43
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
42
Direct injuries
$3.9M
Property damage
Tornado in Clay County, Texas: 43 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #537 nationally and #93 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Clay County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Clay County is the 2020s, when 11 of the county's 43 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Clay County archive, tornado makes up 6.6% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #537 for this hazard and #93 within Texas, putting it in the 81.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Clay County with 19 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-04-10 | EF4 | 46.9 mi | 1,320 yd | Crossed in |
| 1958-04-02 | EF3 | 16.4 mi | 333 yd | Crossed in |
| 1986-05-14 | EF3 | 20.0 mi | 250 yd | Crossed in |
| 1955-04-06 | EF3 | 21.7 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1956-08-08 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1955-04-05 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-01 | EF2 | 1.3 mi | 67 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-25 | EF1 | 3.4 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-25 | EF1 | 3.4 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-11-03 | EF1 | 8.4 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1979 | F4 | 0 | 40 | $0 | |
| Apr 26, 1998 | BELLEVUE | F1 | 0 | 2 | $50K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2026 | BELLEVUE | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2026 | JOY | EF1 | $50K |
| Apr 25, 2026 | BLUEGROVE | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2026 | BLUEGROVE | EFU | $0 |
| Nov 3, 2024 | BYERS | EF1 | $0 |
| May 25, 2024 | BLUEGROVE | EF1 | $2K |
| May 25, 2024 | JOY | EF1 | $20K |
| Jun 16, 2023 | HENRIETTA | EF1 | $8K |
| May 5, 2023 | BELLEVUE | EF0 | $0 |
| May 23, 2020 | CHARLIE | EF1 | $2K |
Other hazards here
More from Clay County
- Hail 447
- Thunderstorm Wind 143
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A damage survey conducted by a National Weather Service meteorologist revealed a 6.5 mile tornado track across northern Clay County. The tornado began around 20:50 CST about 6 miles southwest of Charlie, TX, moved northeast, and lifted about 2 miles north of Charlie. Downed power poles and several trees on Ratt Road marked the beginning of the damage, with increasing damage through a pecan grove along Highway 171. Damage to a barn and over 1000 trees in the grove was rated at F1. Farther northeast along the track of the tornado, two homes and at least 3 barns/garages also sustained F1 damage along Linville and T-Bone Roads. The roof of a house on T-Bone Road was completely blown off, probably because the garage door had been left open. The heaviest damage from this tornado was along a three mile path from the pecan grove on Highway 171 to the houses on Linville and T-Bone Roads. Path width ranged from 50 to 100 yards.
This tornado destroyed a hay barn approximately 4 miles northeast of Shannon off of the Old Joy-Shannon Road and windows were broken at an adjacent farmstead. Except for this damage, the path of the tornado is estimated.
A tornado, probably a gustnado, overturned a mobile home on FM 1288 on the southwest side of Bellevue. A man and woman were injured inside the trailer and were taken to local hospitals. Tree limbs up to 8 inches in diameter were blown down and roofs were damaged on several homes. Two barns in the area were also destroyed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Clay County, Texas?
43 tornado events are recorded in Clay County between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Clay County?
The strongest tornado on record in Clay County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Clay County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Clay County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/clay-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.