States › Texas › 1973

Texas, 1973

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

503events recorded399 in 1972

14deaths recorded212 injuries

$11Mproperty damage (estimates)

3disaster declarations0 NFIP claims, $0 paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.

Events by hazard

Hail205

Tornado152

Wind146

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1973 was 503 against 399 in 1972.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1973
Jefferson County	22
Tarrant County	20
Wichita County	19
Runnels County	17
McLennan County	14
Dallas County	13
Bexar County	10
Hale County	10
Lubbock County	10
Harris County	9
Johnson County	9
Childress County	7
Harrison County	7
Panola County	6
Parker County	6
Taylor County	6
Tom Green County	6
Hill County	5
Howard County	5
Nueces County	5
Bowie County	4
Brazoria County	4
Callahan County	4
Cochran County	4
Frio County	4

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
10 Mar 1973	Hill	Tornado	F4	—	6	75
15 Apr 1973	Frio	Tornado	F4	—	5	12
15 Apr 1973	Hale	Tornado	F3	—	2	26
10 Mar 1973	Tom Green	Tornado	F2	$250,000	1	7
10 Mar 1973	Burnet	Tornado	F3	—	—	40
24 Apr 1973	Bowie	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	8
26 May 1973	Liberty	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	4
30 Apr 1973	Carson	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	3
21 Jan 1973	Shelby	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	3
6 May 1973	Fannin	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	3
26 May 1973	Jefferson	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	3
6 May 1973	Parker	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	3
20 Nov 1973	Collin	Tornado	F1	$25,000	—	3
10 Mar 1973	Grayson	Tornado	F3	—	—	3
3 Jun 1973	Cherokee	Tornado	F3	—	—	3
23 Apr 1973	Johnson	Tornado	F3	—	—	3
15 Apr 1973	Navarro	Tornado	F3	—	—	3
10 Mar 1973	Travis	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	2
10 Mar 1973	McLennan	Tornado	F4	—	—	2
10 Mar 1973	Taylor	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	1
10 Mar 1973	Lamar	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	1
13 Feb 1973	Harris	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	1
20 Jan 1973	Smith	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	1
11 Oct 1973	Fayette	Tornado	F2	$25,000	—	1
24 Nov 1973	Harrison	Tornado	F2	—	—	1
11 Jun 1973	Jefferson	Tornado	F1	$2,500,000	—	—
23 Apr 1973	Wheeler	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
10 Mar 1973	Rains	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
3 Jun 1973	Limestone	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
3 Jun 1973	Anderson	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
12 May 1973	Ector	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
11 May 1973	Tarrant	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
4 Jun 1973	Walker	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
1 Mar 1973	McLennan	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
6 May 1973	Johnson	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
20 Jan 1973	Shelby	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
20 Jan 1973	Shelby	Tornado	F1	$250,000	—	—
6 May 1973	Tarrant	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
19 Jun 1973	Tarrant	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
23 Mar 1973	Nolan	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1973

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
11 Jul 1973	DR-398	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	13
25 Jun 1973	DR-393	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	4
12 Mar 1973	DR-365	Major disaster	Severe Storm	High Winds, Tornadoes And Flooding	5

Flood insurance claims with a 1973 date of loss

No NFIP claims in Texas carry a 1973 date of loss. The NFIP claims file begins with 1978 losses.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.