Temple, TX Tornado History — 110 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Temple, TX had?
Temple has had 110 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 6 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Temple?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Temple was an Unrated on May 23, 2024.
When is tornado season in Temple?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Temple, with 41 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 Temple
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 24 total, averaging 1.2 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 Temple
5 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Temple since 1950, across 4 events. 116 injuries have been reported across all events. 1976 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on May 26, 1976, which caused 2 fatalities along a 2.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Temple
About Tornadoes in Temple
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.
When Gulf of Mexico moisture streams north across the Blackland Prairie and collides with dry air spilling off the Edwards Plateau, the atmosphere around Temple can turn volatile within hours. Bell County's storm history reflects that volatility. An F2 tornado on May 7, 1955 killed a resident along a roughly ten-mile track. An F3 on May 27, 1976 claimed two lives and injured seven people, and another F3 on May 17, 1989 carved a swath nearly a mile wide, killing one person and injuring twenty-eight. In the modern era, an EF2 on May 25, 2015 caused a death and six injuries, an EF3 on April 12, 2022 injured twenty-three along a sixteen-mile path, and an EF2 on May 22, 2024 injured thirty people and left about five million dollars in damage.
Geography does much of the work. Temple sits where the flat Blackland Prairie meets the rising limestone of the Balcones Escarpment, a boundary that helps focus low-level convergence when spring fronts and the dryline push east. Wind shear ahead of migrating upper-level troughs, layered over the humid prairie airmass, gives storms their rotation. Records kept by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center show local activity clustering in spring, though the November F1 of 1972 proved cool-season setups can spin up tornadoes here too. The event list elsewhere on this page traces the fuller pattern.