41
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
24
Direct injuries
$825K
Property damage
Tornado in Deaf Smith County, Texas: 41 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #598 nationally and #104 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Deaf Smith County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Deaf Smith County is the 1970s, when 11 of the county's 41 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 Deaf Smith County archive, tornado makes up 6.9% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #598 for this hazard and #104 within Texas, putting it in the 79.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Deaf Smith County with 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-04-19 | EF3 | 6.1 mi | 133 yd | Touched down here |
| 1996-05-25 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-01 | EF2 | 4.7 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1957-05-24 | EF2 | 70.1 mi | 33 yd | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-25 | EF1 | 0.6 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-02 | EF1 | 2.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1981-07-07 | EF1 | 0.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1976-04-15 | EF1 | 0.5 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-03-09 | EF1 | 3.0 mi | 20 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-05-24 | EF1 | 3.0 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1971 | F3 | 0 | 24 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2025 | SIMMS | EF0 | $45K |
| Apr 26, 2025 | HEREFORD | EF1 | $50K |
| Apr 26, 2025 | BOOTLEG | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2020 | MILO CENTER | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2015 | HEREFORD | EF0 | $0 |
| May 29, 2013 | WALCOTT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 28, 2013 | BOOTLEG | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2006 | HEREFORD | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2006 | HEREFORD | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2005 | DAWN | F0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Deaf Smith County
- Hail 348
- Thunderstorm Wind 179
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado blew the roof and some exterior walls of a brick veneer home down and destroyed the adjacent barn. Two other homes were seriously damaged. Two farm hands rode out the storm in the brick veneer home without injuries. The track is an estimate.
This tornado touched down near County Road K and FM 1058. It caused damage to a property near this intersection, including some minor roofing damage and a few snapped trees. As this tornado crossed FM1058, seemingly tracking to the north to northwest, it broke a couple of power poles. It looked to continue along County Road K, where it deposited some debris and partially overturned an irrigation pivot before lifting. Given limited damage indicators, track of the tornado is also estimated using radar data. The maximum estimated winds with this tornado was 100mph. Thank you to the Deaf Smith County Emergency Management for their help in the completion of this tornado survey.
Several visuals from storm spotters indicated that funnel clouds and perhaps brief touchdowns occurred before this tornado from the same supercell as it crossed western Deaf Smith County. However, this tornado did overturn a couple of pivots south of |County Road 27 and east of Highway 214. This appears to have been the only damage noted from this tornado so the exact length of the track is unknown due to the lack of damage indicators. The estimated wind speed from this tornado was 85mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Deaf Smith County, Texas?
41 tornado events are recorded in Deaf Smith County between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Deaf Smith County?
The strongest tornado on record in Deaf Smith County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Deaf Smith 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 Deaf Smith County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/deaf-smith-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.