Taylor County, Texas severe weather history spans 1,096 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #107 nationally and #13 in Texas.
1,096
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
52
Direct injuries
$471.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Taylor County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Taylor County, Texas severe weather history averages 14.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 260 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 209 events fall before 1990 and 887 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Taylor County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $409.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Taylor County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 561 | 0 | $409.9M | 4.5 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 361 | 0 | $8.7M | 83 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 78 | 1 | $29.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 69 | 1 | $18.4M | F3 | 1951–2026 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $5.4M | 0 | 2002–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2023 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $285K | 0 | 2004–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Taylor County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
69 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 65 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-03-14 | EF3 | 0 | 14 | 40.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-15 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 9.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-04-28 | EF2 | 1 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-03-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-03-04 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-04-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-10-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Taylor County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2007 | Flash Flood | GUION | 1 | 0 | $30K |
| Apr 29, 1985 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $250K | |
| Jun 12, 2014 | Hail | HAMBY | 0 | 12 | $400.0M |
| May 12, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 10 | $0 | |
| Jun 16, 1951 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Jun 14, 2002 | Hail | TYE | 0 | 5 | $150K |
| Mar 14, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 15, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado began on the southeast corner of Dyess Air Force Base and damaged some roofs and destroyed a shed. The tornado moved northeast towards Abilene and impacted several residential neighborhoods on both sides of the Winters Freeway located on the west side of Abilene. It damaged many roofs, blew out windows, uprooted trees and damaged tree limbs. The tornado strengthened to an EF-2 as it crossed South 6th street, completely removing several roofs from residential homes. According to the City of Abilene, about 390 homes were affected. Of these homes, about 336 homes had minor roof damage, 46 homes had major damage and eight homes were destroyed by the tornado.
Excessive rainfall from heavy rains Friday night into Saturday morning across southwest Taylor County caused water to spill over the main spillway at Lake Abilene. This water flowed into Elm Creek and flooded several streets, homes, and businesses in the City of Abilene Sunday morning, prompting the Abilene Emergency Operations Center to call for a mandatory evacuation of the affected locations.
A report of large hail measured at 4.5 inches was received from the Severe Hazards Analysis and Verification Experiment affiliated with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. The vicious hail storm struck during the Abilene Art Walk children���s parade. The Taylor County Sheriff���s Office reported up to a dozen people were treated for various injuries. About six of the injured were parade-goers who experienced minor head injuries from the hailstones. Substantial damage was reported in downtown Abilene and on the city���s east side. Forty-eight Abilene patrol cars were heavily damaged. The Abilene Fire Department shut down Fire Station 4 at 1909 W. Stamford St. due to rain and hail damage. Local law enforcement reported several offices in downtown Abilene had windows broken, many of the trees in the downtown area were stripped of their leaves and many limbs were down in the street.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
145,863
Population (ACS)
$199K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2022 | Fire | MESQUITE HEAT FIRE | FM |
| Feb 19, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 14, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 5, 2009 | Fire | TUSCOLA FIRE | FM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Abilene 282
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Taylor County, Texas?
1,096 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $471.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Taylor County?
Hail, with 561 recorded events — 51.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Taylor County?
69 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 65 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Taylor County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Taylor County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Taylor County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Taylor County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 84 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Taylor 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
- Tarrant County 2,886
- Terrell County 211
- Swisher County 459
- Terry County 341
- Sutton County 135
- Throckmorton County 355
Cite this page
“Taylor County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/taylor-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.