NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Salado, 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
11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Salado, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Alicia in 1983. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
31 deaths in all
What the records show for Salado
None of the 11 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Salado; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 72 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The record near Salado begins with an unnamed storm in 1897; the most recent system was Alicia in 1983, a tropical storm 63 miles away. None of the 11 systems has come since 2000. Salado has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 27, 1997; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 27 people. Of the 120, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on May 1, 2025. Salado has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 123 times since 1976, with stones up to 5.68 inches. Salado has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Salado's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Salado
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | AliciaAug 18 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 29 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 29 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Salado: 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 Salado
By decade
- 2020s12(1 EF3+)
- 2010s6
- 2000s19
- 1990s20(4 EF3+)
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s21(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15
- 1950s12
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1997 | F5 | 10 mi | 5.1 mi | 27 / 12 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 2 / 7 |
| May 17, 1989 | F3 | 10 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Apr 12, 2022 | EF3 | 6 mi | 16.55 mi | 0 / 23 |
| May 27, 1997 | F3 | 12 mi | 1.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1997 | F3 | 24 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 14, 1990 | F3 | 9 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1955 | F2 | 16 mi | 10.1 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 22, 2024 | EF2 | 14 mi | 2.78 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 16 mi | 34.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2019 | EF2 | 25 mi | 1.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1997 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Salado
The Storm Prediction Center has 123 hail reports within 10 miles of Salado since 1976, made on 72 separate days. Of these, 85 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5.68 inches, fell on April 12, 2022. The most recent report is from May 12, 2024. April has the most reports, 39.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Salado
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Stillhouse Hollow Dam, TX, 6 miles north of Salado at 706 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 60°F and 36°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 37.1 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (18.1 of 37.1 inches); the other six months are wetter. Highs reach 90°F on about 118 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 33 nights a year. That 37.1 inches is more than at 179 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (57%). Nolanville, 9 miles north, has its own station (Killeen, TX): 34.8 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and an August average high of 97°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 36 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 64 | 39 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Mar | 71 | 46 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Apr | 78 | 54 | 3.1 | 4 |
| May | 85 | 63 | 4.9 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 70 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Jul | 95 | 72 | 1.9 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 72 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Sep | 90 | 66 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 81 | 56 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Nov | 69 | 46 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Dec | 61 | 38 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Year | 78 | 55 | 37.1 | 53 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Stillhouse Hollow Dam, TX (706 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 Salado
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 85 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Salado: 51 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods, 5 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 20, 2006. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 27. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 527 have had fewer than Salado.
June 17, 2015: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Salado — 1 killed, $150,000 damage.
June 17, 2015: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Salado — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
June 27, 2007: flood 3 miles from the centre of Salado — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Runoff from heavy rains caused Mills Creek to flood portions of Salado, including Mill Creek Drive and Smith Bluff. About 30 homes were evacuated and one man had to be rescued from his rooftop.”
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 Salado's ZIP code 76571 have filed 106 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $8.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Thunderstorms in 2007: 16 claims (15% of all) and $116,000. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 61. 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, 230 have fewer than Salado.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorms2007 | 16 | $116,000 |
Bell County, which includes Salado, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 fires, 4 hurricanes, 3 floods, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bell County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $107.0 million a year, the 22nd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $37.9 million (35%), 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.