Gillespie County, Texas severe weather history spans 396 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,271 nationally and #122 in Texas.
396
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$5.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Gillespie County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Gillespie County, Texas severe weather history averages 5.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 106 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 65 events fall before 1990 and 331 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Gillespie County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.4M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Gillespie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 225 | 0 | $307K | 4 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 97 | 4 | $1.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 56 | 0 | $1.2M | 80 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 17 | 0 | $2.4M | F3 | 1962–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Gillespie County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-10-12 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-01-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Gillespie County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 6, 2000 | Flash Flood | SOUTH PORTION | 1 | 1 | $10K |
| Nov 2, 2000 | Flash Flood | SOUTH PORTION | 1 | 1 | $10K |
| Mar 22, 2020 | Flash Flood | MORRIS RANCH | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| May 25, 2007 | Flash Flood | FREDERICKSBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2001 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 5 | $80K |
| Oct 13, 2001 | Tornado | STONEWALL | 0 | 5 | $1.0M |
| Dec 15, 1996 | Flash Flood | CENTRAL PORTION | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Oct 28, 1996 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
At 9:26 p.m. CDT Saturday, March 21, the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office and Fredericksburg Fire EMS responded to a report of a vehicle that had been swept away by fast-moving water at the Pedernales River crossing on Alfred Petsch Road. Upon arrival, it was determined that there had been four occupants in a vehicle, ages 36, 15, 14, and 13. Three people made it out of the vehicle safely but the 14-year-old was missing. Shortly after 11 p.m. CDT, the girl was located in the water about a mile from where the vehicle was. Emergency personnel began CPR and transported her to Hill Country Memorial Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Continued periods of showers and thunderstorms through the nighttime hours produced general 3 to 4 inch rain amounts over much of Gillespie County. Amounts as high as 6 inches were reported near Willow City and also southwest of Fredericksburg. Most rural roads were closed through both the late evening and in the morning hours due to high water. A young man was swept away in his vehicle at a low water crossing on Goehmann Lane near Fredericksburg about 2100 CST.
The extremely heavy rainfall associated with the remains of Tropical Storm Erin moved into Gillespie County in the late afternoon, producing general 3 to 5 inch amounts. Highest were 9 inches at Cain City just south of Fredericksburg. Most roads in the southern and western part of the county were closed due to flooding. High water rescues were made on Bear Creek Road in the county and on East College Street and Goehmann Lane in Fredericksburg. US290 was blocked by the Pedernales River by early Friday morning and the LBJ Ranch was closed to visitors all day on Friday.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
27,524
Population (ACS)
$461K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2025 | Fire | CRABAPPLE FIRE | FM |
| Apr 21, 2023 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Fredericksburg 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Gillespie County, Texas?
396 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $5.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Gillespie County?
Hail, with 225 recorded events — 56.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Gillespie County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Gillespie County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Gillespie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Gillespie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gillespie County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 58 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Gillespie 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
- Garza County 358
- Glasscock County 273
- Galveston County 681
- Goliad County 180
- Gaines County 480
- Gonzales County 225
Cite this page
“Gillespie County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/gillespie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.