NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ranger, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Ranger, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 72 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 72
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Ranger
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ranger; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 59 miles away. The record near Ranger begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 70 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 84% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Ranger. The highest rating among the 72 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 9, 2015, came within 21 miles. Of the 72, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ranger. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1955, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 52% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ranger.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ranger
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Ranger: 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 Ranger
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s6(1 EF3+)
- 2000s15
- 1990s5
- 1980s12
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2015 | EF3 | 21 mi | 3.79 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Oct 30, 1979 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1979 | F3 | 10 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | EF2 | 12 mi | 11.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1976 | F2 | 22 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 17, 1975 | F2 | 15 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 22, 1970 | F2 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1957 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 19, 1954 | F2 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF1 | 18 mi | 2.11 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2008 | EF1 | 21 mi | 7.06 mi | 0 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 72, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ranger
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of Ranger since 1955, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 5, 2009. The most recent report is from May 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ranger
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Eastland, TX, 11 miles southwest of Ranger at 1,438 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 30°F. May is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 29.2 inches over 44 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 97 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 68 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 29.2 inches is more than at 110 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (35%). Breckenridge, 23 miles northwest, has its own station (Breckenridge, TX): 29.8 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 30 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Feb | 61 | 33 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 70 | 42 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 77 | 49 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.1 |
| May | 84 | 60 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 91 | 67 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 96 | 70 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 96 | 68 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 61 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 50 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 39 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 59 | 31 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Year | 77 | 50 | 29.2 | 44 | 1.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Eastland, TX (1,438 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 Ranger
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 28 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ranger: 19 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 76 mph, on April 3, 2025.
October 14, 2013: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Ranger — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “A 24 year old female was killed in a chain reaction accident on Ranger Hill in rainy conditions.”
February 14, 2026: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Ranger — $2.4 million damage.
NWS: “Videos and articles from social and news media reported that a wind turbine south of Caddo was struck by lightning the morning of February 14th and caught on fire as a result. As per pictures, the shell at the top of the turbine was destroyed along with one of the blades.”
June 27, 2007: flood 7 miles from the centre of Ranger — $1.2 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
Eastland County, which includes Ranger, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1990, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 fires, 5 floods, 4 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 Eastland County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.5 million a year, the 148th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.0 million (42%), 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 Ranger
- Eastland, TX10 mi
- Cisco, TX20 mi
- Breckenridge, TX23 mi
- De Leon, TX27 mi
- Stephenville, TX32 mi
- Graford, TX34 mi
- Dublin, TX35 mi
- Lipan, TX37 mi
- Albany, TX39 mi
- Bluff Dale, TX39 mi
- Mineral Wells, TX39 mi
- Graham, TX41 mi
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