43
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
23
Direct injuries
$12.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Hidalgo County, Texas: 43 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #537 nationally and #93 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Hidalgo County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Hidalgo County is the 1980s, when 15 of the county's 43 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 Hidalgo County archive, tornado makes up 7.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #537 for this hazard and #93 within Texas, putting it in the 81.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Sep is the peak month for tornado in Hidalgo County with 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-04-19 | EF3 | 1.5 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-26 | EF2 | 40.2 mi | 67 yd | Crossed in |
| 2011-06-30 | EF1 | 0.4 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 2007-07-16 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2003-04-30 | EF1 | 0.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-21 | EF1 | 0.1 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-21 | EF1 | 0.2 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-14 | EF1 | 0.5 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1981-08-29 | EF1 | 2.0 mi | 37 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-10 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2003 | PENITAS | F1 | 0 | 11 | $1.5M |
| Mar 15, 1983 | F3 | 0 | 9 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 30, 2011 | (MFE)MILLER INTL ARP | EF1 | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Sep 16, 1988 | F0 | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Mar 15, 1983 | F3 | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2025 | EDCOUCH | EF0 | $500K |
| Aug 26, 2024 | DONNA | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 16, 2023 | LA VILLA | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 30, 2011 | (MFE)MILLER INTL ARP | EF1 | $500K |
| Sep 2, 2007 | MERCEDES | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2007 | MC ALLEN | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2005 | MISSION | F0 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2005 | MC ALLEN | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2005 | WESLACO | F0 | $25K |
| Jun 1, 2005 | MERCEDES | F0 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Hidalgo County
- Thunderstorm Wind 208
- Hail 163
- Flash Flood 69
- Flood 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Damage report and survey determined that an F1 tornado touched down in Penitas at the intersection of Seven Mile Road and Tom Gill Road. Thirty-seven mobile homes and other structures sustained damage or were destroyed. Several larger trailers were pushed from their foundations and overturned.
This short-lived tornado touched down in a subdivision approximately 4 miles east-northeast of the city of Hidalgo in southern Hidalgo County. Most of the damage in this area was limited to the overturning of trampolines, the knocking down of wooden privacy fences, an outdoor storage building, and minor shingle damage to the roof of two homes. A (relatively empty) moving truck was also blown on its side in the subdivision. The tornado strengthened as it approached an import/export business on the west side of US-281. Here, an office building lost between 25% and 33% of the roof as the tornado continued moving westward. Much of the roofing material landed on a car parked behind the office building, resulting in the injury of the driver. In this area, a single-wide mobile home was heavily damaged, as well as a couple of semi trucks. Before lifting, tornadic winds knocked down several hundred feet of concrete block fencing. No damage was seen beyond this point by the National Weather Service survey crew or officials from the city of Pharr.
An F1 Tornado touched down briefly at a baseball field. The twister blew aluminum bleachers that surrounded the baseball diamond into the pitcher's mound. It also damaged the roof of a nearby city law enforcement building.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Hidalgo County, Texas?
43 tornado events are recorded in Hidalgo County between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Hidalgo County?
The strongest tornado on record in Hidalgo County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/hidalgo-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.