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Willacy County, Texas severe weather history spans 166 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 31.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,629 nationally and #237 in Texas.
166
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$35.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Willacy County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Willacy County, Texas severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 56 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 35 events fall before 1990 and 131 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Willacy County, Texas record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $27.5M 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 Willacy County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 52 | 1 | $207K | 78 | 1966–2024 |
| Hail | 44 | 0 | $5K | 2.75 | 1966–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $27.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $185K | F2 | 1957–2026 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $2.6M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $21K | 0 | 2008–2015 |
| Lightning | 3 | 2 | $5.0M | 0 | 2011–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Willacy County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 25.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 40.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-10-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-09-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-07-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-10-30 | EF0 | 0 | 1 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Willacy County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2025 | Lightning | SEBASTIAN | 2 | 0 | $20K |
| Jun 3, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Oct 30, 2015 | Tornado | PORFIRIO | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| May 25, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Jun 1, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Cameron County Office of Emergency Management reported a trailer home struck by lightning with the entire building consumed by the flames after the pre-dawn strike. Two residents inside were killed by the ensuing fire.
A strong cloud to ground lightning bolt struck and set ablaze a wind turbine and tower at the Willacy County Los Vientos wind farm during the initial severe thunderstorm that impacted the county during the early evening of June 24, 2019. Another strike destroyed a small grain silo just to the west of Lyford and Raymondville. Time of the strike is estimated from peak lightning frequency, which exceeded 300 cloud to ground strikes in 15 minutes.
The heavy rainfall on October 24th led to much of eastern Willacy County being under several feet of water. Water rescues were underway prior to the heaviest rains and continued through the afternoon. Though homes are few and far between (mainly farm houses or workers homes), the majority likely had water inside them by late in the day. Hazardous, high water was found across nearly all of the County east of the expressway (and the larger communities).
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,139
Population (ACS)
$74K
Median home value
29
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Willacy County, Texas?
166 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $35.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Willacy County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 52 recorded events — 31.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Willacy County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Willacy County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Willacy County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Willacy County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Willacy County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Willacy 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
- Wilbarger County 593
- Williamson County 891
- Wichita County 1,298
- Wilson County 244
- Wheeler County 566
- Winkler County 222
Cite this page
“Willacy County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/willacy-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.