68
Recorded events
114
Direct deaths
612
Direct injuries
$57.4M
Property damage
Tornado in McLennan County, Texas: 68 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #179 nationally and #35 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in McLennan County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in McLennan County is the 1970s, when 19 of the county's 68 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 McLennan County archive, tornado makes up 6.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #179 for this hazard and #35 within Texas, putting it in the 94.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in McLennan County with 17 recorded events, while Jul 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-05-11 | EF5 | 20.9 mi | 583 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-06 | EF5 | 10.6 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-03-10 | EF4 | 23.3 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1952-04-21 | EF4 | 2.3 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-27 | EF3 | 3.7 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 5.7 mi | 165 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-05-05 | EF2 | 2.6 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2001-10-12 | EF2 | 6.2 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1997-05-27 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 73 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-18 | EF2 | 0.2 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1953 | F5 | 114 | 597 | $25.0M | |
| Oct 13, 1981 | F2 | 0 | 4 | $25.0M | |
| Oct 22, 1972 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 23, 2024 | BRUCEVILLE-EDDY | EF1 | 0 | 2 | $75K |
| Mar 10, 1973 | F4 | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Dec 15, 1971 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jun 26, 2007 | MCGREGOR | EF0 | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Apr 13, 1974 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 2025 | GHOLSON | EF0 | $7K |
| May 23, 2024 | BRUCEVILLE-EDDY | EF1 | $75K |
| Apr 26, 2024 | TOURS | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | TOURS | EF2 | $200K |
| Apr 26, 2024 | ERATH | EF1 | $200K |
| Apr 26, 2024 | ERATH | EF0 | $10K |
| Apr 26, 2023 | ERATH | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 26, 2023 | CHINA SPG | EFU | $0 |
| Jan 28, 2020 | ROSS | EF0 | $2K |
| Apr 11, 2017 | BATTLE | EF0 | $40K |
Other hazards here
More from McLennan County
- Hail 497
- Thunderstorm Wind 380
- Flash Flood 105
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
to 2 NE Lacy- Lakeview,A tornado touched down just southeast of the intersection of highway 340 and Farm-to-Market Road 2491, moving nearly due north to the Texas State Technical Institute before lifting. In addition to moving parked aircraft, a building's roof was lifted.
The second McLennan county tornado touched down just southwest of Tokio then moved east northeast and dissipated 1.3 miles east of West. Homes, a church, and several businesses were damaged in Tokio. After moving through Tokio, the tornado moved along FM 1858, causing heavy damage to wood-frame structures, mobile homes, storage buildings, and minor damage to several brick homes. As the tornado moved across the extreme southern edge of West, several homes and storage buildings were damaged.
A second tornado from the same supercell occurred west of Waco damaging neighborhoods on either side of Wortham Bend Road near China Spring Rd. Damage in these neighborhoods consisted of damaged trees, downed fences, broken windows, and mostly minor roof damage. One home lost most of the front part of its roof, and a few homes were impaled with flying fence panels. Maximum estimated winds were 95 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in McLennan County, Texas?
68 tornado events are recorded in McLennan County between 1952 and 2025, causing 114 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in McLennan County?
The strongest tornado on record in McLennan County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for McLennan 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 McLennan County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/mclennan-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.