NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tyler, 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 Tyler, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 136 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 136
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Tyler
None of the 11 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Tyler; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1891, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 65 miles away. The record near Tyler begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 8 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 4 systems. Of the 11 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Tyler has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 136 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 11 times; the most recent, on May 10, 2015, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 15, 1987, killed 4 people. Of the 136, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 37 each. The most recent tornado was on November 20, 2025. Tyler has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 72% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 205 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Tyler has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Tyler's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Tyler
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 13 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 24 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 5 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 9 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 7 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 10 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Tyler: 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 Tyler
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s20(1 EF3+)
- 2000s11
- 1990s21(1 EF3+)
- 1980s23(1 EF3+)
- 1970s20(2 EF3+)
- 1960s18
- 1950s13(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 1987 | F3 | 9 mi | 33 mi | 4 / 81 |
| May 10, 2015 | EF3 | 19 mi | 10.22 mi | 2 / 43 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Feb 23, 1979 | F3 | 9 mi | 10.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 3, 1970 | F3 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 4, 1959 | F3 | 16 mi | 25.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 3, 1958 | F3 | 5 mi | 59.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1957 | F3 | 23 mi | 14.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1957 | F3 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1955 | F3 | 19 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 2, 1954 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 29, 2016 | EF2 | 13 mi | 25.94 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 136, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tyler
The Storm Prediction Center has 205 hail reports within 10 miles of Tyler since 1955, made on 121 separate days. Of these, 126 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 7 days, most recently February 11, 2024. The most recent report is from May 6, 2025. May has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tyler
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tyler, TX, 2 miles south of Tyler at 550 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 58°F and 39°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.7 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 46% of the year's precipitation (22.1 of 47.7 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (4); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 96 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 28 nights a year. That 47.7 inches is more than at 256 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (82%). Chandler, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (Tyler Pounds Field, TX): 42.2 inches a year, 5.5 less than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 39 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 63 | 42 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 70 | 49 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Apr | 77 | 55 | 4.0 | 5 |
| May | 84 | 64 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Jun | 90 | 71 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Jul | 93 | 74 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Aug | 94 | 73 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Sep | 88 | 67 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Oct | 78 | 57 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Nov | 66 | 47 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Dec | 59 | 40 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Year | 77 | 56 | 47.7 | 64 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tyler, TX (550 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 Tyler
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 287 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tyler: 193 thunderstorm wind reports, 78 flash floods, 14 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 3 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 12, 2022. April has had the most flash floods, 18 of 78. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 720 have had fewer than Tyler.
June 10, 2009: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Tyler — 2 killed.
NWS: “Two people driving an automobile got out of a truck when the vehicle drove over power lines that were downed from earlier in the evening. The two adults were electrocuted when the exited the burning vehicle.”
April 5, 2022: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Tyler — 1 killed.
June 10, 2010: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Tyler — 2 injured, $3,000 damage.
NWS: “Excessive heavy rainfall opened up a sinkhole along County Road 1130 that was nearly 20 foot deep. A vehicle was seen lodged halfway inside the sinkhole.”
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 Tyler's 10 ZIP codes have filed 246 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1989: 29 claims (12% of all) and $70,000, then Late winter severe storms in 2016 with 13. 25% 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, 305 have fewer than Tyler.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1989 | 29 | $70,000 |
| Late winter severe storms2016 | 13 | $486,000 |
Smith County, which includes Tyler, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 fires, 5 severe storms, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Smith County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $43.1 million a year, the 40th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.4 million (50%), 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 Tyler
- Whitehouse, TX9 mi
- Flint, TX11 mi
- Chandler, TX13 mi
- Bullard, TX14 mi
- Winona, TX14 mi
- Arp, TX15 mi
- Lindale, TX15 mi
- Troup, TX18 mi
- Brownsboro, TX18 mi
- Hawkins, TX20 mi
- Overton, TX21 mi
- Frankston, TX21 mi
All Texas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Tyler with another place →