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Polk, TX; Trinity, TX
Flood Watch
Houston; Trinity; Madison; Walker; San Jacinto; Polk; Brazos; Grimes; Montgomery; Northern Liberty; Waller; Inland Harris; Southern Liberty; Coastal Harris
Flash Flood Warning
Liberty, TX; Polk, TX
Wind Advisory
Houston; Trinity; Walker; San Jacinto; Polk; Northern Liberty; Southern Liberty
Polk County, Texas severe weather history spans 317 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 38.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,684 nationally and #152 in Texas.
317
Recorded events
11
Direct deaths
39
Direct injuries
$331.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Polk County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Polk County, Texas severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 94 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 274 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Polk County, Texas record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 8 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $301.7M 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 Polk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 121 | 0 | $519K | 4.5 | 1965–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 110 | 8 | $15.3M | 117 | 1961–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 45 | 0 | $301.7M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 29 | 3 | $11.2M | F2 | 1959–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $3.1M | 0 | 2024–2024 |
Decade by decade
Polk County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-22 | EF3 | 3 | 33 | 28.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-03-30 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 49.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-11-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-12-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-12-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-10 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 26.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-30 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 22.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 26.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-01 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Polk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 5 | 0 | $0 | |
| Apr 22, 2020 | Tornado | ONALASKA | 3 | 33 | $5.0M |
| May 17, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 3 | 0 | $0 | |
| May 1, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jun 12, 2025 | Hail | NEW HOPE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 6, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | DALLARDSVILLE | 0 | 1 | $15K |
| Mar 30, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 9, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
There was high flood water on roads FM 3126 and FM 356 along the eastern shore of Lake Livingston.||The lowest homes and businesses within close vicinity of the lake, Trinity River and Long King Creek flooded. Roads along the southern end of Lake Livingston such as FM 3278 were inaccessible, FM 3128 and FM 1988 near Long King Creek were flooded. Major lowland flooding occurred on the Trinity River near Goodrich.
Straight line wind damage across the entire county from west to east. Lake Livingston Dam measured 134 mph wind gusts before their equipment blew away. The hardest hit are was from the Tobacco Patch community to the west of the Livingston area, though major damage occurred across the majority of the county. Numerous trees/powerpoles down, 18 homes completely destroyed, 172 with major damage, 180 with moderate to minor damage. Timber industry took a large loss due to the number of downed trees. Governor George Bush Jr. declared Polk County a disaster area on 3/11/98.
Severe flooding in Livingston along Choates Creek. People evacuated from Livingston with 18 inches of water in one house. Water up to 3 feet high reported in some homes and mobile homes along 1st and 2nd Streets and McCardell Lane in Livingston. Ford pickup flipped over in same area. Three feet of water on U.S. 59. Rainfall totals include 8.45" at Lake Livingston Dam in just over 3 hours.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
52,800
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
30
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 |
| Aug 24, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORMS MARCO AND LAURA | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Polk County, Texas?
317 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 11 direct deaths and $331.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Polk County?
Hail, with 121 recorded events — 38.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Polk County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Polk County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Polk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Polk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 76 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Polk 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
- Pecos County 985
- Potter County 1,507
- Parmer County 377
- Presidio County 168
- Parker County 993
- Rains County 189
Cite this page
“Polk County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/polk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.