States › Texas › Houston County

Houston County, Texas

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 48225 · 22,241 residents (2021) · 1,231 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 121Tornado · 31Flood · 36Wind · 172Winter · 14

Houston County within Texas. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 414 storm events in Houston County, Texas, led by damaging wind.

That is 33.6 events per 100 square miles, below the Texas figure of 63.3, and 186.1 per 10,000 residents against 56.0 statewide.

5 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 5 deaths and 64 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $115M and crop damage at $7.4M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Hurricane Beryl (major disaster, 9 Jul 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 28 claims since 1978, of which 21 were paid, totalling $383K (about $18K per paid claim). FEMA counts 65 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($13M a year across 18 hazards).

37 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

5events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

414events since 19505 deaths, 64 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 9 Jul 2024

28NFIP flood claims$383K paid

Compared with Texas and the United States

Measure	Houston County	Texas	US
Recorded events since 1950	414	165,476	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	33.6	63.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	186.1	56.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	5	4,723	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	5	2,429	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$115M	$111B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.3	13.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$18K	$55K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.2	24.7	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 3

Hail: 1Tornado: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 3Wind: 5

Hail: 7Tornado: 2Wind: 13

Hail: 30Tornado: 7Flood: 14Wind: 40Winter: 1Tropical: 1Heat: 2Drought: 7Lightning: 1

Hail: 38Tornado: 3Flood: 9Wind: 50Winter: 2Tropical: 3Heat: 5Drought: 2Lightning: 1

Hail: 26Tornado: 10Flood: 9Wind: 43Winter: 5Tropical: 1Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 18Tornado: 2Flood: 4Wind: 21Winter: 6Heat: 7Cold: 1Drought: 5Lightning: 1

31950s21960s91970s221980s1031990s1132000s972010s652020s

Recorded events in Houston County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 195 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 191 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind172

Hail121

Flood36

Tornado31

Winter14

Heat14

Drought14

Tropical5

Lightning4

Other2

Cold1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	172	—	0.4%	detail
■ Hail	121	—	0.2%	detail
■ Flood	36	—	0.2%	detail
■ Tornado	31	3	0.3%	detail
■ Winter	14	—	0.2%	detail
■ Heat	14	1	0.2%
■ Drought	14	—	0.1%
■ Tropical	5	—	0.9%
■ Lightning	4	1	0.4%
■ Other	2	—	0.1%
■ Cold	1	—	0.0%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
14 Sep 2004	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	40	County
21 Mar 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$5.0M	—	1	10	County
16 May 1953	Tornado	Tornado	F3	—	—	1	8	County
13 Apr 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$1.0M	—	1	—	County
22 Sep 2005	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
12 Sep 2008	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$100M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Apr 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$300K	—	—	4	County
26 Mar 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	1	County
13 Apr 2014	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$120K	—	—	1	County
1 Aug 1998	Drought	Drought	—	$1.0M	$7.3M	—	—	Forecast zone
15 Feb 2021	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	$1.2M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
7 Jun 2001	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$1.1M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
23 Sep 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Dec 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$700K	—	—	—	County
6 Jun 2005	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$275K	—	—	—	County
13 Apr 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$250K	—	—	—	County
3 May 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
11 May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	66 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
6 Nov 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
9 Jul 2024	DR-4798	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Beryl	Public assistance
17 May 2024	DR-4781	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
19 Feb 2021	DR-4586	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Feb 2021	EM-3554	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
24 Aug 2020	EM-3540	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storms Marco And Laura	Public assistance
25 Mar 2020	DR-4485	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3458	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
25 Feb 2019	DR-4416	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
11 Jun 2016	DR-4272	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
29 May 2015	DR-4223	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding	Public assistance
9 Sep 2011	DR-4029	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Jul 2011	DR-1999	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires	Public assistance
13 Sep 2008	DR-1791	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2008	EM-3284	Emergency	Fire	Wildfires	Public assistance
11 Jan 2006	DR-1624	Major disaster	Fire	Extreme Wildfire Threat	Public assistance
24 Sep 2005	DR-1606	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Rita	Public assistance
21 Sep 2005	EM-3261	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Rita	Public assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3216	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
1 Feb 2003	EM-3171	Emergency	Other	Loss Of The Space Shuttle Columbia	Public assistance
9 Jun 2001	DR-1379	Major disaster	Coastal Storm	Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Sep 1999	EM-3142	Emergency	Fire	Extreme Fire Hazards	Public assistance
26 Aug 1998	DR-1239	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Charley	—
23 Feb 1996	EM-3117	Emergency	Fire	Extreme Fire Hazard	Public assistance
18 Oct 1994	DR-1041	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Thunderstorms And Flooding	Individual assistance
10 Sep 1993	EM-3113	Emergency	Drought	Extreme Fire Hazard	Public assistance
26 Dec 1991	DR-930	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Thunderstorms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 May 1990	DR-863	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 May 1989	DR-828	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Apr 1989	DR-823	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Houston County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197828

Paid claims21

Total paid$383K

Average paid claim$18K

Repetitive-loss properties30 severe

Residential policies in force650.8% of 8,197 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$15,155	$15,155
2023	2	2	$151,462	$75,731
2021	1	1	$118,015	$118,015
2018	2	1	$4,141	$4,141
2016	1	1	$3,590	$3,590
2015	5	5	$58,581	$11,716
2012	1	1	$2,796	$2,796
2005	1	0	$0	—
2001	1	1	$13,886	$13,886
1999	1	0	$0	—
1993	6	4	$10,091	$2,523
1991	3	2	$952	$476
1980	1	0	$0	—
1979	2	2	$4,101	$2,051

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 60.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$13MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,623,118
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$2,965,593
Lightning	Very High	$2,455,045
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,237,621
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$856,088
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$629,573
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$587,164
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$353,066
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$197,956
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$96,290
Hail	Very Low	$60,892
Earthquake	Very Low	$50,068
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$22,634
Landslide	Very Low	$328

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles37

Tracks within 50 miles12

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Beryl	2024	44 mi	58 mph
Cindy	2017	97 mi	40 mph
Edouard	2008	99 mi	46 mph
Ike	2008	27 mi	98 mph
Rita	2005	80 mi	75 mph
Allison	1989	78 mi	40 mph
Chantal	1989	54 mi	58 mph
Jerry	1989	71 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1987	79 mi	46 mph
Bonnie	1986	52 mi	40 mph
Alicia	1983	66 mi	46 mph
Claudette	1979	97 mi	40 mph
Felice	1970	98 mi	46 mph
Cindy	1963	90 mi	40 mph
Debra	1959	53 mi	58 mph
Bertha	1957	98 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	33 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1947	98 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1947	96 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	73 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	81 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1942	46 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	33 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1940	54 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1921	50 mi	46 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

75835 23

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Houston County, TX?

NCEI records 121 hail events in Houston County since 1950, in 37 different years; that is about 1.6 recorded events a year. 28 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Houston County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 31 tornadoes in Houston County since 1950, 6 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 3.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Houston County?

9 Jul 2024: Hurricane Beryl, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Houston County, and how much was paid?

28 NFIP claims since 1978, 21 of them paid, for $383K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Houston County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Houston County compare with the rest of Texas?

33.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 63.3 statewide, and 1.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 13.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.