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Hardin, TX; Jasper, TX; Jefferson, TX; Orange, TX
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Tyler; Hardin; Southern Jasper; Southern Newton; Upper Jefferson; Northern Orange; Lower Jefferson; Southern Orange
Orange County, Texas severe weather history spans 328 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,619 nationally and #149 in Texas.
328
Recorded events
13
Direct deaths
86
Direct injuries
$1.6B
Property damage
The record
What the Orange County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Orange County, Texas severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 96 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 59 events fall before 1990 and 269 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Orange County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 10 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $1.6B in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Orange County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 133 | 1 | $855K | 73 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 77 | 0 | $5K | 2.75 | 1975–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 63 | 10 | $1.6B | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 31 | 1 | $11.9M | F4 | 1952–2023 |
| Flood | 13 | 1 | $11.8M | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $45K | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $16K | 0 | 1998–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2015 |
Decade by decade
Orange County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
41 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 2 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 | Touched down here |
| 1970-10-11 | EF3 | 0 | 19 | 4.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-01-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 25.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-27 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-02-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-02-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-10-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Orange County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2017 | Flash Flood | BRIDGE CITY | 10 | 0 | $1.5B |
| Nov 8, 1957 | Tornado | 1 | 81 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 21, 2012 | Flood | BRIDGE CITY | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Jul 18, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | PINE FOREST | 1 | 0 | $3K |
| Jan 24, 2023 | Tornado | BOBSHER | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Oct 27, 2021 | Tornado | LITTLE CYPRESS | 0 | 1 | $3.0M |
| Aug 10, 2010 | Lightning | PEVETO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 10, 1998 | Lightning | ORANGE | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread 30 to 50 inches of rainfall fell across Orange County during Harvey. This resulted in 27,742 homes being flooded. The hardest hit areas were Orange, Vidor, Orangefield, Pine Forest, West Orange, Rose City, Mauriceville, Rose City, and Lake View. Record crests occurred on the lower Neches and Cow Bayou. The Sabine River was at its highest level since Hurricane Ike in 2008. Water covered and closed portions of Interstate 10 in the county. Only 1 home was reported not flooded in Rose City and the community's drinking water was interrupted for near a month. 10 people perished during the event with 2 of them being from electrocution in a flooded home.
An 84 year old Pine Forest resident was killed at his residence on Hulett Street by a fallen tree limb. As the man arrived home at his residence and exited a vehicle, a tree limb as large as a car was blown out of a 60 foot tall pine tree and crushed both him and the vehicle.
The line of slow moving storms finally departed Southeast Texas in the early morning hours. As water receded a car was found in a ditch in Orange near the Lake Cypress-Mauriceville High School the next day. The driver had driven into the ditch after the rain had stopped during the night and drown. The flood waters from the heavy rain event took a week to recede.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
85,307
Population (ACS)
$173K
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 Orange County, Texas?
328 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 13 direct deaths and $1.6B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Orange County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 133 recorded events — 40.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Orange County?
41 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Orange County?
31 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Orange County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Orange County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Orange County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 86 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Orange 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
- Oldham County 458
- Palo Pinto County 691
- Ochiltree County 597
- Panola County 530
- Nueces County 836
- Parker County 993
Cite this page
“Orange County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/orange-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.