Killeen, TX Tornado History — 115 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Killeen, TX had?
Killeen has had 115 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 7 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Killeen?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Killeen was an EF1 on May 1, 2025.
When is tornado season in Killeen?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Killeen, with 55 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 Killeen
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 29 total, averaging 1.4 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 Killeen
31 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Killeen since 1950, across 4 events. 117 injuries have been reported across all events. 1997 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F5 on May 27, 1997, which caused 27 fatalities along a 5.1-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Killeen
About Tornadoes in Killeen
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.
Bell County occupies a restless corner of central Texas, and Killeen, set where the Balcones Escarpment gives way to rolling blackland prairie, shares fully in the county's exposure. Warm, humid Gulf of Mexico air streams north across this terrain and collides with drier air spilling off the Edwards Plateau; when a vigorous spring jet stream passes overhead, those ingredients can organize quickly into rotating thunderstorms. March, April, and May bring the ripest setups, though autumn systems can revive the threat, as local history shows. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center's database, the source of the history summarized on this page, traces tornado activity around Killeen back to the 1950s.
That record spans generations. An F2 tornado on May 7, 1955 killed one person near town. An F3 on May 27, 1976 caused two deaths and seven injuries, and another F3 on May 17, 1989 killed one person and injured twenty-eight. On May 27, 1997, an F5 killed twenty-seven people while additional F3 tornadoes touched down nearby that same afternoon. The current era continues the pattern: an EF3 on April 12, 2022 tracked 16.55 miles and injured twenty-three people, and an EF2 on May 22, 2024 injured thirty. Grandparents who remember the 1950s, parents who lived through the 1990s, and children who watched the skies in 2022 each know this hazard firsthand.