Cherokee County, Texas
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 48073 · population 50,317 · 1,053 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 752 records for Cherokee County, Texas from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 492 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (251 records). The deadliest single record is the November 15, 1987 tornado: 2 deaths and 75 injuries. FEMA has issued 28 declarations naming the county since 1987, 25 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Hurricane Beryl” on July 9, 2024.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 752on 492 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 5115 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $89Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 45strongest EF3
- FEMA declarations
- 28latest 2024
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Cherokee County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 251 since 1970. The rank column places the county among Texas's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 251 | 174 | 1970-2026 | 0 | 9 | $1.2M | 60 of 254 |
| Hail | 199 | 114 | 1959-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 147 of 254 |
| Heat | 79 | 78 | 2000-2025 | 1 | 0 | – | 37 of 254 |
| Floods | 78 | 48 | 1997-2025 | 0 | 0 | $415K | 108 of 254 |
| Drought | 50 | 50 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 191 of 254 |
| Tornadoes | 45 | 38 | 1953-2025 | 3 | 100 | $85M | 110 of 254 |
| Winter storms | 30 | 30 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | $871K | 141 of 254 |
| Extreme cold | 6 | 6 | 2010-2026 | 0 | 0 | $135K | 139 of 254 |
| Lightning | 4 | 4 | 1996-2022 | 0 | 4 | $968K | 67 of 254 |
| High wind and dust storms | 3 | 3 | 2008-2021 | 1 | 0 | $3K | 149 of 254 |
| Wildfires | 3 | 3 | 2011-2011 | 0 | 2 | $98K | 138 of 254 |
| Heavy rain | 2 | 1 | 2026-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 151 of 254 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 2 | 2 | 2008-2024 | 0 | 0 | $1.0M | 67 of 254 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Cherokee County had?
NOAA records 45 tornadoes in Cherokee County from 1953 to 2025, the strongest rated EF3, with 3 deaths and 100 injuries recorded in the county. That is 110th of 254 Texas counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 45 tornadoes whose track touched Cherokee County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 45, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 6 people, 3 of them in Cherokee County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-11-15 15:45, as SPC files it | Jacksonville to Whitehouse | F3 | 33 mi | 4 |
| 2019-04-13 12:00, as SPC files it | Alto | EF3 | 41.13 mi | 2 |
| 2003-04-06 12:30, as SPC files it | Henderson | F3 | 38.2 mi | 0 |
| 1991-04-26 18:11, as SPC files it | Unnamed | F3 | 3 mi | 0 |
| 1973-06-03 20:00, as SPC files it | Rusk | F3 | 0.1 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Texas.
Every tornado record filed for Cherokee County (45)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-20 | Tucula, Cherokee County | EF1 0.7 mi x 120 yd | 0 | 0 | $200K |
| 2024-07-08 | Alto, Cherokee County | EF1 1.13 mi x 105 yd | 0 | 0 | $47K |
| 2022-03-21 | Alto, Cherokee County | EF2 4.55 mi x 850 yd | 0 | 0 | $35K |
| 2021-06-08 | Reklaw, Cherokee County | EF0 0.08 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2021-06-08 | Rusk, Cherokee County | EF0 0.25 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2021-03-27 | Circle, Cherokee County | EF2 19.11 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | $82K |
| 2020-01-10 | North Rusk, Cherokee County | EF1 0.8 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $120K |
| 2019-04-13 | Alto, Cherokee County | EF2 2.5 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $693K |
| 2019-04-13 | Morrill, Cherokee County | EF2 0.8 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $289K |
| 2019-04-13 | Morrill, Cherokee County | EF3 18.27 mi x 880 yd | 1 | 20 | $12M |
| 2017-12-19 | Circle, Cherokee County | EF2 3.08 mi x 691 yd | 0 | 0 | $144K |
| 2016-04-29 | Reklaw, Cherokee County | EF1 1.06 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $18K |
| 2016-04-29 | Morrill, Cherokee County | EF2 7.19 mi x 820 yd | 0 | 0 | $861K |
| 2015-05-11 | Lone Star, Cherokee County | EF1 1.39 mi x 76 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-04-09 | Mixon, Cherokee County | EF2 1.77 mi x 340 yd | 0 | 0 | $374K |
| 2011-04-25 | Forest, Cherokee County | EF1 3 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | $131K |
| 2011-04-25 | Mixon, Cherokee County | EF1 8.58 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $656 |
| 2009-12-23 | Tecula, Cherokee County | EF0 2.28 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2009-12-23 | Henrys Chapel, Cherokee County | EF0 2.79 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008-10-06 | Bullard, Cherokee County | EF0 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2006-12-29 | Jacksonville, Cherokee County | F0 0.1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $73K |
| 2003-04-06 | Ponta, Cherokee County | F2 4.2 mi x 220 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2002-03-30 | Rusk, Cherokee County | F1 22 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1999-05-04 | Rusk, Cherokee County | F2 9.4 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1999-04-04 | Maydelle, Cherokee County | F2 4.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $27K |
| 1993-10-20 | Neches To, Cherokee County | F1 7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.0M |
