NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Socorro, 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 Socorro, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1929. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 7
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Socorro
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Socorro; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1929, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 1 mile away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 87% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Socorro. The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 21, 1992, passed within a mile of the city centre. Of the 7, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on April 22, 2019. Of the 753 Texas cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Socorro. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1974, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 81% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Socorro.
Compare Socorro's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Socorro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 1 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 Socorro: 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 Socorro
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s3
- 1980s1
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1992 | F1 | 4 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1992 | F1 | in town | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1992 | F1 | in town | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1972 | F1 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 2019 | EF0 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1988 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1972 | F0 | 23 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Socorro
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of Socorro since 1974, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 9 days, most recently November 4, 2016. The most recent report is from June 6, 2023. September has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Socorro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is El Paso International Airport, TX, 13 miles northwest of Socorro at 3,918 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 73°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 34°F. August is the wettest at 1.7 inches of precipitation on average and March and April the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 8.7 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 117 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 42 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 8.7 inches is more than at 1 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (0%). Clint, 8 miles south, has its own station (Tornillo 2 SSE, TX): 8.5 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 95°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 35 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 64 | 39 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 72 | 46 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 80 | 53 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 89 | 62 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 97 | 71 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 96 | 73 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 72 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 65 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 54 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 42 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 58 | 34 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.3 |
| Year | 79 | 54 | 8.7 | 22 | 2.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at El Paso International Airport, TX (3,918 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 Socorro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 36 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Socorro: 23 flash floods, 9 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on August 20, 2008. September has had the most flash floods, 9 of 23. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 481 have had fewer than Socorro.
August 10, 2005: flood 8 miles from the centre of Socorro — 2 killed, $50,000 damage.
September 12, 2013: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Socorro — $1.6 million damage.
NWS: “Almost 4 inches of rain fell in the Horizon City, Tornillo and Socorro areas overnight and into the morning of September 12th. Water levels in Tornillo were up to the hoods of some cars.”
July 16, 2010: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Socorro — $150,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Socorro's ZIP code 79927 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2001, and were paid $30,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 8% 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, 25 have fewer than Socorro.
El Paso County, which includes Socorro, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives El Paso County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail and lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $120.8 million a year, the 20th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.9 million (58%), 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.