Smith County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Smith County: 2.
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.

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. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Smith$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds resulted in numerous trees and power lines downed throughout the county. Trees were reported down on Rhones Quarter Road between the towns of Whitehouse and Tyler, Texas. Power outages were widespread as well resulting from all the downed trees and trees across power lines. Some roads across the county were impassable. A tree was downed on a home on Glenview Avenue near the University of Tyler Texas Campus. One occupant was reported trapped inside and had minor injuries. At one point in time...over 100 roads were blocked by fallen trees in the city of Tyler, Texas alone. Several homes were destroyed and several more heavily damaged as trees fell across…

2. Feb 16, 2021Winter Storm, Smith$508,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the heels of the first winter storm and historically cold temperatures observed earlier in the week across all of the Southern Plains and much of the Lower Mississippi Valley, a second significant winter storm developed across much of these areas from February 16th-18th, with areas of snow, sleet, and freezing rain (some heavy) falling across much of East Texas. Strong forcing and moisture associated with the next upper level trough to move atop the extensive arctic air mass in place resulted in widespread snow and sleet totals of one to three inches, with isolated higher amounts up to five to seven inches over Eastern Cass County. Strong overrunning of warmer air atop the…

3. Apr 4, 2026Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mini-supercell developed and produced a short-lived, small, but intense EF1 tornado east and northeast of Lindale, TX. The tornado began in a field just south of FM Road 16 West, downing some small tree limbs and snapping the trunk of a pecan tree. At this same location, significant roof damage, consisting of shingle and roof decking loss, occurred to a single-family residence, resulting in a rating of EF1. The tornado downed a few more tree limbs before crossing FM Road 16 West. A couple of homes in the Woodcrest subdivision sustained minor shingle damage. Home security cameras in this|subdivision recorded the tornado's passage. The tornado continued northeast and crossed…

4. Apr 29, 2016Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-2 tornado with winds estimated between 110-115 mph touched down just west of Highway 69 near the intersection of Mayor Street. As it crossed Highway 69, the tornado strengthened resulting in major damage to the Hibbett Sports and Dollar Tree stores on the east side of Highway 69. The tornado moved northeast resulting in tree and roof damage in subdivisions between Highway 69 and County Road 431. The tornado lifted near the intersection of County Road 431 and Pierce Street.

5. Apr 3, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were downed. Trees were reported down on several homes and at least 1 vehicle. One resident was temporarily trapped by debris from a tree falling across her home but she was uninjured.

6. Sep 8, 2013Wildfire, Smith$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Drought stricken areas east of Tyler, Texas, triple digit afternoon temperatures and gusty winds helped to ignite a fire that began as pieces of a hot tire were thrown off a vehicle and landed in an area of dry grass and pine straw along Farm to Market 2767 near the Jackson Heights area. Those initial flares then spread quickly due to the wind. Volunteer Fire Departments began evacuating up to 60 homes shortly after the noon hour on September 8th as the fire quickly spread. By the time the fire was contained, it burned up 405 acres of grassland and timberland. The fire also consumed 2 homes along with multiple outdoor structures including barns and sheds as well as multiple vehicles.

7. Apr 29, 2016Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long track multi-vortex EF-2 tornado with peak winds estimated between 120-125 mph touched down just east of Lindale near the intersection of County Road 499 and County Road 4100. The tornado traveled northeast resulting in extensive damage to trees along its path. The tornado was strongest between Farm To Market Road 16 and Farm To Market Road 2710, where a cell phone tower, a house, and two mobile homes sustained major damage from estimated EF-2 tornado winds. This tornado remained on the ground as it crossed a heavily wooded area and the Sabine River into Southeast Wood County.

8. Jan 7, 2010Cold/Wind Chill, Smith$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Bitterly cold temperatures swept into the region during the evening hours of January 7th with a hard freeze being observed nearly through the morning hours of January 10th. During this period of time...overnight and early morning low temperatures were well into the teens with daytime high temperatures struggling to make it to the freezing mark. The cold temperatures froze water pipes of many homes throughout the county. Some city and county water lines burst as well resulting in many residents either without water for a short period of time or with reduced water pressure.

9. Jun 28, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed across the northern portion of Smith County. Some of these trees fell onto homes.

10. Aug 16, 2011Wildfire, Smith$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Ambient temperatures around 108 degrees and exceptional drought conditions were the ingredients needed for a major grass fire to turn into a forest fire in eastern |Smith County between Tyler and Kilgore, Texas. As of 4 pm cdt, at least 4 structures (some homes), and numerous (unknown number) of vehicles had burned. County Roads 235 and 236 were shut down from the fire and CR 2305 was being evacuated. A Red Cross shelter was opened for evacuees. All police and fire departments within Smith County were called to assist with evacuation and fire fighting efforts. Numerous homes are threatened and air support was utilized from surrounding counties to help fight the fire.

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

110°F2 times, most recently Aug 3, 2011

All-time low

−6°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

88°FJul 14, 1901

Coldest day

10°FFeb 13, 1899

Wettest day

8.15 inJun 10, 2010

Snowiest day

7.5 inJan 30, 1949

Hottest year

2023mean 69.6°F

Coldest year

1895mean 63.6°F

Wettest year

201568.05 in

Driest year

200524.92 in

Snowiest season

7.5 in1948-49

Station Tyler Pounds Field (USW00013972), 523 ft elevation, 6.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1883 to October 26, 2026; 94.6% 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 USW00013972.
• 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.