NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit May, 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 May, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1886. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 94
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for May
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed May; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1886, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 87% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than May. The strongest of the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 19, 1976; its path came within 7 miles. Of the 94, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on May 25, 2024. Of the 753 Texas cities, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than May. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 111 times since 1975, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). May has more hail reports within 10 miles than 68% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near May
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 21 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in May: 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 May
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s14
- 2000s10
- 1990s22
- 1980s20(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1976 | F5 | 7 mi | 10.5 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 12, 1982 | F3 | 15 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 19, 1976 | F3 | 11 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 1958 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 2.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 1993 | F2 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Mar 17, 1975 | F2 | 24 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1970 | F2 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 26, 1970 | F2 | 20 mi | 14.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1960 | F2 | 9 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 4, 1955 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 2019 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in May
The Storm Prediction Center has 111 hail reports within 10 miles of May since 1975, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 89 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 7, 2015. The most recent report is from March 21, 2024. May has the most reports, 48.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in May
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rising Star 1S, TX, 11 miles north of May at 1,633 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 31°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 31.6 inches over 41 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 92 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 57 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.6 inches is more than at 126 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (40%). Early, 12 miles south, has its own station (Brownwood 2ENE, TX): 30.7 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and a July average high of 97°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 31 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 61 | 34 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 68 | 42 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 77 | 50 | 2.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| May | 84 | 60 | 5.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 90 | 68 | 3.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 70 | 2.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 95 | 69 | 2.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 63 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 52 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 41 | 2.2 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 58 | 34 | 1.7 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Year | 76 | 51 | 31.6 | 41 | 0.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rising Star 1S, TX (1,633 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 May
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 35 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of May: 29 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $416,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 94 mph, on March 8, 2016.
May 15, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of May — 3 injured.
NWS: “The Brown County Emergency Manager reported extensive damage to multiple docks, including Kirkland Docks on Lake Brownwood resulting in four minor injuries. |There were tree limbs blown down and some trees were snapped.”
May 29, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of May — $200,000 damage.
May 9, 1997: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of May — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Downburst winds occurred over an area from Lake Brownwood State Park to the towns of Early and north Brownwood. A wind gust to 67 mph was recorded at the Brownwood airport.”
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
Brown County, which includes May, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1989, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 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 Brown County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $19.3 million a year, the 95th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.7 million (61%), 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 May
- Early, TX12 mi
- Brownwood, TX13 mi
- Bangs, TX18 mi
- Comanche, TX20 mi
- De Leon, TX27 mi
- Coleman, TX30 mi
- Cisco, TX33 mi
- Eastland, TX34 mi
- Baird, TX37 mi
- Dublin, TX37 mi
- Goldthwaite, TX40 mi
- Ranger, TX43 mi
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