Tornado Danger Zones: Which Texas Cities Are Likely to Get Hit
In the United States, Texas has the 2nd highest average of tornado strikes per year. According to USA Facts, Texas has an average of 96 tornadoes occurring every year. But which cities are you MOST likely to get hit by a tornado in the Texas?
How likely are the biggest cities to be hit by a tornado?
USA.com ranked a tornado index of every city in Texas; a tornado index is what FEMA uses to classify the likelihood of an area to be hit by a tornado. The higher the number, the higher the risk. Big cities such as Austin, Dallas & Houston rank high but nowhere NEAR the top 10;
- Houston ranks at #43, with an Index rating of 377.41
- Dallas ranks at #131; Index: 335.92
- Austin at #756; Index 224.37
- San Antonio ranks at #1212 (not even in the top 1,000); Index: 156.22
- El Paso ranks near the bottom at #2,145. Index rating: 7.89
- The biggest city to miss the top 10 is Fort Worth, which ranks at #15 with an index of 391.14
In case you're wondering, the Texas city LEAST likely to get hit by a tornado is Presidio; its tornado index is only 0.33. Followed by Redford (Index: 1.32) & Van Horn (2.49)
Here are the top 10 Texas cities likely to get hit by a tornado
Now that we know what a tornado index is, now we can see what the top 10 are:
- #10 is Deer Fall; Tornado Index: 398.86
- 9 - Crowley; Tornado Index: 399.44
- 8. Jonesville; the first Texas city with a Tornado Index over 400: 406.25
- 7. Cleburne; Tornado Index: 410.34
- 6. Waskom; Tornado Index: 410.72
- 5. Cross Timber; Tornado Index: 411.03
- 4. Burleson; Tornado Index: 411.23
- 3. Briaroaks; Tornado Index: 411.39
- 2. Joshua; Tornado Index: 415.47
- 1. Keene; Tornado Index: 417.22
So remember if you live in any of these cities, or any city that's likely to be struck by a tornado, take shelter at the best location that you can; whether it's at home, work, at school or if you're outside. You can see other areas that are at risk from natural disasters on this interactive map from FEMA here.
If you want to see how our neighbors to the west fair, you can see how likely you are to get hit by a tornado in New Mexico & Arizona here.
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