Caldwell County, Texas severe weather history spans 287 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 31.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,851 nationally and #163 in Texas.
287
Recorded events
11
Direct deaths
552
Direct injuries
$75.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Caldwell County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Caldwell County, Texas severe weather history averages 4.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 80 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 241 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Caldwell County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 10 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $25.4M 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 Caldwell County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 91 | 0 | $240K | 3.5 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 83 | 10 | $21.3M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 79 | 0 | $16.0M | 95 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 25 | 0 | $25.4M | F2 | 1957–2023 |
| Flood | 6 | 1 | $12.9M | 0 | 2007–2017 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $110K | 0 | 2013–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Caldwell County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-08-10 | EF2 | 0 | 20 | 47.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-02-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-08-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-08-04 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-11-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Caldwell County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 1998 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 6 | 500 | $20.0M |
| Dec 7, 2018 | Flash Flood | MARTINDALE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| May 27, 2014 | Flash Flood | NIEDERWALD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 1, 2013 | Flood | NIEDERWALD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 31, 2013 | Flash Flood | DALE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2001 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 20 | $80K |
| Aug 10, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 5, 1998 | Hail | LOCKHART | 0 | 9 | $20K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 3 year old girl downed after being swept into a small flooded creek. The girl went missing around 5 pm and her body was recovered shortly before midnight approximately 50-75 yards downstream. A 5 year old was successfully rescued and recovered from his near drowning.
A truck drove around a barricade at Brushy Creek on Polonia Road. The truck became submerged and the driver was able to escape unharmed. The passenger was not able to escape and got swept downstream. The body of the female passenger, age 57, was found more than a week later.
Caldwell County reported several flooded roads during the morning hours including FM 1979 at the San Marcos River, Old Colony Line Road, and FM 86. A flash flood fatality occurred near Track Road and FM 20 East when a 51 year old teacher at Smithville Junior High was driving to work and his car was swept off the road. His body was recovered later that day.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
48,669
Population (ACS)
$241K
Median home value
24
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 |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HARVEY | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Caldwell County, Texas?
287 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 11 direct deaths and $75.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Caldwell County?
Hail, with 91 recorded events — 31.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Caldwell County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Caldwell County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Caldwell County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Caldwell County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Caldwell County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 80 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Caldwell 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
- Burnet County 499
- Calhoun County 163
- Burleson County 238
- Callahan County 453
- Brown County 679
- Cameron County 547
Cite this page
“Caldwell County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/caldwell-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.