NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mesquite, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mesquite, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 168 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 168
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
27 deaths in all
What the records show for Mesquite
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mesquite; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near Mesquite begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 47 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 2 systems. None of the 4 systems has come since 2000. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 67% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Mesquite. The highest rating among the 168 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 26, 2015, came within 2 miles. Of the 168, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on March 4, 2025. Mesquite has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 311 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Mesquite has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Mesquite's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mesquite
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 5 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Mesquite: 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 Mesquite
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s32(5 EF3+)
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s40(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s40(2 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s10(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF4 | 2 mi | 13.04 mi | 10 / 468 |
| Apr 25, 1994 | F4 | 9 mi | 6 mi | 3 / 48 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 14 mi | 17.2 mi | 10 / 200 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF3 | 13 mi | 15.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF3 | 20 mi | 8.52 mi | 0 / 46 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 18 mi | 3.34 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 8 mi | 7.73 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 28, 2000 | F3 | 22 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1984 | F3 | 1 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 28 |
| May 5, 1978 | F3 | 24 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 12, 1969 | F3 | 7 mi | 45.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 168, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mesquite
The Storm Prediction Center has 311 hail reports within 10 miles of Mesquite since 1956, made on 191 separate days. Of these, 227 were 1 inch across or larger, and 37 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 11, 2016. The most recent report is from May 6, 2025. April has the most reports, 101.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mesquite
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dallas Love Field, TX, 15 miles west of Mesquite at 440 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 78°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 38°F. October is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 38.4 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 108 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 23 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.4 inches is more than at 198 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (63%). Sunnyvale, 3 miles northeast, has its own station (Richardson, TX): 42.0 inches a year, 3.6 more than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 38 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 62 | 42 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.9 |
| Mar | 70 | 49 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 77 | 57 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 85 | 66 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 93 | 74 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 97 | 78 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 97 | 77 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 90 | 70 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 80 | 59 | 4.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 68 | 48 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 59 | 40 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Year | 78 | 58 | 38.4 | 52 | 1.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dallas Love Field, TX (440 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 Mesquite
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 221 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mesquite: 142 thunderstorm wind reports, 64 flash floods, 8 floods and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 4 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $807.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on April 22, 1997. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 704 have had fewer than Mesquite.
March 18, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Mesquite — 1 killed, $150,000 damage.
May 29, 2015: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Mesquite — 1 killed, $90,000 damage.
August 22, 2022: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Mesquite — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Broadcast media reported that a woman was found dead after her car was swept away by flood waters of South Mesquite Creek along the service road of Loop 635.”
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 Mesquite's 3 ZIP codes have filed 126 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1995, with 49. 15% 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, 247 have fewer than Mesquite.
Dallas County, which includes Mesquite, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 4 fires, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dallas County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, hail, 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 $973.2 million a year, the 2nd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $323.7 million (33%), 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.