Fayette County, Texas severe weather history spans 277 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 33.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,918 nationally and #167 in Texas.
277
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$58.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Fayette County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fayette County, Texas severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 71 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 239 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Fayette County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $50.0M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fayette County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 94 | 0 | $78K | 2.75 | 1963–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 80 | 1 | $575K | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 64 | 0 | $727K | 74 | 1977–2026 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $7.3M | F2 | 1954–2021 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $50.0M | 0 | 2007–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2002 |
Decade by decade
Fayette County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-10-11 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 8.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-02-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-02-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-02-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 15.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-07-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-12-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fayette County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2009 | Flash Flood | SCHULENBURG | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Oct 17, 1998 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 10 | $300K |
| Oct 18, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Apr 18, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 11, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A law enforcement official reported a stalled car in an underpass in Schulenburg with the water rising rapidly. The car was on Highway 77 and the car stalled while going underneath the railroad underpass. An elderly couple was in the car. The woman was rescued, the elderly man drowned.
As the line of thunderstorms associated with the late season cold front moved southward into Fayette County, they produced severe winds that knocked down numerous trees, blew over signs along the road, and damaged roofs of homes and businesses across central Fayette County from north to south. Some parts of the county were without power until the following afternoon.
The small tornado touched down 3 miles south of Ledbetter near FM1291 and dissipated after striking the town. As it reached the town, It damaged the roofs of businesses and homes, knocking over a windmill, toppling large trees and moving a wooden church five feet off its foundation of concrete blocks. It also rolled over a vehicle. No one was injured.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
25,042
Population (ACS)
$294K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE BERYL | DR |
| 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 |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HARVEY | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fayette County, Texas?
277 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $58.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fayette County?
Hail, with 94 recorded events — 33.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fayette County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fayette County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fayette County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fayette County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fayette County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 58 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fayette 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
- Fannin County 613
- Fisher County 389
- Falls County 245
- Floyd County 462
- Erath County 545
- Foard County 290
Cite this page
“Fayette County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/fayette-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.