NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Little Elm, 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 Little Elm, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 144 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 144
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Little Elm
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Little Elm; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. The record near Little Elm begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 21 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Little Elm. The highest rating among the 144 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 9 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2024, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 2, 1957, killed 10 people. Of the 144, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on August 28, 2025. Little Elm has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 77% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 354 times since 1963, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Little Elm has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Little Elm's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Little Elm
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Little Elm: 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 Little Elm
By decade
- 2020s18(2 EF3+)
- 2010s26(1 EF3+)
- 2000s21
- 1990s10
- 1980s11
- 1970s28(2 EF3+)
- 1960s20(2 EF3+)
- 1950s10(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 9 mi | 17.2 mi | 10 / 200 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 18 mi | 47.27 mi | 7 / 80 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 17 mi | 0.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF3 | 20 mi | 15.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 20 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 16 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 1969 | F3 | 23 mi | 45.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 12, 1966 | F3 | 9 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 21 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 9, 1993 | F2 | 25 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 63 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2011 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 144, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Little Elm
The Storm Prediction Center has 354 hail reports within 10 miles of Little Elm since 1963, made on 145 separate days. Of these, 259 were 1 inch across or larger, and 45 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on October 21, 1996. The most recent report is from September 5, 2025. April has the most reports, 102.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Little Elm
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Denton 2 SE, TX, 9 miles west of Little Elm at 630 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 34°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 95 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 38 nights a year. That 38.5 inches is more than at 200 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (64%). The Colony, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Richardson, TX): 42.0 inches a year, 3.5 more than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 34 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Feb | 60 | 37 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 68 | 45 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 53 | 3.7 | 5 |
| May | 83 | 63 | 4.9 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 71 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 75 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 74 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Sep | 89 | 67 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 55 | 4.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 66 | 44 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 57 | 36 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Year | 76 | 55 | 38.5 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Denton 2 SE, TX (630 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 Little Elm
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 215 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Little Elm: 145 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 lightning strikes, 29 flash floods and 6 floods. They killed 4 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $14.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on May 28, 2024. May has had the most flash floods, 10 of 29. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 553 have had fewer than Little Elm.
July 1, 2012: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Little Elm — 2 killed.
July 7, 2012: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Little Elm — 2 killed.
May 30, 2023: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Little Elm — 1 injured, $1.0 million 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 Little Elm's ZIP code 75068 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1987, and were paid $131,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 40% 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, 78 have fewer than Little Elm.
Denton County, which includes Little Elm, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 fires, 5 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Denton 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 and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $354.7 million a year, the 7th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $145.3 million (41%), is from tornadoes.
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.