Arlington, TX Tornado History — 246 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Arlington, TX had?
Arlington has had 246 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 12 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Arlington?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Arlington was an EF1 on March 4, 2025.
When is tornado season in Arlington?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Arlington, with 66 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 Arlington
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 76 total, averaging 3.8 per year over this window.
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 Arlington
16 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Arlington since 1950, across 4 events. 521 injuries have been reported across all events. 1957 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on April 2, 1957, which caused 10 fatalities along a 17.2-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Arlington
About Tornadoes in Arlington
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.
Arlington's tornado record reaches back to the middle of the last century, when spotters and weather observers across North Texas began keeping systematic accounts of the storms sweeping the prairie between Fort Worth and Dallas. That archive, maintained today through the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, now spans generations — residents who remember mid-century funnels share its pages with families who watched supercells cross the Metroplex in the past decade. The meteorology behind those entries has changed little: humid air from the Gulf of Mexico streams north into the region, drier air spills east off the West Texas plateau, and cold fronts dig south across the Plains. When jet-stream energy overruns that collision zone, chiefly from late winter through spring, rotating thunderstorms can spin up quickly over the urban corridor.
The entries themselves give the record its weight. On April 2, 1957, an F3 carved a track of about 17 miles through the area, leaving 10 dead and roughly 200 hurt. The F4 of April 26, 1994 followed a shorter but wider path, around 6 miles long and 800 yards across, with 3 deaths and 48 injuries. Later generations added chapters of their own: an EF2 on April 3, 2012 ran nearly 14 miles and injured 10; an EF3 on December 27, 2015 injured 46; and an EF3 on October 21, 2019 spread damage along a swath some 1,300 yards wide. The event list elsewhere on this page carries the fuller accounting.