NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Royse City, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Royse City, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 132 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 132
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
15 deaths in all
What the records show for Royse City
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Royse City; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The record near Royse City begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 63% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Royse City. The strongest of the 132 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on December 26, 2015; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 10 people. Of the 132, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on May 25, 2024. Royse City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 110 times since 1968, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Royse City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Royse City's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Royse City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 13 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 5 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Royse City: 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 Royse City
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s26(4 EF3+)
- 2000s7
- 1990s32
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s27(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s11(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF4 | 11 mi | 13.04 mi | 10 / 468 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF3 | 22 mi | 15.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 4 mi | 3.34 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 3, 2012 | EF3 | 11 mi | 7.73 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Dec 13, 1984 | F3 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 28 |
| May 5, 1978 | F3 | 8 mi | 29.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 1969 | F3 | 16 mi | 45.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 21, 1967 | F3 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 1959 | F3 | 10 mi | 27.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 6, 1958 | F3 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF2 | 10 mi | 5.29 mi | 2 / 119 |
| May 9, 1993 | F2 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 63 |
The strongest 12 of 132, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Royse City
The Storm Prediction Center has 110 hail reports within 10 miles of Royse City since 1968, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 3 days, most recently April 5, 2003. The most recent report is from May 8, 2024. April has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Royse City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lavon Dam, TX, 11 miles northwest of Royse City at 510 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 34°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 39.8 inches over 57 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 44 nights a year. That 39.8 inches is more than at 208 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (67%). Caddo Mills, 9 miles northeast, has its own station (Greenville Kgvl Radio, TX): 47.2 inches a year, 7.4 more than here, and an August average high of 98°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 34 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 58 | 38 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Mar | 65 | 46 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 73 | 53 | 3.7 | 5 |
| May | 80 | 63 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Jun | 88 | 70 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Jul | 92 | 73 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Aug | 93 | 73 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Sep | 87 | 66 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Oct | 77 | 55 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 65 | 45 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 56 | 36 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Year | 74 | 54 | 39.8 | 57 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lavon Dam, TX (510 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 Royse City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 95 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Royse City: 64 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 4 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 6 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on March 29, 2017. January has had the most flash floods, 6 of 24. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 497 have had fewer than Royse City.
November 20, 2009: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Royse City — 3 killed, 3 injured.
May 23, 2015: heavy rain event 6 miles from the centre of Royse City — 1 killed, 2 injured.
February 8, 2023: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Royse City — 1 killed, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Brushy Creek overflowed Interstate 30 near FM 1565 and several cars were stuck in high water. The fast moving water swept one car off the road on the north service road and unfortunately the elderly man drowned.”
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 Royse City's ZIP code 75189 have filed 19 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1999, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 16% 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, 74 have fewer than Royse City.
Rockwall County, which includes Royse City, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 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 Rockwall County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.4 million a year, the 38th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.1 million (35%), 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.