NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vernon, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Vernon, Texas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 129 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 129
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Vernon
The highest rating among the 129 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 7, 2011, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 10, 1979, killed 11 people. Of the 129, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 57. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Vernon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 178 times since 1959, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Vernon has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vernon
By decade
- 2020s14(1 EF3+)
- 2010s19(2 EF3+)
- 2000s9
- 1990s19
- 1980s24(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16(3 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s12(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 1979 | F4 | 9 mi | 39.7 mi | 11 / 68 |
| Nov 7, 2011 | EF4 | 14 mi | 17.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1954 | F4 | 9 mi | 68.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 4, 2022 | EF3 | 5 mi | 23.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2015 | EF3 | 20 mi | 40.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 1982 | F3 | 10 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1976 | F3 | 22 mi | 14.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 18, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 29 |
| May 16, 1968 | F3 | 2 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 10 mi | 65.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 10, 1979 | F2 | 16 mi | 74.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Apr 23, 2021 | EF2 | 7 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 129, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vernon
The Storm Prediction Center has 178 hail reports within 10 miles of Vernon since 1959, made on 115 separate days. Of these, 124 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on May 19, 1959. The most recent report is from May 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 59.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vernon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vernon, TX, 2 miles west of Vernon at 1,210 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 29°F. June is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 28.5 inches over 41 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 102 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 28.5 inches is more than at 100 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (32%). Electra, 22 miles southeast, has its own station (Lake Kemp, TX): 25.2 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 29 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 59 | 31 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 68 | 41 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 76 | 48 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| May | 85 | 60 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 93 | 69 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 97 | 73 | 2.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 97 | 72 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 64 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 51 | 2.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 65 | 39 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 31 | 1.3 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Year | 76 | 51 | 28.5 | 41 | 1.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vernon, TX (1,210 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 Vernon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vernon: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on May 8, 2015. March has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 115 have had fewer than Vernon.
June 2, 2004: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Vernon — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Strong wind gusts caused heavy damage at the Wilbarger County Airport. Eleven hangers were damaged as well as nine aircraft.”
June 2, 2004: thunderstorm wind in Vernon — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Some structural damage was reported around town.”
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
Wilbarger County, which includes Vernon, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1979, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wilbarger County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.6 million a year, the 144th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.4 million (13%), 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.
Cities near Vernon
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