Smith County, Texas

What hazards hit Smith County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 415 since 1955. 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.

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 Smith County had?

NOAA records 76 tornadoes in Smith County from 1950 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 2 deaths and 25 injuries recorded in the county. That is 27th 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 75 tornadoes whose track touched Smith County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 76: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 2 of them in Smith County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Texas.

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 Smith County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 4, 2026 tornado ($500,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A mini-supercell developed and produced a short-lived, small, but intense EF1 tornado east and northeast of Lindale, TX. The tornado began in a field just south of FM Road 16 West, downing some small tree limbs and snapping the trunk of a pecan tree. At this same location, significant roof damage, consisting of shingle and roof decking loss, occurred to a single-family residence, resulting in a rating of EF1. The tornado downed a few more tree limbs before crossing FM Road 16 West. A couple of homes in the Woodcrest subdivision sustained minor shingle damage. Home security cameras in this subdivision recorded the tornado's passage. The tornado continued northeast and crossed Legion Hills Road. In this location, a second single-family home sustained significant roof damage corresponding to a rating of EF1. A large oak tree was also uprooted on this property. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1332650)

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

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: 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 Smith 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).

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 Smith County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Smith County

FEMA's register lists 33 declarations that include Smith County: 20 major disasters, 12 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (8) and fire (6).

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 Smith County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 168 flood or flash flood records for Smith County from 1997 to 2026, on 68 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Smith County ranks 728th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.7 million on 311 claims filed in Smith County; the most in one year was 33 in 1989. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Smith County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Smith County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $43.1 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Smith County

1. Smith County 1,252
2. Rusk County 971
3. Gregg County 811
4. Cherokee County 752
5. Wood County 708
6. Henderson County 685
7. Van Zandt County 644
8. Upshur County 612

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 Smith CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Smith County's FEMA declarations (CSV)33 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis