,000 |
Travis County, which includes Leander, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 fires, 8 hurricanes, 7 floods, 5 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on July 6, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Travis 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, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $376.3 million a year, the 6th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $214.2 million (57%), 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.