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Waller County, Texas severe weather history spans 158 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,668 nationally and #241 in Texas.
158
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$10.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Waller County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Waller County, Texas severe weather history averages 2.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 49 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 20 events fall before 1990 and 138 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Waller County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $7.2M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Waller County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 60 | 0 | $1.4M | 104 | 1979–2025 |
| Hail | 48 | 0 | $374K | 3 | 1973–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 1 | $7.2M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Tornado | 20 | 1 | $1.6M | F3 | 1957–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2018 |
Decade by decade
Waller 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: 24 touched down inside it and 4 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 | Crossed in |
| 1967-09-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 19.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-10-14 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-06-05 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 23.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-10-18 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-20 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-02-05 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-10-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-10-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Waller County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 1998 | Tornado | BROOKSHIRE | 1 | 1 | $75K |
| Apr 18, 2016 | Flash Flood | HEMPSTEAD | 1 | 0 | $6.7M |
| Feb 5, 1986 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado touched down near Trailer World RV and Boat Storage facility then crossed Interstate 10. It did minor damage to Bucees car wash area then ripped large air conditioning units off top of Pepperl-Fuchs building. Finally in damaged awnings near Builders First building before lifting. Tornado crossed from Fort Bend into Waller County. This entry documents Waller County segment.
Multiple lanes of Highway 290 at the FM 2920 intersection near the town of Waller were closed due to flooding.||In the southern part of the county, sections of FM 3318 near the Brazos River flooded and became inaccessible. There was significant countywide home flooding along the various creeks/bayous and their tributaries.
An emergency manager reported tornado damage in a mobile home park near Noel Lane, with cars flipped over. Survey teams confirmed damage in this area, finding trees snapped, powerlines down, roofs ripped off or partially ripped off of mobile homes. Additional damage was surveyed further southwest near Grassner Road, where a home was tied down with a hurricane anchored installation and it slid off. In the same area, a barn was overturned, lifted and blew away around 20 yards. Further northeast in Harris county, several pieces of sheet metal were bent on power lines and scattered along Freeman St, with damage to wooden fences. Partial loss of roofs and side walls was found in a few homes nearby by the survey team. Broken windows, garage doors, tree limbs and several large tree branches were also found in the area. The survey team rated this tornado as an EF1 with estimated winds up to 100 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
61,552
Population (ACS)
$319K
Median home value
29
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 Waller County, Texas?
158 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $10.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Waller County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 60 recorded events — 38.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Waller County?
28 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 Waller County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Waller County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Waller County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Waller County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Waller 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
- Walker County 292
- Ward County 244
- Victoria County 376
- Washington County 213
- Van Zandt County 481
- Webb County 412
Cite this page
“Waller County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/waller-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.