54
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
32
Direct injuries
$12.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Nacogdoches County, Texas: 54 recorded events between 1953 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #323 nationally and #65 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Nacogdoches County, Texas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Nacogdoches County is the 1990s, when 12 of the county's 54 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 Nacogdoches County archive, tornado makes up 9.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #323 for this hazard and #65 within Texas, putting it in the 89.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Nacogdoches County with 12 recorded events, while Jun 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-04-13 | EF3 | 41.1 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1961-03-27 | EF3 | 13.8 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1961-11-22 | EF3 | 21.9 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2002-03-30 | EF3 | 49.0 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1965-02-11 | EF3 | 42.7 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-21 | EF2 | 37.1 mi | 1,400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2021-03-27 | EF2 | 20.5 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-11 | EF2 | 4.6 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 2003-04-06 | EF2 | 27.5 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1999-05-04 | EF2 | 22.7 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 1961 | F3 | 2 | 4 | $250K | |
| Nov 22, 1961 | F3 | 1 | 10 | $250K | |
| Jan 11, 2020 | DEL RENTZEL | EF1 | 1 | 1 | $75K |
| May 17, 1989 | F2 | 0 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| May 17, 1989 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 10, 1983 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 22, 2022 | LILBERT | EF2 | 0 | 1 | $750K |
| Feb 9, 1990 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2024 | APPLEBY | EF1 | $75K |
| May 30, 2024 | OAK RIDGE | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 3, 2023 | APPLEBY | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 22, 2022 | LILBERT | EF2 | $750K |
| Mar 27, 2021 | SACUL | EF1 | $0 |
| Jan 11, 2020 | DEL RENTZEL | EF1 | $75K |
| Apr 13, 2019 | CHIRENO | EF1 | $5K |
| Apr 13, 2019 | SACUL | EF3 | $250K |
| Oct 31, 2018 | CUSHING | EF1 | $30K |
| May 12, 2017 | GARRISON | EF2 | $500K |
Other hazards here
More from Nacogdoches County
- Thunderstorm Wind 261
- Hail 180
- Flash Flood 82
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 100 mph touched down along County Road 723 just south of Farm to Market Road 225, where it snapped several large branches in a field of trees. The tornado tracked east-northeast where it crossed Farm to Market Road 225 and paralleled the north side of the roadway. It snapped and uprooted numerous trees and broke several more large branches as it continued east-northeast. The tornado downed a large tree onto a mobile home along Sweat Circle, a private road off of Farm to Market Road 225, where a 44 year old male was killed and one minor injury was reported. The tornado then crossed County Road 722 and Russelville Road where it resulted in additional tree damage and minor damage to homes. The tornado continued northeast where it crossed County Road 719 and several private properties, damaging a few more trees before lifting near Floyd Harvin Road.
Numerous trees and power lines broken, snapped and pulled out of the ground along the track. Numerous homes and business were severely damaged or destroyed. This tornado moved into Nacogdoches County, TX from Polk County, TX and Angelina County, TX then continued northeast into San Augustine County, TX.
The Garrison area of Northeast Nacogdoches County sustained significant wind and tornado damage related to a supercell thunderstorms that moved over this area. En EF-2 tornado with maximum estimated winds between 120-130 mph touched down southwest of Garrison along Highway 59, before moving through downtown Garrison. Several businesses along Highway 59 sustained roof damage, including what had once been a dentist's office, a bank, and an auto repair shop. The dentist's office was particularly hard hit, where EF-2 damage had occurred when a section of the roof was removed. The auto shop roof was lifted and deposited in the bank's parking lot. The auto shop also had two outer cinder block walls collapse as a result of the roof tearing off, which also indicated EF-2 damage. The tornado moved northeast along Highway 59 into extreme Southeast Rusk County, where sporadic trees were topped on both sides of the road.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Nacogdoches County, Texas?
54 tornado events are recorded in Nacogdoches County between 1953 and 2024, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Nacogdoches County?
The strongest tornado on record in Nacogdoches County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Nacogdoches 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 Nacogdoches County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/nacogdoches-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.