Abilene, TX Tornado History — 144 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Abilene, TX had?
Abilene has had 144 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 7 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Abilene?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Abilene was an Unrated on May 18, 2025.
When is tornado season in Abilene?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Abilene, with 59 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Abilene
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 23 total, averaging 1.1 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Abilene since December 29, 2025
These is a preliminary report, not confirmed tornadoes. It has not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and is not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Abilene. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Abilene
5 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Abilene since 1950, across 1 event. 45 injuries have been reported across all events. 1950 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F4 on April 28, 1950, which caused 5 fatalities along a 1.3-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Abilene
About Tornadoes in Abilene
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Tornado weather around Abilene tends to announce itself in late spring, when afternoons across the Big Country grow heavy with Gulf moisture and the dryline sharpens over the plains to the west. May is the heart of the season, with April and June close behind, though the ingredients can align in other months as well. Perched on the rolling terrain of west-central Texas, the city sits near the battleground where dry desert air collides with humid flow off the Gulf; add a jet-stream disturbance overhead, and thunderstorms erupting along that boundary can begin to rotate.
The tornado history compiled by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center shows this threat spanning generations of Abilene families. An F4 tornado struck on April 29, 1950, killing 5 people and injuring 5 more. Their children's generation weathered the F3 of March 14, 1982, which carved a 40.5-mile track and injured 14 people. Grandchildren saw an EF2 cause roughly ten million dollars in damage on May 18, 2019, and on May 3, 2024 an EF3 injured 4 people near the city. The event list elsewhere on this page traces the decades in between, from the 1960s and 1970s onward.