Rockwall County, Texas severe weather history spans 229 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,259 nationally and #198 in Texas.
229
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$120.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Rockwall County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rockwall County, Texas severe weather history averages 3.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 73 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 192 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $86.2M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Rockwall County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 92 | 0 | $86.2M | 4.5 | 1968–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 87 | 0 | $7.2M | 84 | 1963–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $26.5M | F2 | 1958–2022 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $790K | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2015 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Rockwall County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-12-26 | EF4 | 10 | 468 | 13.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-04-03 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-10-04 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 27.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-04-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-10-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-10-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rockwall County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROYSE CITY | 0 | 6 | $10K |
| Apr 3, 2012 | Tornado | BLACKLAND | 0 | 3 | $15.0M |
| Apr 19, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROCKWALL | 0 | 2 | $400K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornadic wind damage was observed in Rockwall, generally parallel with and north of US 66, from the eastern shore of Lake Ray Hubbard into northeastern Rockwall. The most intense damage was observed close to the lake, along Sunset Hill Drive where several homes sustained significant roof damage. As the path continued farther east across SH 205, damage consisted of downed trees and fences and missing shingles on roofs. Based on eyewitness accounts and video footage, a tornado, with maximum rated wind speeds of 90 mph, or EF-1 intensity was confirmed. The tornado is believed to have developed over Lake Ray Hubbard with a path length of almost 2 miles.
The Garland / Rowlett tornado continued across a small tract of land in western Rockwall County. The tornado continued doing significant damage in the City of Rowlett, before moving onto Lake Ray Hubbard and dissipating over the lake.
A brief tornado, likely embedded within straight line winds impacted a few homes on Candice Circle to the east of McLendon-Chisholm. The tornado began near Bluebonnet Dr where a few trees were damaged. On Candice Circle, the porte-cochere of one home collapsed, and the attached roof broke off the garage. Poles were also bent around a basketball court. Next door, the tornado caused significant damage to the top floor attic of the house, moved several trailers, and destroyed a shed. The tornado continued a short distance down the road and likely lifted in the field northeast of the homes. Maximum estimated winds were 100 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
123,617
Population (ACS)
$416K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 |
| Feb 9, 2016 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rockwall County, Texas?
229 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $120.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rockwall County?
Hail, with 92 recorded events — 40.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rockwall County?
19 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 Rockwall County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rockwall County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rockwall County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rockwall County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 71 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rockwall 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
- Robertson County 204
- Runnels County 520
- Roberts County 346
- Rusk County 778
- Refugio County 153
- Sabine County 219
Cite this page
“Rockwall County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/rockwall-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.