143
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$3.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Clay County, Texas: 143 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 78. That places the county #1,620 nationally and #85 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Clay County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Clay County is the 1990s, when 59 of the county's 143 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 Clay County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 21.8% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,620 for this hazard and #85 within Texas, putting it in the 48.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Clay County with 42 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1989 | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Aug 17, 1997 | JOLLY | 0 | 0 | 2 | $2.3M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2026 | LAKE ARROWHEAD DAM | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2026 | LAKE ARROWHEAD DAM | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | DEAN | 52 | $0 |
| May 2, 2025 | DEAN | 52 | $0 |
| May 4, 2024 | JOLLY | 65 | $0 |
| Aug 30, 2020 | HENRIETTA | 61 | $0 |
| Aug 17, 2020 | LAKE ARROWHEAD DAM | 56 | $0 |
| May 23, 2020 | CHARLIE | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2018 | PETROLIA | 61 | $0 |
| May 3, 2018 | BLUEGROVE | 52 | $2K |
Other hazards here
More from Clay County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Severe thunderstorm winds blew a train car off the tracks, which in turn caused the rest of the freight train to derail. In all, 30 cars and 2 engines were derailed. One train car smashed into two automobiles and a tractor trailer that were parked on a parallel highway. The 2 occupants of one of the automobiles were treated for minor injuries. Damage to the train and track was estimated at $2,000,000.
The side of a metal barn was blown out. Numerous trees blown onto roofs. A 140 foot broadband tower was blown over. Several older metal barns were also blown over. Several trees were downed. One large tree was blown on top of a house. A barn door and the roof of another home sustained damage.
Significant wind damage occurred in Thornberry. Large overhead doors were blown into a barn. A cattle barn which was open on the south side was blown away, tearing welds from metal poles cemented into the ground. Cemented poles on the south side of the barn were also pulled out of the ground. Another barn had its metal roof blown off. Power lines were down across FM-171. A door was blown off a mobile home, highway signs were blown down, and trees and large limbs were downed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Clay County, Texas?
143 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Clay County between 1955 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Clay County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Clay County measured 78.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Clay 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Clay County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/clay-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.