110
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
143
Direct injuries
$57.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Jefferson County, Texas: 110 recorded events between 1956 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #30 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Jefferson County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Jefferson County is the 1970s, when 40 of the county's 110 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 Jefferson County archive, tornado makes up 16.9% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #30 for this hazard and #4 within Texas, putting it in the 99.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for tornado in Jefferson County with 16 recorded events, while Mar 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-11-07 | EF4 | 12.9 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-11-07 | EF3 | 3.6 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-10-28 | EF3 | 9.6 mi | 67 yd | Crossed in |
| 2024-12-28 | EF3 | 67.9 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1999-01-01 | EF3 | 5.5 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 1983-01-31 | EF3 | 1.0 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-10-11 | EF3 | 4.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1969-03-23 | EF3 | 0.5 mi | 67 yd | Touched down here |
| 1957-11-07 | EF3 | 1.5 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-20 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 167 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 1957 | F3 | 2 | 59 | $2.5M | |
| May 20, 1983 | F2 | 1 | 9 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 11, 1970 | F3 | 0 | 19 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 18, 2009 | GILLBURG | EF1 | 0 | 10 | $20.0M |
| Aug 6, 1964 | F2 | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Aug 10, 1962 | F1 | 0 | 6 | $0 | |
| Jan 2, 1999 | NOME | F3 | 0 | 5 | $500K |
| Jul 14, 1997 | PORT ARTHUR | F0 | 0 | 3 | $50K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 28, 2024 | HAMSHIRE | EF3 | $500K |
| Apr 10, 2024 | PORT ARTHUR | EF2 | $500K |
| Jan 24, 2023 | LA BELLE | EF1 | $15K |
| Jul 22, 2022 | WEST PORT ARTHUR | EF0 | $0 |
| May 25, 2022 | NEDERLAND | EF1 | $100K |
| Oct 27, 2021 | FT ACRES | EF0 | $150K |
| Nov 7, 2018 | CHINA | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 2018 | LAKEVIEW | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2017 | BEAUMONT ARPT | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 9, 2010 | NOME | EF1 | $100K |
Other hazards here
More from Jefferson County
- Thunderstorm Wind 250
- Hail 143
- Flash Flood 105
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF1 Tornado touched down just west of the Kohls Department Store in the Parkdale Mall area. The tornado struck the Kohls, tearing off part of its roof and collapsing the front entrance. Damage to the store forced it to close for several weeks. The tornado continued to the northeast and crossed a Walmart parking lot, flipping over four vehicles and damaging dozens of others. Further to the northeast, the tornado struck Parkdale Mall, damaging the roofs of several department stores. The tornado lifted in the east parking lot of Parkdale Mall before reaching Highway 69. |Numerous photographs and videos of the tornado were taken.
An EF-3 tornado developed south of Houston and moved across Chambers County into Jefferson County just south of Russel Road. It snapped off power poles at French Rd before continuing northeast. An area of trees were snapped off and uprooted just south of the Big Hill Strategic Oil Reserve. The tornado continued northeast where it destroyed the top floor of the Sabine Ranch Lodge, stripped metal from a nearby industrial building, flipped a car into a side yard, and damaged the roofs of two homes. The car contained two people, one sustained a minor injury. The tornado crossed Highways 87 and 82 where it snapped transmission poles. Finally, it moved overtop Sabine Lake. The track continued into western Cameron Parish. Maximum winds were estimated at 161 mph.
A NWS storm survey revealed that an EF-2 tornado impacted areas of Port Arthur. The tornado began near the intersection of 17th Street and Savannah Ave southeast of Motiva. The tornado path traveled east, peaking out near the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church where a large portion of the masonry walls collapsed. Another home near 11th Street and Orange Ave had the roof completely removed and some walls collapsed. Home and tree damage was extensive across these neighborhoods in Port Arthur. The path continued across Rose Hill Park and onto Pleasure Island. The tornado likely continued into Sabine Lake. Maximum estimated winds were 120 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Jefferson County, Texas?
110 tornado events are recorded in Jefferson County between 1956 and 2024, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Jefferson County?
The strongest tornado on record in Jefferson County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/jefferson-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.