Live
Active alerts for this county
Flood Warning
Hardin, TX; Jasper, TX; Jefferson, TX; Tyler, TX
Flood Warning
Hardin, TX; Jefferson, TX
Flood Warning
Hardin, TX; Jasper, TX; Jefferson, TX; Orange, TX
Flood Watch
Tyler; Hardin; Southern Jasper; Southern Newton; Upper Jefferson; Northern Orange; Lower Jefferson; Southern Orange
Jefferson County, Texas severe weather history spans 650 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #476 nationally and #45 in Texas.
650
Recorded events
17
Direct deaths
168
Direct injuries
$3.4B
Property damage
The record
What the Jefferson County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jefferson County, Texas severe weather history averages 9.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 123 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 224 events fall before 1990 and 426 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Jefferson County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 10 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $3.3B in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Jefferson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 250 | 1 | $4.5M | 96 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 143 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1956–2024 |
| Tornado | 110 | 3 | $57.2M | F3 | 1956–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 105 | 10 | $3.3B | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Lightning | 14 | 3 | $576K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2018 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $45K | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2012 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Jefferson County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
103 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 96 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-11-07 | EF4 | 1 | 81 | 12.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-11-07 | EF3 | 2 | 59 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-10-28 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 9.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-12-28 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 67.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-01-01 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 5.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-01-31 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-10-11 | EF3 | 0 | 19 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-03-23 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-11-07 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-20 | EF2 | 1 | 9 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jefferson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2017 | Flash Flood | GRIFFING | 5 | 1 | $3.0B |
| Sep 19, 2019 | Flash Flood | HAMSHIRE | 3 | 0 | $300.0M |
| Nov 8, 1957 | Tornado | 2 | 59 | $2.5M | |
| May 20, 1983 | Tornado | 1 | 9 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 23, 2009 | Lightning | SABINE | 1 | 7 | $5K |
| Aug 14, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | BEAUMONT | 1 | 1 | $75K |
| May 27, 2020 | Lightning | AMELBULK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 29, 2007 | Lightning | PORT ARTHUR | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread and long duration rainfall produced a storm total rainfall over 40 inches across a large portion of the county. The highest rainfall totals in Jefferson County were 60.58 inches 1.5 mile southwest of Nederland and 60.54 inches 1.3 mile north of Groves. This resulted in over 64,000 homes being flooded. The hardest hit areas were Port Arthur, Groves, Bevil Oaks, Hamphire, Fannet, China, and northeast Beaumont. Several refineries in the county also received floodwaters and were offline for an extended period. City and county infrastructure was also damaged with water pumps and treatment plants being inundated. Record crests were observed along Pine Island and the lower Neches. 5 deaths were reported by flooding.
The remnants of Imelda drifted slowly across the interior sections of Southeast Texas during the 18th. A very heavy band of rain dumped over 30 inches of rain in a 12 hour period which created extensive flooding across Jefferson County. The maximum storm total was 44.29 inches near Fannet. The first report of flooding was from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department with major street flooding in the city of Beaumont and water was entering several homes. Due to the intense rate at which the rain fell flooding depth was worse than Harvey at some locations. Over 5100 homes were flooded. Numerous high water rescues were conducted through out the county. Three people drowned in Jefferson County during the event, 2 men ran off the roadway and into a ditch in different events. Per a family press release, the other man was struck by lightning, but fell in the flood waters and drowned while attempting to save a horse. Drowning was considered the primary cause of death.
All local media reported eight construction workers repairing the roof of a modular home on Bufford Street in Sabine Pass were struck by lightning and injured. One of the workers was critically injured and later died. The home was also set on fire by the lightning strike.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
253,878
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
31
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 |
| Dec 9, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LAURA | DR |
| Aug 24, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jefferson County, Texas?
650 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 17 direct deaths and $3.4B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jefferson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 250 recorded events — 38.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County?
103 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 96 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jefferson County?
31 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jefferson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jefferson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jefferson 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
- Jeff Davis County 179
- Jim Hogg County 84
- Jasper County 393
- Jim Wells County 360
- Jackson County 201
- Johnson County 904
Cite this page
“Jefferson County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/jefferson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.