San Antonio may not be tornado alley, but it has had a history of tornadoes touching down over the decades. The Alamo City ended its tornado drought on Wednesday, July 15, when a storm touched down on the Northwest Side, damaging areas at The Rim and La Cantera. This stands as the first tornado to touch down in San Antonio in almost three years.
The last time a tornado touched down in San Antonio was on October 26, 2023. The EF0, the weakest tornado rating, touched down at 7:01 a.m. and ended at 7:18 p.m., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The storm touched down near the south end of the Masonic Cemetery off of East Commerce Street and traveled a length of 5.17 miles with 80 miles per hour winds.
There were no fatalities or injuries, but the NOAA reported that several trees, tennis courts, roof panels and trampolines were damaged during the storm.
The NOAA has been tracking tornadoes in the San Antonio area since 1950 and reports that 71 tornadoes have touched down in Bexar County in the last seven decades. The most severe storm was an F4 reported on April 28, 1953, which resulted in two deaths and 15 injuries. The most injuries were suffered during an F2 tornado in Somerset on March 19, 2002, where a 1.5-mile storm saw 30 people suffer injuries, according to the NOAA.
Since 2000, San Antonio has been hit with five tornadoes, with additional storms touching down in Helotes, Leon Valley, Converse, Alamo Heights, Kelley AFB, Lackland AFB and more area locations.