McLennan County, Texas

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 48309 · population 260,302 · 1,037 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,302 records for McLennan County, Texas from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 680 days; the most frequent are hail reports (500 records). The deadliest single record is the May 11, 1953 tornado: 114 deaths and 597 injuries. FEMA has issued 25 declarations naming the county since 1973, 20 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storms” on February 19, 2021.

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
1,302on 680 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
129660 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$403Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
68strongest F5
FEMA declarations
25latest 2021

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 McLennan County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 500 since 1955. 63% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in April and May. 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.

McLennan County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Hail 500 225 1955-2026 0 0 $8.1M 33 of 254
Severe thunderstorm wind 381 234 1955-2025 0 25 $9.1M 34 of 254
Floods 123 77 1996-2026 4 2 $2.7M 53 of 254
Drought 95 95 1996-2026 0 0 $3.2M 95 of 254
Tornadoes 68 52 1952-2025 114 612 $375M 54 of 254
Heat 59 57 1998-2026 1 0 – 62 of 254
Winter storms 30 30 1996-2026 7 10 $222K 133 of 254
Lightning 15 12 1997-2025 1 2 $385K 23 of 254
Heavy rain 10 10 1996-2016 1 8 $304K 21 of 254
Extreme cold 8 8 2019-2026 1 0 $2.8M 100 of 254
High wind and dust storms 8 6 2006-2025 0 0 $170K 104 of 254
Wildfires 3 3 2011-2015 0 1 $96K 136 of 254
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 2 2 2007-2012 0 0 $2K 118 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 McLennan County had?

NOAA records 68 tornadoes in McLennan County from 1952 to 2025, the strongest rated F5, with 114 deaths and 612 injuries recorded in the county. That is 54th 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 70 tornadoes whose track touched McLennan County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 68: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 120 people, 114 of them in McLennan County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched McLennan County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1953-05-11 16:10, as SPC files itWacoF520.9 mi114
1973-03-10 06:02, as SPC files itMart to HubbardF423.3 mi6
1973-05-06 19:25, as SPC files itValley MillsF510.6 mi0
1952-04-21 12:15, as SPC files itCrawford to McGregorF42.3 mi0
1997-05-27 12:46, as SPC files itMoodyF33.7 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Texas.

Every tornado record filed for McLennan County (68)
The 60 most recent of 68 tornadoes in McLennan County
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-06-11 Gholson, McLennan County EF0 0.08 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $7K
2024-05-23 Bruceville-Eddy, McLennan County EF1 0.5 mi x 150 yd 0 2 $71K
2024-04-26 Tours, McLennan County EF0 0.18 mi x 15 yd 0 0 –
2024-04-26 Tours, McLennan County EF2 3.68 mi x 165 yd 0 0 $188K
2024-04-26 Erath, McLennan County EF1 0.88 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $188K
2024-04-26 Erath, McLennan County EF0 0.15 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $9K
2023-04-26 Erath, McLennan County EFU 0.02 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2023-04-26 China Spg, McLennan County EFU 0.02 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2020-01-28 Ross, McLennan County EF0 1.74 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $2K
2017-04-10 Battle, McLennan County EF0 0.72 mi x 80 yd 0 0 $48K
2011-04-26 Trading House Res, McLennan County EF0 1.47 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2011-04-26 Leroy, McLennan County EF0 0.38 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2007-06-25 McGregor, McLennan County EF0 1 mi x 30 yd 0 1 $71K
2007-03-30 Riesel, McLennan County EF0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2007-03-30 McGregor, McLennan County EF1 2 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $712K
2006-05-05 Waco, McLennan County F2 2.6 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $4.4M
2006-04-28 Waco, McLennan County F1 0.8 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $293K
2005-06-03 Mc Gregor, McLennan County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2001-10-12 Crawford, McLennan County F2 4.2 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $167K
2001-10-12 West, McLennan County F2 6.2 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $833K
1997-05-27 Moody, McLennan County F3 3 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $276K
1997-05-27 Eddy, McLennan County F0 0.2 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
1997-05-27 Lorena, McLennan County F2 2 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $138K
1993-10-19 Waco, McLennan County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1993-10-17 West, McLennan County F0 0.5 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $10K
1993-10-17 West, McLennan County F1 0.5 mi x 500 yd 0 0 $102K
1993-09-13 McLennan County F1 6 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $1.0M
1992-03-03 McLennan County F1 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $25K step
1990-05-20 McLennan County F1 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1990-05-18 McLennan County F2 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1990-02-01 McLennan County F1 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1987-06-03 McLennan County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1987-06-03 McLennan County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1986-05-17 McLennan County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1986-04-19 McLennan County F1 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $250K step
1985-04-22 McLennan County F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1984-02-26 McLennan County F1 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $250K step
1981-10-13 McLennan County F2 2 mi x 150 yd 0 4 $25M step
1979-10-30 McLennan County F1 0 0 $3K step
1978-06-07 McLennan County 0 0 $25K step
1976-05-25 McLennan County F2 0.2 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1976-05-25 McLennan County F2 9.7 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $25K step
1976-04-15 McLennan County F2 5.9 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1974-04-13 McLennan County F1 1 mi x 17 yd 0 0 –
1974-04-13 McLennan County F2 0.5 mi x 33 yd 0 1 $25K step
1973-05-06 McLennan County F5 10.6 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
1973-03-10 McLennan County F4 7.9 mi x 150 yd 0 2 –
1973-03-01 McLennan County F2 8 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250K step
1972-11-12 McLennan County F1 24 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $250K step
1972-10-21 McLennan County F2 1 mi x 20 yd 0 3 $250K step
1972-10-21 McLennan County F2 1.5 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $250 step
1972-10-21 McLennan County F1 0.1 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $3K step
1972-05-13 McLennan County F1 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1971-12-14 McLennan County F1 0.3 mi x 100 yd 0 2 $25K step
1971-06-21 McLennan County F1 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $250 step
1971-02-21 McLennan County F2 0.1 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $250K step
1970-08-29 McLennan County F1 0.3 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1967-06-11 McLennan County F2 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1963-08-30 McLennan County F2 1 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $25K step
1963-03-10 McLennan County F1 1 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $3K step

