Hill County, Texas severe weather history spans 596 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #594 nationally and #55 in Texas.
596
Recorded events
13
Direct deaths
175
Direct injuries
$14.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Hill County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hill County, Texas severe weather history averages 8.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 162 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 108 events fall before 1990 and 488 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hill County, Texas record is tornado, responsible for 13 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.9M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Hill County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 310 | 0 | $2.3M | 4.5 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 159 | 0 | $1.6M | 80 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 61 | 13 | $7.9M | F4 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 54 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2010–2017 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $574K | 0 | 2003–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Hill County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
64 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 58 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-05-11 | EF5 | 114 | 597 | 20.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-03-10 | EF4 | 6 | 77 | 23.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-03-31 | EF4 | 6 | 31 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-26 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 18.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-05-12 | EF3 | 2 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-23 | EF3 | 1 | 49 | 7.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-25 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hill County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 10, 1973 | Tornado | 6 | 75 | $0 | |
| Apr 1, 1959 | Tornado | 6 | 31 | $25K | |
| May 23, 1971 | Tornado | 1 | 49 | $0 | |
| Dec 19, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| May 23, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jun 5, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | HUBBARD | 0 | 3 | $50K |
| Jan 16, 2017 | Tornado | LAKE WHITNEY | 0 | 2 | $290K |
| Apr 14, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several county roads and Farm-to-Market roads were impassible or closed due to high water. Swift water rescues were conducted in Whitney after two apartment complexes were flooded. There were at least 17 high water rescues conducted across the county. At least 40 homes suffered damage due to flood waters, and county roads across the county experienced significant damage.
Hail and high wind did extensive damage over northern Hill county from Blum to Hillsboro. This is the same storm that struck Somervell county. The wind unroofed barns, uprooted trees, and damaged homes and buildings. Large hail broke windows and dented vehicles. Three 18-wheelers were blown over while trying to wait out the storm on the side of I-35 just north of Hillsboro. Wind driven hail broke or cracked over 200 windows in Hillsboro, some in the recently reconstructed historic court house. Water subsequently damage carpet and floors. Some hail stones in Hillsboro were as large as baseballs. Approximately 17,000 acres of wheat were ruined. The newspaper quoted this as the worst hail storm in Hillsboro since the 1980s.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth conducted a damage survey and found that a tornado developed west of FM 933 and south of CR 1145. Tree damage was noted as the tornado crossed FM 933 and FM 67 one mile southeast of Blum. The tornado apparently increased in size and intensity after crossing FM 67. A large grain silo was toppled over on CR 1137, roughly 1.5 miles northeast of Blum. Extensive tree and power pole damage was also noted. The path width was over a quarter of a mile at this time. As the tornado crossed County Roads 1136 and 1133, widespread tree damage was noted, as was structural damage to roofs and windows. The tornado then moved across FM 2488 just south of the Johnson County line, where a well-engineered home lost portions of roof decking and a large barn was destroyed. Portions of the barn's metal skin were carried over a mile to the north-northeast. The tornado then crossed into Johnson County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
37,328
Population (ACS)
$179K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 19, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 14, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Feb 25, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hill County, Texas?
596 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 13 direct deaths and $14.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hill County?
Hail, with 310 recorded events — 52.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hill County?
64 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 58 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hill County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hill County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hill County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hill County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 73 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hill County, Texas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Hidalgo County 574
- Hockley County 640
- Henderson County 514
- Hood County 481
- Hemphill County 406
- Hopkins County 508
Cite this page
“Hill County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/hill-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.