| 1991-04-28 | Cherokee County | F1 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1991-04-26 | Cherokee County | F3 3 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 1 | $250K step |
| 1991-04-26 | Cherokee County | F2 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1987-11-15 | Cherokee County | F3 21 mi x 500 yd | 2 | 75 | $25M step |
| 1983-05-18 | Cherokee County | F1 0.1 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $30 step |
| 1983-03-03 | Cherokee County | F0 0.4 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1980-03-17 | Cherokee County | F1 3.8 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1973-06-03 | Cherokee County | F3 0.1 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 3 | – |
| 1972-04-03 | Cherokee County | F1 0.2 mi x 7 yd | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
| 1969-07-15 | Cherokee County | F2 0.5 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1968-09-05 | Cherokee County | F1 0.2 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1967-12-21 | Cherokee County | 0 | 0 | $250 step | |
| 1965-02-11 | Cherokee County | F2 3 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 1 | $250K step |
| 1961-04-11 | Cherokee County | F2 0.3 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1961-03-26 | Cherokee County | F2 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1959-06-23 | Cherokee County | F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
| 1957-04-22 | Cherokee County | F1 0.5 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1955-04-12 | Cherokee County | F2 | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1953-05-18 | Cherokee County | 0 | 0 | – |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Cherokee County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the November 20, 2025 tornado ($200,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 100 mph touched down just east of Highway 135 three miles northeast of Downtown Jacksonville, and three miles southwest of the Tecula community near its intersection with County Road 4212. Here, the tornado was at its strongest, where it destroyed a large barn next to a residential home. Metal roofing was thrown several hundred yards to the northeast while also puncturing a large tree trunk, and nearby trees were snapped and power lines were downed. Along County Road 4212, a carport was thrown on top of a garage and a neighboring manufactured home had its back porch blown off and thrown into the yard. Farther east along County Road 4212, numerous trees were uprooted and large branches were snapped. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1298813)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-20 | Heavy RainAlto, Cherokee County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-20 | Heavy RainMorrill, Cherokee County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-23 | Thunderstorm WindJacksonville, Cherokee County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-29 | HailMixon, Cherokee County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-29 | HailJacksonville, Cherokee County | 1.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-02 | DroughtCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-01 | DroughtCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | DroughtCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Cold/Wind ChillCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-15 | DroughtCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-11-15 | TornadoCherokee County | F3 21 mi x 500 yd | 2 | 75 | $25M step |
| 2019-04-13 | TornadoMorrill, Cherokee County An EF-3 tornado with maximum estimated winds near 160 mph that originally touched down in Houston County about 9 miles northeast of Crockett crossed the Neches River into Southwest Cherokee County, where it snapped and uprooted thousands of trees along its path. The tornado paralleled Highway 21 before reaching the ... | EF3 18.27 mi x 880 yd | 1 | 20 | $12M |
| 2012-01-16 | Strong WindCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee Strong pressure gradient winds from the south resulted in sustained wind speeds near 20 mph with gusts as highs as 40 mph across all of Northeast Texas during the afternoon hours of January 16th. This made for very large swells on Lake Palestine in Northeast Texas. A man and his wife were out fishing on a boat when ... | 35 kt wind | 1 | 0 | – |
| 2000-07-04 | HeatCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee Found partially under a mobile home. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-09-13 | LightningJacksonville, Cherokee County Four people were taken to the hospital after lightning struck the Fred Douglass Elementary School parking lot in Jacksonville, Texas. Officials said the incident happened around 3:45 p.m. in the school pickup line. The school superintendent said that from what he understands, two teachers were helping students into ... | 0 | 4 | – | |
| 1990-06-03 | Thunderstorm WindCherokee County | 0 | 4 | – | |
| 2007-06-03 | Thunderstorm WindJacksonville, Cherokee County Trees were downed across FM 2064 east of town. A car hit a downed tree resulting in 3 injuries. | 52 kt wind | 0 | 3 | – |
| 1973-06-03 | TornadoCherokee County | F3 0.1 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 3 | – |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-04-13 | TornadoMorrill, Cherokee County | EF3 18.27 mi x 880 yd | 1 | 20 | $12M |
| 2008-09-13 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Cherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | $1.0M | |
