Lee County, Texas severe weather history spans 234 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 34.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,219 nationally and #193 in Texas.
234
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
36
Direct injuries
$6.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Lee County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lee County, Texas severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 66 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 39 events fall before 1990 and 195 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lee County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.7M 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 Lee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 80 | 0 | $930K | 4.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 70 | 0 | $1.5M | 86 | 1963–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 51 | 2 | $231K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Tornado | 30 | 0 | $3.7M | F3 | 1953–2026 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2008 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2017–2017 |
Decade by decade
Lee County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-04-07 | EF3 | 1 | 5 | 31.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-03-20 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-03-20 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 16.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-24 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 14.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-12-02 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-11-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-11-15 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-02-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 40.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-09-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 56.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2016 | Flash Flood | LOEBAU | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 21, 2012 | Flash Flood | FEDOR | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 16, 2001 | Flash Flood | WEST PORTION | 0 | 10 | $50K |
| Nov 15, 1987 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 31, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 6 | $0 | |
| Dec 2, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Mar 21, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Mar 21, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The extremely large hail damaged hundreds of cars windows and bodies and dented and damaged the roofs of dozens of homes. Many consider this to be the most devastating hail storm in the city of Giddings in over 50 years.
The largest impact across Lee County with Harvey was the rainfall where as much as 20 inches fell near Giddings. The southern half of the county experienced the worst flooding with 25 homes being impacted, many of those having experienced major damage. The tropical storm force winds did bring some trees down across the county. Damage from the flooding is estimated to be near 250K dollars.
Severe thunderstorms moved into Lee County in the late afternoon. They began producing severe winds as they approached US77, knocking down trees and power lines from near Lincoln eastward to near Dime Box. The storm also destroyed outbuildings and damaged several mobile homes along the path. Near Dime Box the storms destroyed several barns, with the damage estimated near $200,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
17,971
Population (ACS)
$268K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE BERYL | DR |
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lee County, Texas?
234 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $6.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lee County?
Hail, with 80 recorded events — 34.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lee County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lee County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lee County as very low risk, placing it in the 40 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lee 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
- Lavaca County 294
- Leon County 261
- La Salle County 165
- Liberty County 356
- Lampasas County 243
- Limestone County 415
Cite this page
“Lee County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/lee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.