Austin County, Texas severe weather history spans 227 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 37.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,273 nationally and #200 in Texas.
227
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$14.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Austin County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Austin County, Texas severe weather history averages 3.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 67 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 190 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Austin County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $8.3M 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 Austin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 84 | 1 | $2.2M | 87 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 65 | 0 | $952K | 2.5 | 1955–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 3 | $2.7M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 27 | 0 | $8.3M | F2 | 1950–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2021 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Austin County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-09-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 19.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-09-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 19.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-06-05 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 23.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-05-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-01-31 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-03-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Austin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 14, 2007 | Flash Flood | INDUSTRY | 2 | 0 | $8K |
| Apr 18, 2016 | Flash Flood | BUCKHORN | 1 | 0 | $2.3M |
| Apr 25, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | SAN FELIPE | 1 | 0 | $2K |
| Jan 31, 1983 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 5, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| May 13, 1994 | Tornado | Eastern Austin | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A vehicle drove into a low water crossing and was swept 100 yards downstream. Of the three persons in the vehicle, one escaped to shore while the other two perished due to drowning. Their bodies were discovered between 3/4 of a mile and 2 miles downstream from the mostly-submerged vehicle.
The following roads either inundated with water and/or closed due to being flooded; FM 2429 south of Bellville, FM 529 and FM 331 east of Bellville. A report at 0309 CST stated that that there were numerous road closures due to flooding across a large part of the county, especially over the central and north part of the county. A female resident drowned when driving into high water on Plumb Creek Road. Damage amounts estimated.
Severe thunderstorms moved rapidly across the Sealy area, and a very intense and wet microburst produced significant wind damage to trees, structures and utility poles. Wind gusts may have exceeded 80 to 100 mph. The most significant damage began along or just northwest of Interstate 10 a few miles west of Sealy and moved in an approximate two mile wide swath south of the Interstate toward Highway 36. Damage included an 18 wheeler truck blown over, car windows blown out and part of a roof blown off at Sealy High School.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,170
Population (ACS)
$297K
Median home value
24
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 |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Austin County, Texas?
227 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $14.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Austin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 84 recorded events — 37.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Austin County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Austin County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Austin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Austin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Austin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 53 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Austin 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
- Atascosa County 278
- Bailey County 348
- Armstrong County 507
- Bandera County 309
- Archer County 657
- Bastrop County 378
Cite this page
“Austin County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/austin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.