Brewster County, Texas severe weather history spans 507 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #849 nationally and #79 in Texas.
507
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$18.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Brewster County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Brewster County, Texas severe weather history averages 7.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 191 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 456 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Brewster County, Texas record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $14.0M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Brewster County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 286 | 0 | $3.6M | 4.5 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 101 | 0 | $487K | 87 | 1963–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 78 | 0 | $223K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $260K | F2 | 1954–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2018 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $14.0M | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Brewster County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-31 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-04-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Brewster County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 2003 | Lightning | PANTHER JUNCTION | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $3K | |
| Jun 16, 1997 | Hail | STUDY BUTTE | 0 | 2 | $10K |
| May 13, 2005 | Hail | PANTHER JUNCTION | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A thunderstorm which moved across the Chisos Basin of the Texas Big Bend resulted in a lightning fatality. A man who was hiking in the Chisos Mountains died when he was struck by lightning. The man was reported missing by his wife two days later, and National Park rangers located his body within a few hours of the report. An autopsy confirmed a lightning strike was the cause of death. The time of the event is estimated based on archived satellite and lightning data.
An HP supercell moving to the southeast through northern Brewster County pummelled much of Alpine with large hail and high winds. The west and northwest sides of the city were hardest hit with windows knocked out of numerous houses, and about 200 homes having the paint blasted off the exterior walls. Many cars were damaged in the storm as well. The hail was two inches deep in some parts of town. During the storm a wind gust was measured at 56 mph. Total property damage was estimated at about $3 million.
A NWS Storm Survey concluded that damage was done to 44 power poles near Ranch Road 2627 in Brewster County, TX. Some of the poles were snapped 3 to 4 feet above the ground and all the poles fell to the south as the storm moved in the same direction around 20 mph. The poles were not consecutively snapped in a row. At times, there were 15 snapped…then a gap…and then more snapped as you moved southeastward down the line. Please see the attached images for a detailed look at the damage path.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,503
Population (ACS)
$227K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 14, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 1, 2011 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| May 8, 2011 | Fire | GAGE HOLLAND FIRE | FM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Alpine 191
- Marathon 126
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Brewster County, Texas?
507 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $18.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Brewster County?
Hail, with 286 recorded events — 56.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Brewster County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Brewster County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Brewster County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Brewster County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Brewster County as very low risk, placing it in the 21 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Brewster County, Texas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Brazos County 454
- Briscoe County 344
- Brazoria County 549
- Brooks County 89
- Bowie County 849
- Brown County 679
Cite this page
“Brewster County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/brewster-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.