Longview, TX Tornado History — 143 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Longview, TX had?
Longview has had 143 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 10 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Longview?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Longview was an EF1 on October 28, 2025.
When is tornado season in Longview?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Longview, with 40 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 Longview
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 49 total, averaging 2.5 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
Have any tornadoes near Longview been fatal?
No fatalities are on record within 25 miles of Longview from any of the 143 tornadoes since 1950, though 46 injuries have been reported. NOAA Storm Prediction Center records.
Notable Tornadoes Near Longview
About Tornadoes in Longview
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.
Severe-weather season in Longview rides in with spring, when warm, humid Gulf air surges north across East Texas and meets the last cold fronts of the fading winter. The city's tornado history keeps that calendar. On May 3, 1958, an F3 tornado carved a path about 59.2 miles long and 440 yards wide through the region, causing roughly $275,000 in damage. Spring returned in force on April 1, 1979, when an F3 and an F2 moved through on the same day, the F2 injuring 1 person along a 7.1-mile track. The year also holds a late chapter here: an F2 on November 15, 1987 injured 9 people along a 7-mile path, and an F3 on April 1, 1988 injured 9 more. In the modern era, an EF2 on March 22, 2022 tracked 39.97 miles and injured 8 people, while an EF1 on October 28, 2025 produced a briefer touchdown.
That rhythm follows directly from geography. Longview sits where low-level moisture streaming off the Gulf of Mexico overlaps with a springtime jet stream still diving across Texas, supplying the wind shear that lets thunderstorms rotate. A briefer autumn window opens when vigorous upper-level systems return before the Gulf has cooled, which is why November dates sit alongside spring ones in the record maintained by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. The event list elsewhere on this page draws on that same source, and its shape — clusters in spring, a scattering in late autumn — is the signature of East Texas storm climatology.