45
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
100
Direct injuries
$39.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Cherokee County, Texas: 45 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #479 nationally and #84 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Cherokee County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Cherokee County is the 2010s, when 10 of the county's 45 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 Cherokee County archive, tornado makes up 7.8% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #479 for this hazard and #84 within Texas, putting it in the 83.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Cherokee County with 17 recorded events, while Aug 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-11-15 | EF3 | 33.0 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-13 | EF3 | 41.1 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 2003-04-06 | EF3 | 38.2 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-26 | EF3 | 3.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-03 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 33 yd | Touched down here |
| 1961-09-11 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-21 | EF2 | 37.1 mi | 1,400 yd | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-27 | EF2 | 20.5 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-13 | EF2 | 0.8 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-13 | EF2 | 2.5 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 1987 | F3 | 2 | 75 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 13, 2019 | MORRILL | EF3 | 1 | 20 | $10.0M |
| Jun 4, 1973 | F3 | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Apr 27, 1991 | F3 | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Feb 11, 1965 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2025 | TUCULA | EF1 | $200K |
| Jul 8, 2024 | ALTO | EF1 | $50K |
| Mar 22, 2022 | ALTO | EF2 | $35K |
| Jun 8, 2021 | REKLAW | EF0 | $5K |
| Jun 8, 2021 | RUSK | EF0 | $1K |
| Mar 27, 2021 | CIRCLE | EF2 | $75K |
| Jan 11, 2020 | NORTH RUSK | EF1 | $105K |
| Apr 13, 2019 | MORRILL | EF3 | $10.0M |
| Apr 13, 2019 | ALTO | EF2 | $600K |
| Apr 13, 2019 | MORRILL | EF2 | $250K |
Other hazards here
More from Cherokee County
- Thunderstorm Wind 249
- Hail 198
- Flash Flood 67
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF-2 tornado with winds estimated between 105-115 mph touched down along County Road 2807 just east of Farm To Market Road 220 South about 4.5 miles southwest of Alto, and lifted north of County Road 2438 about 3 miles north of Alto. Over 27 homes sustained damage, including two homes that completely lost their roofs. Several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and at least two travel trailers were destroyed. The total path length was 7.3 miles.
The same storm that produced an EF-2 tornado over Southern Cherokee County about 6 miles south southwest of Alto produced another EF-2 tornado with maximum estimated winds near 120 mph across the southern and western sections of the city of Alto, where it damaged structures along Highway 21, Blaton Street, and Putnam Avenue. Damage included shifting a single family home off of its foundation and significant roof damage to another home on Quincy Avenue. Several other homes sustained structural damage as the tornado tracked across the west side of Alto and then crossed Highway 69. The tornado then moved across the Alto Independent School District (ISD) and damaged its gymnasium and roofs to structures on the campus. It was near the Alto ISD where a second stronger tornado crossed paths with this tornado as it tore through the western and northern sections of Alto just over an hour later.
A tornado touched down at Neches, and then moved northeast for approximately five miles in Anderson County before reaching the Cherokee County line. Trailers were destroyed, mobile homes damaged, windows in a house were broken, and trees were blown down. The tornado moved into western Cherokee County at seven miles south of Cuney, and remained on the ground for approximately two miles before lifting at miles west of Jacksonville. In Cherokee County, mobile homes were damaged, and trees and power lines were down, causing several roads to be closed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Cherokee County, Texas?
45 tornado events are recorded in Cherokee County between 1953 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Cherokee County?
The strongest tornado on record in Cherokee County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Cherokee 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 Cherokee County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/cherokee-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.