NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Whitesboro, 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 Whitesboro, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Carla in 1961. Since 1950, 155 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 155
- EF3 or stronger
- 16
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Whitesboro
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Whitesboro; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The record near Whitesboro begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was Carla in 1961, a tropical storm 14 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Whitesboro. The strongest of the 155 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on April 27, 2024; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF3 on May 25, 2024, killed 7 people. Of the 155, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 49. The most recent tornado was on June 8, 2025. Whitesboro has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 137 times since 1971, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Whitesboro has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Whitesboro
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 10 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Whitesboro: 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 Whitesboro
By decade
- 2020s14(2 EF3+)
- 2010s22
- 2000s13
- 1990s25
- 1980s11(1 EF3+)
- 1970s30(6 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s24(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2024 | EF4 | 19 mi | 26.8 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 25, 2024 | EF3 | 19 mi | 47.27 mi | 7 / 80 |
| Mar 13, 1953 | F3 | 24 mi | 45.3 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Apr 6, 1955 | F3 | 19 mi | 30.2 mi | 1 / 27 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 1973 | F3 | 6 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 23 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 23 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 3, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 16.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 155, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Whitesboro
The Storm Prediction Center has 137 hail reports within 10 miles of Whitesboro since 1971, made on 91 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 21, 1996. The most recent report is from September 23, 2025. April has the most reports, 45.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Whitesboro
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gainesville 5 ENE, TX, 9 miles southwest of Whitesboro at 870 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 32°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.7 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 82 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 50 nights a year. Snowfall averages 2.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.7 inches is more than at 229 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (73%). Pottsboro, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (Sherman, TX): 44.3 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and an August average high of 93°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 32 | 2.2 | 4 | 1.3 |
| Feb | 58 | 35 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 66 | 43 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 74 | 51 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 80 | 60 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 69 | 4.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 73 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 72 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 65 | 3.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 54 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 43 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 55 | 34 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Year | 74 | 53 | 42.7 | 53 | 2.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gainesville 5 ENE, TX (870 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 Whitesboro
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Whitesboro: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $21.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 11, 2011. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 12. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 250 have had fewer than Whitesboro.
June 18, 2007: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Whitesboro — 2 killed, $20.0 million damage.
April 21, 1996: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Whitesboro — 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
June 18, 2011: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Whitesboro — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “High winds caused substantial damage to a home in Sadler. A person inside the home suffered a broken arm.”
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 Whitesboro's ZIP code 76273 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1989, and were paid $247,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 90% 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 Whitesboro.
Grayson County, which includes Whitesboro, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1981, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 fires, 4 hurricanes, 3 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grayson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $42.6 million a year, the 42nd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.0 million (45%), 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 Whitesboro
- Collinsville, TX11 mi
- Gainesville, TX14 mi
- Pottsboro, TX15 mi
- Sherman, TX18 mi
- Valley View, TX19 mi
- Marietta, OK20 mi
- Kingston, OK20 mi
- Gunter, TX20 mi
- Denison, TX21 mi
- Howe, TX21 mi
- Pilot Point, TX22 mi
- Colbert, OK26 mi
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