DisasterAWARE
9
Extreme

tornado Tornado Risk in Houston, TX

Risk Level: Extreme — Score 9/10

FEMA: 9Historical: 9

Live Tornado alert status near Houston

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Live tornado map around Houston

Shows tornado warnings and events that are active right now, refreshed through the day. When none are active, the map is empty by design.

Key Risk Factors

  • FEMA rates Houston's county as Very High risk for this hazard
  • Estimated annual loss of $407M from this hazard type
  • 67 tornadoes within 50 km since January 2015 (7 rated EF2 or stronger; 2026 figures provisional)
  • 2 tornadoes within 50 km in the 12 months to Sep 30, 2026 (2026 figures provisional)
  • Average annual frequency: 1.6 events per year

Peak season: April-June

Last significant event: EF2 tornado on November 24, 2025, closest point 33 km from the city centre (no deaths or injuries recorded)

Highest Risk Cities for Tornados

1
FEMA: 9Historical: 10
2
Houston, TX
FEMA: 9Historical: 9
3
FEMA: 9Historical: 7
4
FEMA: 9Historical: 8
5
FEMA: 9Historical: 7
6
FEMA: 9Historical: 9
7
FEMA: 9Historical: 9
8
FEMA: 9Historical: 10
9
FEMA: 9Historical: 6
10
FEMA: 9Historical: 10

How Houston Compares

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Strongest Tornadoes Near Houston

67 tornadoes touched down within 50 km of Houston between January 2015 and September 30, 2026 (7 rated EF2 or stronger), according to NWS and SPC tornado records. 2026 figures are provisional until SPC publishes its final 2026 tornado file, and September 2026 is preliminary while NWS damage surveys are completed. The 5 strongest are listed below; distances run from the city centre to the closest point of each tornado's path (start to end point).

EF3 tornado, 10.3-mile path, closest point 43 km from the Houston city centre

December 28, 2024 — EF3

10 injuries

EF3 tornado, 23.3-mile path, closest point 22 km from the Houston city centre

January 24, 2023 — EF3

No deaths or injuries recorded

EF2 tornado, 8.9-mile path, closest point 45 km from the Houston city centre

December 28, 2024 — EF2

1 death, 5 injuries

EF2 tornado, 4.8-mile path, closest point 28 km from the Houston city centre

October 31, 2015 — EF2

No deaths or injuries recorded

EF2 tornado, 4.2-mile path, closest point 28 km from the Houston city centre

October 31, 2015 — EF2

No deaths or injuries recorded

Tornado Preparedness Tips

  • 1.Identify a safe room or storm shelter in your home or building
  • 2.Practice tornado drills — get low, cover your head, stay away from windows
  • 3.Have a NOAA Weather Radio for tornado watch and warning alerts
  • 4.Secure outdoor objects that could become projectiles in high winds
  • 5.Know the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning

Related Pages

How this data is built

Houston, TX tornado risk combines Historical Event Intelligence with authoritative hazard modeling from the Geospatial Intelligence Layers catalog. Live tornado monitoring is available through the Event Intelligence API and the DisasterAWARE Platform.

The data behind this page

Every score and event here comes from DisasterAWARE's hazard database — available as downloadable historical datasets and a real-time API.

Monitor Tornado Risk in Real Time

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