| 1993-10-20 | TornadoNeches To, Cherokee County | F1 7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.0M |
| 2021-02-16 | Winter StormCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | $871K | |
| 2016-04-29 | TornadoMorrill, Cherokee County | EF2 7.19 mi x 820 yd | 0 | 0 | $861K |
| 2019-04-13 | TornadoAlto, Cherokee County | EF2 2.5 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $693K |
| 1996-07-24 | LightningRusk, Cherokee County | 0 | 0 | $564K | |
| 2007-07-08 | Flash FloodJacksonville, Cherokee County | 0 | 0 | $356K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: November 15, 1987 (tornado, Cherokee County, 2 killed).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Cherokee County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 68 | 50 | 72 | 39 |
| Hail | 1 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 52 | 49 | 43 | 25 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 0 | 1 | 21 | 57 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 7 | 13 | 36 | 22 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 28 | 18 |
| Tornadoes | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 7 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
Records by month in Cherokee County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 45 · Feb 47 · Mar 72 · Apr 122 · May 129 · Jun 80 · Jul 80 · Aug 49 · Sep 22 · Oct 38 · Nov 28 · Dec 40 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Cherokee County
FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Cherokee County: 18 major disasters, 10 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (7) and severe storm (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-09 | DR-4798 | Hurricane | Hurricane Beryl |
| 2024-05-17 | DR-4781 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2021-02-19 | DR-4586 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2021-02-14 | EM-3554 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2020-08-24 | EM-3540 | Hurricane | Tropical Storms Marco and Laura |
| 2020-03-25 | DR-4485 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3458 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2016-04-25 | DR-4269 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2015-05-29 | DR-4223 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding |
| 2011-09-09 | DR-4029 | Fire | Wildfires |
| 2008-09-13 | DR-1791 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ike |
| 2008-09-10 | EM-3294 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ike |
| 2008-03-14 | EM-3284 | Fire | Wildfires |
| 2007-06-29 | DR-1709 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2006-01-11 | DR-1624 | Fire | Extreme Wildfire Threat |
| 2005-09-24 | DR-1606 | Hurricane | Hurricane Rita |
| 2005-09-21 | EM-3261 | Hurricane | Hurricane Rita |
| 2005-09-02 | EM-3216 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-02-01 | EM-3171 | Other | Loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia |
| 2001-06-09 | DR-1379 | Coastal Storm | Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001 |
| 2001-01-08 | DR-1356 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Ice Storm |
| 1999-09-01 | EM-3142 | Fire | Extreme Fire Hazards |
| 1998-08-26 | DR-1239 | Severe Storm | Tropical Storm Charley |
| 1996-02-23 | EM-3117 | Fire | Extreme Fire Hazard |
| 1990-05-02 | DR-863 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding |
| 1989-05-19 | DR-828 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding |
| 1989-04-23 | DR-823 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1987-11-20 | DR-802 | Tornado | Severe Storms & Tornadoes |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Cherokee County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 78 flood or flash flood records for Cherokee County from 1997 to 2025, on 48 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Cherokee County ranks 1514th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ike | 2008-09-13 | 1 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $625,000 on 66 claims filed in Cherokee County; the most in one year was 19 in 2016. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1979: 2 · 1981: 1 · 1983: 1 · 1991: 2 · 1993: 2 · 1999: 4 · 2000: 1 · 2002: 2 · 2003: 1 · 2004: 2 · 2007: 9 · 2008: 1 · 2009: 1 · 2010: 1 · 2012: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2016: 19 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2025: 3; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Cherokee County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cherokee County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $17.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | $1.7M | 3.8 a year (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $1.1M | 23 modeled event-days a year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $1.4M | 19 modeled event-days a year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | $366K | 1 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | $2.5M | about once a year (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | $390K | 62 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | $1.9M | about once a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $92K | 3.3 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Cherokee County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in TexasEvery Texas tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind in TexasThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
- The Texas recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Cherokee CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Cherokee County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis