Surprising Texas city sees most tornadoes

Spring is here, and that means tornado season in Texas. According to the National Weather Service, Texas averages 137 tornadoes each year, the most of any state in the country.

A few factors are behind the high tornado numbers: First, Texas’ proximity to the Gulf of Mexico allows for ample moisture and heat, which is fuel for severe thunderstorms. Second, Texas is an especially large state, and the huge land area often means more tornadoes than in smaller states.

Have you ever wondered, though, which major city in Texas experiences the most tornadoes? You may think it’s in North Texas, because of its location in “Tornado Alley,” but the real answer might surprise you.

Most total tornadoes

To answer this question, we analyzed the five largest cities in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Fort Worth. Historical tornado data was taken from the NOAA Storm Events Database, which has records of all National Weather Service tornado reports since 1950.

The database separates the information by county. So in this case, we’ll use Harris, Bexar, Dallas, Travis and Tarrant counties. By using the total number of tornadoes in each county, we can determine the tornadoes that came through each city, along with the tornadoes that came very close.

Here’s what we found. Since 1950, the county with the most reported tornadoes is Harris County, which includes Houston. Here, the National Weather Service has confirmed 247 tornado reports since 1950. Tarrant County is next, but its 110 reported tornadoes make up less than half of

Houston’s total.

Now, this data can be a little misleading because Harris County is huge. It’s 1,778 square miles in size, which is nearly the size of Dallas and Tarrant counties put together. However, if we take away that variable and look at the total number of tornadoes per 100 square miles, Harris County still leads the way.

Since 1950, Harris County has experienced 13.9 tornadoes per 100 square miles. Dallas and Tarrant counties are not far behind with about 12 tornadoes per 100 square miles.

According to the data, San Antonio is the safest major city in Texas when it comes to tornadoes. Bexar County has recorded just over five twisters per 100 square miles.

Strongest tornadoes

While Houston has had the most tornadoes of any major city in Texas, they’re not necessarily the strongest. This is because a large percentage of Houston’s tornadoes have been the result of tropical systems, which can produce a large number of weak tornadoes in a short period.

Only 18% of Houston’s reported tornadoes since 1950 were rated as EF-2 or stronger (or F-2, before 2007). While the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex may not experience quite as many tornadoes as the Houston metro area, North Texas is more prone to stronger tornadoes. Of all of Dallas County’s tornadoes, 26% are rated as EF-2 or stronger.

Dallas County also has experienced the most damage of any county analyzed. Tornadoes in Dallas County have caused more than $2.5 billion worth of damage since 1950. That’s more than the costs of the damage done in Bexar, Travis, Tarrant and Harris counties combined.