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Shelby County, Texas severe weather history spans 497 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #887 nationally and #85 in Texas.
497
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
74
Direct injuries
$14.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Shelby County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Shelby County, Texas severe weather history averages 6.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 130 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 117 events fall before 1990 and 380 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Shelby County, Texas record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $8.4M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Shelby County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 223 | 0 | $8.4M | 87 | 1971–2025 |
| Hail | 167 | 0 | $5K | 3 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 49 | 1 | $2K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 3 | $5.6M | F3 | 1950–2026 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $369K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Shelby County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-02-12 | EF3 | 3 | 15 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-03-27 | EF3 | 2 | 4 | 13.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1987-11-15 | EF3 | 1 | 116 | 48.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-03-20 | EF3 | 1 | 9 | 85.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-03 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-03-20 | EF3 | 0 | 18 | 44.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-02-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 42.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-12-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-03-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Shelby County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 12, 1950 | Tornado | 3 | 15 | $250K | |
| Jan 29, 1999 | Flash Flood | TIMPSON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 12, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 32 | $250K | |
| Nov 16, 1987 | Tornado | 0 | 15 | $2.5M | |
| May 3, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 5 | $0 | |
| Jan 21, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Jan 11, 2020 | Tornado | CENTER | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| May 18, 2015 | Lightning | TIMPSON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous reports of downed trees and power lines throughout the area. Every customer in the area lost power for several days. Property damage in the region resulted climbed to over 1 million dollars while over 6 million dollars damaged occurred in private timber loss.
The Center Fire Department was dispatched to a house fire at 1134 CR 2230 in Center Texas at 5:30pm. The caller reported lightning struck the house and ignited a fire. Upon arrival on scene, the Center Fire Department reported the flames were in the attic of the home and spreading quickly. The fire department called in the assistance of the Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department for the need of another tanker truck.|Firefighters fought the blaze as the storm continued to rage and lightning could be seen as well as thunder being heard. Rain poured down but failed to help extinguish any of the fire due to heavy winds blowing and fueling the flames. ||The fire department did lose a ladder to the blaze which was leaned against the end of the house to give crews better access to the attic area. Fire weakened the brick structure and a portion of a brick wall fell causing damage to the ladder. No firefighters were on the ladder when the wall fell.
Several homes and metal outbuildings were damaged closer to the Timpson, Texas area. A travel trailer and barn was completely destroyed. Numerous trees snapped along the path as well. This tornado continued into southern Panola County, Texas.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
24,155
Population (ACS)
$102K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE BERYL | DR |
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 19, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 14, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Aug 24, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Center 139
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Shelby County, Texas?
497 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $14.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Shelby County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 223 recorded events — 44.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Shelby County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Shelby County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Shelby County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Shelby County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Shelby County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 56 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Shelby County, Texas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Shackelford County 262
- Sherman County 321
- Scurry County 554
- Smith County 1,049
- Schleicher County 148
- Somervell County 167
Cite this page
“Shelby County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/shelby-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.