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 McLennan County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 14, 2026 flash flood ($50,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for McLennan County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-18 HeatMcLennan County · forecast zone McLennan 0 0 –
2026-06-14 Flash FloodHewitt, McLennan County 0 0 $50K
2026-06-14 Flash FloodRobinson, McLennan County 0 0 $300K
2026-06-14 Flash FloodWoodway, McLennan County 0 0 $100K
2026-06-14 Flash FloodHewitt, McLennan County 0 0 $300K
2026-06-14 Flash FloodWaco, McLennan County 0 0 –
2026-06-14 Flash FloodWoodway, McLennan County 0 0 $195K
2026-06-14 Flash FloodWoodway, McLennan County 0 0 $200K
2026-06-14 Flash FloodHewitt, McLennan County 0 0 $50K
2026-05-23 HailWaco Connally Airport, McLennan County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-10 HailMcGregor, McLennan County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-10 HailMcGregor, McLennan County 1.00 in hail 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

Records with deaths or injuries in McLennan County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1953-05-11 TornadoMcLennan County F5 20.9 mi x 583 yd 114 597 $25M step
1998-12-22 Ice StormMcLennan County · forecast zone McLennan A strong arctic cold front moved through North Texas on the 21st, bringing freezing temperatures to all of North Texas by the morning of the 22nd. Southwest winds aloft produced overrunning conditions, resulting in cloudy skies and a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow. The precipitation began in the western ... 6 0 –
2016-03-08 Heavy RainHallsburg, McLennan County A young man died and a female was injured when the car they were traveling lost control during a heavy thunderstorm and crashed. The vehicle was on SH 6 crossing the SH 164 bridge at the time. 1 1 $10K
2021-02-14 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMcLennan County · forecast zone McLennan Extreme cold gripped the county for several days. Overnight lows were below 25 degrees Fahrenheit almost all week. The period of February 15-16th was the coldest with low temperatures in the single digits and slightly below zero degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum temperature on the 15th was only in the teens. Wind chill ... 1 0 $2.8M
2020-02-06 Winter WeatherMcLennan County · forecast zone McLennan A 25-year old male on a motorcycle died when he lost control on a slick spot of Interstate 35 and was thrown from his bike. He was then hit by another vehicle. The incident happened near exit 346, or U.S. 77. The time is estimated from articles. 1 0 –
2015-06-27 Flash FloodBeverly Hills, McLennan County In Waco, a homeless man was swept away and drowned when the creek that he was sleeping next to quickly rose in response to heavier rain earlier in the night. The man was asleep behind the Walmart on Franklin Avenue. 1 0 –
2014-06-12 Flash FloodHewitt, McLennan County Flat Creek near the intersection of Hewitt Drive and Mars Drive, behind Midway High School, flooded over the roadway. The creek also overflowed near the intersection of Panther Way and Panther Run. It was reported that the creek overflowed by at least half a mile, was up to 2 feet over at least one road, and the water ... 1 0 $125K
2011-07-01 HeatMcLennan County · forecast zone McLennan Triple digit temperatures were recorded every day during the month of July. A 9-month old baby died inside a vehicle on the 5th. She did have a pre-existing medical condition, but the medical examiner determined that the heat exacerbated her condition resulting in her death. Temperatures around the time of death were ... 1 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.

