NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waco, 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 Waco, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Alicia in 1983. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
126 deaths in all
What the records show for Waco
None of the 11 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waco; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 67 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Waco begins with an unnamed storm in 1871; the most recent system was Alicia in 1983, a tropical storm 21 miles away. The 1900s and the 1940s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. None of the 11 systems has come since 2000. Waco has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 52% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1973, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on May 11, 1953, killed 114 people. Of the 101, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on June 11, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waco. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 202 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Waco has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waco
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | AliciaAug 19 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 29 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 29 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormJun 23 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 5 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Waco: 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 Waco
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s5
- 2000s14
- 1990s15(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s23(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s10(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1953 | F5 | 1 mi | 20.9 mi | 114 / 597 |
| May 6, 1973 | F5 | 16 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1973 | F4 | 20 mi | 23.3 mi | 6 / 77 |
| Mar 31, 1959 | F4 | 20 mi | 10.4 mi | 6 / 31 |
| Apr 21, 1952 | F4 | 16 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1997 | F3 | 19 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 5.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 2006 | F2 | 1 mi | 2.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 2001 | F2 | 13 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 12, 2001 | F2 | 19 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 1998 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1997 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waco
The Storm Prediction Center has 202 hail reports within 10 miles of Waco since 1956, made on 119 separate days. Of these, 136 were 1 inch across or larger, and 16 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 3 days, most recently April 26, 2023. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 70.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waco
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waco Dam, TX, 4 miles northwest of Waco at 495 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 95°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 36°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 37.6 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (18.3 of 37.6 inches); the other six months are wetter. August has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (4); a normal August there has highs of 95°F and 2.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 108 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 38 nights a year. That 37.6 inches is more than at 186 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (60%). Elm Mott, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Waco Regional Airport, TX): 36.5 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and an August average high of 97°F against 95°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 36 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Feb | 62 | 40 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Mar | 68 | 48 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 54 | 3.2 | 4 |
| May | 83 | 64 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Jun | 91 | 72 | 3.6 | 4 |
| Jul | 95 | 75 | 1.9 | 3 |
| Aug | 95 | 75 | 2.4 | 3 |
| Sep | 89 | 68 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Oct | 80 | 57 | 4.3 | 4 |
| Nov | 68 | 46 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 60 | 39 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Year | 77 | 56 | 37.6 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waco Dam, TX (495 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 Waco
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 170 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waco: 110 thunderstorm wind reports, 47 flash floods, 7 lightning strikes, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 10, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 24 of 47. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 658 have had fewer than Waco.
June 12, 2014: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Waco — 1 killed, $100,000 damage.
June 27, 2015: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Waco — 1 killed.
NWS: “In Waco, a homeless man was swept away and drowned when the creek that he was sleeping next to quickly rose in response to heavier rain earlier in the night. The man was asleep behind the Walmart on Franklin Avenue.”
November 4, 2014: heavy rain event 10 miles from the centre of Waco — 1 injured, $10,000 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 Waco's 8 ZIP codes have filed 218 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $3.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1989: 37 claims (17% of all) and $191,000, then 2026-06-Arthur-TS in 2026 with 30. The year with the most claims was 2026, with 31. 43% 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, 297 have fewer than Waco.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1989 | 37 | $191,000 |
| 2026-06-Arthur-TS2026 | 30 | $1.2 million |
McLennan County, which includes Waco, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 hurricanes, 4 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McLennan County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $84.5 million a year, the 23rd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.3 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).
Waco in the notable storm records: The May 11, 1953 F5 Tornado in Texas, near Waco
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Waco
- Robinson, TX4 mi
- Hewitt, TX8 mi
- Elm Mott, TX10 mi
- Lorena, TX11 mi
- China Spring, TX12 mi
- Axtell, TX14 mi
- Crawford, TX14 mi
- Riesel, TX16 mi
- West, TX16 mi
- Mc Gregor, TX17 mi
- Eddy, TX20 mi
- Mart, TX20 mi
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