NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Thorndale, 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
17 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Thorndale, Texas since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Chantal in 1989. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 75
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Thorndale
The strongest storm to pass near Thorndale was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 1 hurricane with 78 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Thorndale begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Chantal in 1989, a tropical storm 66 miles away. None of the 17 systems has come since 2000. Thorndale has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 75 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 7, 1980, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on May 25, 2015, killed 1 person. Of the 75, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Thorndale. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Thorndale.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Thorndale
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | ChantalAug 2 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1983 | AliciaAug 18 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 28 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 28 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | overhead | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormJun 23 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 29 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 18 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 4 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 20 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Thorndale: 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 Thorndale
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s8
- 2000s9
- 1990s16
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12
- 1960s5
- 1950s10(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 18 mi | 31.7 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 24, 1957 | F3 | 13 mi | 14.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F3 | 3 mi | 139.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Dec 2, 1953 | F3 | 12 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 25, 2015 | EF2 | 15 mi | 8.88 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 19 mi | 11.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 16 mi | 34.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 20, 2017 | EF2 | 7 mi | 4.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 20, 2017 | EF2 | 4 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 5, 1994 | F2 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1989 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 9, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 22.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Thorndale
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Thorndale since 1965, made on 11 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 10, 1971. The most recent report is from April 3, 2012. April has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Thorndale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Granger Dam, TX, 11 miles northwest of Thorndale at 555 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 61°F and 37°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.3 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (17.0 of 35.3 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 17 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 91°F and 3.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 111 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 25 nights a year. That 35.3 inches is more than at 154 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (49%). Rockdale, 11 miles east, has its own station (Cameron, TX): 38.6 inches a year, 3.3 more than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 | 37 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Feb | 65 | 41 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Mar | 72 | 48 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 79 | 55 | 2.7 | 4 |
| May | 86 | 63 | 5.0 | 6 |
| Jun | 92 | 70 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 72 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Aug | 97 | 72 | 2.4 | 3 |
| Sep | 91 | 67 | 3.3 | 4 |
| Oct | 82 | 56 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 71 | 47 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Dec | 62 | 39 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Year | 79 | 56 | 35.3 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Granger Dam, TX (555 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 Thorndale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 22 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Thorndale: 12 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 1 flood, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $140,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on February 20, 2017. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 115 have had fewer than Thorndale.
February 20, 2017: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Thorndale — 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
Milam County, which includes Thorndale, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 4 fires, 3 floods, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Milam County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.6 million a year, the 132nd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 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.
Cities near Thorndale
- Rockdale, TX11 mi
- Taylor, TX14 mi
- Lexington, TX16 mi
- Granger, TX16 mi
- Bartlett, TX19 mi
- Cameron, TX21 mi
- Elgin, TX22 mi
- Hutto, TX22 mi
- Rogers, TX22 mi
- Holland, TX23 mi
- Mc Dade, TX23 mi
- Little River Academy, TX28 mi
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