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Top 100 U.S. cities · Census rank #7

A History of Tornadoes in San Antonio

How San Antonio, Texas's geography shapes tornado risk, with important city and regional events.

Boundary note: Census rank and population refer to San Antonio's incorporated or consolidated-government geography. Tornado context may include the surrounding county or metro and is labeled accordingly.
A tornado beneath a severe storm over open country
Illustrative storm photograph; it does not depict a listed San Antonio event. Photo: Daphne Zaras / NOAA, public domain.

Geography and storm exposure

San Antonio is part of the central and southern Plains. Gulf moisture can meet a dryline, front and strong winds aloft, creating organized supercells. Geography influences storm boundaries and exposure, but terrain, rivers and buildings do not create a dependable tornado shield.

Long storm paths can cross several counties and city jurisdictions. This page uses the incorporated city as its population reference and the surrounding region for meteorological context; those boundaries answer different questions and are labeled separately.

2025 city rank

#7 in the United States

Estimated population

1,548,422

Main season

April through June, with a smaller cool-season window

Important tornadoes to place in context

1

1957 Dallas tornado

A regional reference point. Use the official database and local storm surveys to determine its relationship to the city boundary.

2

1979 Red River Valley outbreak

A regional reference point. Use the official database and local storm surveys to determine its relationship to the city boundary.

3

1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado

A regional reference point. Use the official database and local storm surveys to determine its relationship to the city boundary.

These events are starting points, not a claim that every path crossed San Antonio's incorporated limits. Tornadoes are surveyed by path and county; metropolitan labels in news coverage often describe a broader area.

Why the historical record changes over time

Older records favor destructive tornadoes that crossed settled places. Radar, trained spotters, phones and systematic damage surveys now capture many weak or brief events that earlier observers could miss. Apparent increases can therefore reflect detection and urban growth as well as weather variability.

Official sources

This educational article is not a live warning service. Use official alerts for current decisions.