The costliest records in McLennan County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2006-05-05 TornadoWaco, McLennan County F2 2.6 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $4.4M
2006-05-05 Thunderstorm WindCountywide, McLennan County 70 kt wind 0 0 $4.4M
2023-04-26 HailWaco, McLennan County 4.50 in hail 0 0 $3.9M
2021-02-14 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMcLennan County · forecast zone McLennan 1 0 $2.8M
2023-04-26 HailOcee, McLennan County 4.00 in hail 0 0 $1.9M
1994-07-10 Thunderstorm WindCrawford, McLennan County 0 0 $995K
2001-10-12 TornadoWest, McLennan County F2 6.2 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $833K
2023-04-26 HailOcee, McLennan County 2.75 in hail 0 0 $726K

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: May 11, 1953 (tornado, McLennan County, 114 killed); October 13, 1981 (tornado, McLennan County).

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 McLennan 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).

McLennan County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Hail7728451358310986
Severe thunderstorm wind11212053110596344
Floods––––20373630
Drought––––2233832
Tornadoes6519711839
Heat––––23846 z

Heat in the 2020-26: 46 records against 8 in the decade before, 46 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the McLennan County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

63% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 54 · Feb 63 · Mar 102 · Apr 271 · May 274 · Jun 171 · Jul 57 · Aug 81 · Sep 60 · Oct 89 · Nov 42 · Dec 38 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for McLennan County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include McLennan County: 13 major disasters, 12 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (6) and hurricane (5).

Declarations including McLennan County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2021-02-19DR-4586Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-14EM-3554Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-03-25DR-4485BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3458BiologicalCovid-19
2015-05-29DR-4223Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding
2013-08-02DR-4136OtherExplosion
2013-04-19EM-3363OtherExplosion
2008-09-10EM-3294HurricaneHurricane Ike
2008-03-14EM-3284FireWildfires
2007-08-18EM-3277HurricaneHurricane Dean
2007-06-29DR-1709Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2006-01-11DR-1624FireExtreme Wildfire Threat
2005-09-24DR-1606HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-21EM-3261HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-02EM-3216HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
2003-02-01EM-3171OtherLoss of the Space Shuttle Columbia
1999-09-01EM-3142FireExtreme Fire Hazards
1998-08-26DR-1239Severe StormTropical Storm Charley
1996-02-23EM-3117FireExtreme Fire Hazard
1993-09-10EM-3113DroughtExtreme Fire Hazard
1991-12-26DR-930FloodSevere Thunderstorms
1990-05-02DR-863Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1989-05-19DR-828Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1974-11-30DR-454FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-03-12DR-365Severe StormHigh Winds, Tornadoes and Flooding

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 McLennan County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 123 flood or flash flood records for McLennan County from 1996 to 2026, on 77 days, with 4 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), McLennan County ranks 611th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.7 million on 393 claims filed in McLennan County; the most in one year was 48 in 2007. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1979: 12 · 1980: 6 · 1981: 3 · 1982: 1 · 1984: 4 · 1985: 1 · 1986: 4 · 1989: 36 · 1990: 8 · 1991: 15 · 1993: 1 · 1995: 5 · 1996: 8 · 1997: 11 · 1998: 1 · 2000: 1 · 2001: 5 · 2002: 3 · 2003: 3 · 2004: 13 · 2005: 2 · 2006: 4 · 2007: 48 · 2008: 1 · 2009: 2 · 2010: 8 · 2012: 26 · 2013: 3 · 2014: 9 · 2015: 31 · 2016: 24 · 2017: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2019: 6 · 2020: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 21 · 2025: 4 · 2026: 39; 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 McLennan County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates McLennan County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $84.5 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.

National Risk Index ratings for McLennan County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
LightningVery High$2.0M51 a year (modeled)
TornadoRelatively High$29Mabout once a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively High$12Mabout once a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Moderate$6.2M17 modeled event-days a year
WildfireRelatively Moderate$1.2Monce in about 599 years (modeled)
HailRelatively Moderate$1.5M4.7 a year (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Moderate$29M2.3 a year (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively Moderate$205Kabout once 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 McLennan County

  1. McLennan County 1,302
  2. Bell County 1,219
  3. Hill County 787
  4. Coryell County 669
  5. Bosque County 650
  6. Limestone County 585
  7. Falls County 429

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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