NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit The Colony, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of The Colony, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 165 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 165
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
28 deaths in all
What the records show for The Colony
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed The Colony; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. The record near The Colony begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 26 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than The Colony. The strongest of the 165 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on December 26, 2015; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 10 people. Of the 165, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on August 28, 2025. The Colony has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 361 times since 1958, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). The Colony has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare The Colony's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near The Colony
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in The Colony: 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 The Colony
By decade
- 2020s19(2 EF3+)
- 2010s31(2 EF3+)
- 2000s23(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s13(1 EF3+)
- 1970s27(2 EF3+)
- 1960s23(2 EF3+)
- 1950s13(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2015 | EF4 | 24 mi | 13.04 mi | 10 / 468 |
| Apr 2, 1957 | F3 | 3 mi | 17.2 mi | 10 / 200 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 25 mi | 47.27 mi | 7 / 80 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 20 mi | 0.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | EF3 | 13 mi | 15.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2000 | F3 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1984 | F3 | 21 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 28 |
| May 26, 1976 | F3 | 13 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 1969 | F3 | 17 mi | 45.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 12, 1966 | F3 | 16 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 1959 | F3 | 24 mi | 27.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 165, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in The Colony
The Storm Prediction Center has 361 hail reports within 10 miles of The Colony since 1958, made on 140 separate days. Of these, 259 were 1 inch across or larger, and 49 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on October 21, 1996. The most recent report is from September 5, 2025. April has the most reports, 102.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in The Colony
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Richardson, TX, 10 miles southeast of The Colony at 678 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 36°F. October is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.0 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 93 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 35 nights a year. That 42.0 inches is more than at 225 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (72%). Little Elm, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Denton 2 SE, TX): 38.5 inches a year, 3.5 less than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56 | 36 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 60 | 40 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Mar | 69 | 48 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Apr | 75 | 55 | 3.5 | 5 |
| May | 83 | 64 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Jun | 90 | 71 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Jul | 94 | 75 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Aug | 95 | 75 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Sep | 87 | 67 | 3.3 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 56 | 5.3 | 6 |
| Nov | 66 | 46 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Dec | 57 | 38 | 3.4 | 4 |
| Year | 76 | 56 | 42.0 | 57 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Richardson, TX (678 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 The Colony
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 280 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of The Colony: 175 thunderstorm wind reports, 55 lightning strikes, 43 flash floods, 5 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 6 people and injured 16, and the NWS estimated $27.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on June 14, 1996. May has had the most flash floods, 11 of 43. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 646 have had fewer than The Colony.
July 1, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of The Colony — 2 killed.
July 7, 2012: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of The Colony — 2 killed.
June 1, 2022: flood 7 miles from the centre of The Colony — 1 killed, 2 injured.
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 The Colony's ZIP code 75056 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1994, and were paid $700,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 20% 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, 0 have fewer than The Colony.
Denton County, which includes The Colony, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 fires, 5 hurricanes, 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 Denton County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $354.7 million a year, the 7th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $145.3 million (41%), 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.