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Nueces County, Texas severe weather history spans 836 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 33.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #263 nationally and #30 in Texas.
836
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
60
Direct injuries
$137.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Nueces County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nueces County, Texas severe weather history averages 11.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 278 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 143 events fall before 1990 and 693 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Nueces County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $97.4M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Nueces County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 276 | 0 | $25.0M | 100 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 236 | 3 | $7.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 134 | 0 | $6.0M | 3 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 107 | 2 | $97.4M | F3 | 1953–2022 |
| Flood | 33 | 0 | $915K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Lightning | 11 | 1 | $1.2M | 0 | 2004–2017 |
| Waterspout | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2001 |
| Coastal Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Nueces County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
97 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 94 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-06-24 | EF3 | 1 | 15 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-10-24 | EF2 | 1 | 20 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-09 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-04-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-09-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-04-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-10-16 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Nueces County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 1997 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 24, 2002 | Tornado | (CRP)CORPUS CHRISTI | 1 | 20 | $75.0M |
| Jun 24, 1970 | Tornado | 1 | 15 | $250K | |
| Sep 20, 2010 | Flash Flood | CABANISS NAF | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2009 | Lightning | PORT ARANSAS ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | (NGP)NAS CORPUS CHRI | 0 | 6 | $250K |
| Oct 24, 2002 | Tornado | (CRP)CORPUS CHRISTI | 0 | 6 | $10.0M |
| Jul 10, 2004 | Lightning | CORPUS CHRISTI | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm produced an estimated 5.5 million dollars in damage at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi. NWS damage survey indicated a narrow band of microburst straight-line wind damage resulting in numerous large uprooted trees, hangar roof damage, downed power poles, several damaged and/or overturned planes. Navy official instrumentation located farther away from the narrow band of damage reported a peak wind of 68 mph.
The County Sheriff's Office reported golf ball to tennis ball-size hail in the Town of Banquete. The Red Cross reported some 100 homes with extensive roof and window damage, several cars were also damaged. The County extension agent reported 1500 acres of cotton, corn and grain sorghum destroyed.
Corpus Christi Naval Air Station ASOS measured a gust to 78 mph at 0003 UTC. Winds gusted over 50 knots for around 50 minutes. Wind caused damage to several roofs across the Naval Air Station. Water damage occurred to some equipment from after roof damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
352,955
Population (ACS)
$209K
Median home value
33
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 |
| Aug 24, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM |
| Jul 26, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HANNA | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Corpus Christi 252
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nueces County, Texas?
836 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $137.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nueces County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 276 recorded events — 33.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nueces County?
97 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 94 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nueces County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nueces County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nueces County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nueces County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 97 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nueces 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
- Nolan County 467
- Ochiltree County 597
- Newton County 256
- Oldham County 458
- Navarro County 554
- Orange County 328
Cite this page
“Nueces County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/nueces-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.