Karnes County, Texas severe weather history spans 179 recorded events between 1955 and 2024. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 41.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,557 nationally and #233 in Texas.
179
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
123
Direct injuries
$1.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Karnes County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Karnes County, Texas severe weather history averages 2.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 62 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 135 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $1.1M 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 Karnes County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 75 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Hail | 43 | 0 | $33K | 2.75 | 1967–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 30 | 0 | $240K | 78 | 1955–2023 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $483K | F3 | 1955–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2013 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2023 |
Decade by decade
Karnes County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-04-25 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-10-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-11-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-09-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-09-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-10-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-10-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Karnes County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 19, 1998 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 70 | $200K |
| Oct 18, 1998 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 50 | $100K |
| Apr 25, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The area of heaviest rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Erin in South Central Texas began in Karnes County. General rainfall over the county ranged from 3 to 5 inches with up to 7 inches near Helena. Most of the roads in Karnes County were closed Thursday afternoon, including FM887, SH119, and US80.
A second and more intense Karnes County tornado touched down west of Karnes City near the Wilson County line. Rated F1, it destroyed a trailer, a metal barn, and literally hundreds of trees as it moved northeast for just over two miles.
Heavy rainfall associated with Claudette produced general 1 to 2 inch amounts with isolated totals between 5 and 6 inches over Karnes County. Flash flooding developed over the county during the evening and ended near midnight.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,968
Population (ACS)
$149K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Mar 14, 2008 | Fire | WILDFIRES | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Karnes County, Texas?
179 events are on record between 1955 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Karnes County?
Flash Flood, with 75 recorded events — 41.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Karnes County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Karnes County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Karnes County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Karnes County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Karnes County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 58 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Karnes 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
- Jones County 726
- Kaufman County 597
- Johnson County 904
- Kendall County 271
- Jim Wells County 360
- Kenedy County 46
Cite this page
“Karnes County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/karnes-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.