Rusk County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rusk County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 6, 2003Tornado$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell thunderstorm moved northeast across Rusk County. Numerous wood frame and mobile homes were damaged with several homes totally destroyed. A few barns were damaged as well. One power substation was severely damaged. Numerous large Pine, Oak, and Pecan trees were twisted, broken and uprooted. This tornado moved into Rusk County from Cherokee County, TX.

2. Apr 6, 2003Tornado$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell storm moved across the northeast part of the county. About 20 wood frame and mobile homes were damaged. Six (6) mobile homes were totally destroyed. Numerous trees were twisted, broken and uprooted. This tornado remained in Rusk County.

3. Mar 21, 2022Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is a continuation of the Northwest Nacogdoches County EF-2 tornado. The tornado maintained its high end EF-1/low end EF-2 intensity as it moved through Southern and Eastern Rusk County, with estimated maximum winds near 125 mph. Upon departing FM 225 just inside the Southern Rusk County line, the tornado tracked northeast and crossed County Roads 3238 and 3227 before reaching Highway 84. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along the tornado's path through Highway 84, with the tornado tearing down a large metal electrical transmission tower off of County Road 3206 northeast of the Sulphur Springs community, while also ripping the roof off of a nearby single family home.…

4. Mar 18, 2008Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado touched down near the community of New London, Texas. Numerous trees and powerlines were downed and a building was damaged near the intersection of county road 108 and farm to market road 850. Damage was also witnessed to a home, a metal building and dozen of trees along Dill Road. Additional damage was noted along U.S. 259, 4 miles south of Kilgore, Texas where the tornado downed several trees and a metal building suffered damage.

5. May 11, 2017Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is a continuation of the Nacogdoches County EF-2 tornado that initially touched down just southwest of Garrison along Highway 59. Additional EF-2 damage, with estimated winds of 115-120 mph occurred in the extreme southeast corner of Rusk County along Highway 59, where the tornado tore through a chicken farm, destroying one chicken coop and killing all chickens, while also damaging 5 other coops. Several homes sustained roof damage from snapped or uprooted trees, and at least 20 outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. The tornado also snapped several power poles in this area and continued northeast along Highway 59 into Northwest Shelby County.

6. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Rusk$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds in association with the remnants of Hurricane Ike battered all of Rusk County on September 13th. Trees were downed all across the county with widespread power poles and lines down as well. Numerous power outages were reported during the height of the storm and well after the storm had passed. A tree reportedly fell on a truck in Overton, Texas. Another tree fell on top of a home near Hwy. 42 in the New London area.

7. Mar 12, 2001Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado continued into Panola County, Texas. A tornado developed on the southern most cell of a squall line as it moved eastward across the county. Six homes lost numerous shingle patches while one home lost part of its roof. Two churches suffered roof damage. Numerous snapped, broken or felled trees.

8. May 25, 2015Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   National Weather Service Storm Survey Team determined that damage in Rusk County was consistent with that of a tornado. An EF2 tornado touched down approximately 9 miles west southwest of Henderson, Texas in Rusk County and traveled in a east northeast direction before lifting approximately 10 miles east northeast of Henderson, Texas. Numerous trees were snapped and or uprooted along its path. Several powerpoles were snapped as well. Several homes in and around Henderson suffered minor to moderate damage mostly from fallen trees.

9. Oct 9, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds downed trees throughout the county. One tree fell on top of a home in the 700 block of Slaydon Street. Several metal buildings at the Lowe's Hardware Store on US Hwy. 79 South were destroyed and scattered across a vacant lot. Another large tree fell on a home on Shawnee Trail with trees on a home in the 800 block of South Main Street. Trees were also downed on the carport of a residence on FM 3135.

10. May 14, 2008Tornado$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An EF1 tornado with winds of 105 to 110 mph occurred in Rusk County from 930 am to 940 am CDT on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008. The tornado touched down approximately 500 yards west of County Road 1798 where a manufactured home was completely destroyed. The hope appears to have been destroyed when the winds swept under the home...lifted it off its foundation and slammed it into the ground thereby causing the entire structure to fail. The winds then scattered the debris and home contents up to three miles northeast of the home. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along County Road 4183. A large barn was collapsed on the west side of County Road 4182 and a shed was destroyed by a…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

111°F2 times, most recently Sep 2, 2000

All-time low

−3°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

87°FJun 27, 1942

Coldest day

14°FFeb 16, 2021

Wettest day

11.05 inMar 29, 1989

Snowiest day

10.0 inDec 21, 1929

Hottest year

2023mean 68.3°F

Coldest year

1983mean 61.4°F

Wettest year

199168.80 in

Driest year

196323.18 in

Station Henderson (USC00414081), 461 ft elevation, 0.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 20, 2026; 92.2% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00414081.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.