States › Texas › Jefferson County

Jefferson 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 48245 · 253,704 residents (2021) · 877 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 143Tornado · 110Flood · 125Wind · 258Winter · 12

Jefferson 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.

Jefferson County, Texas, has 710 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 81.0 events per 100 square miles, above the Texas figure of 63.3, and 28.0 per 10,000 residents against 56.0 statewide.

7 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 26 deaths and 266 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $5.6B and crop damage at $10K.

FEMA has designated the county in 31 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 22,715 claims since 1978, of which 17,871 were paid, totalling $1.2B (about $67K per paid claim). FEMA counts 18,645 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($141M a year across 18 hazards).

74 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 15 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

7events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

710events since 195026 deaths, 266 injuries recorded

31disaster declarationslast 9 Jul 2024

22,715NFIP flood claims$1.2B paid

Compared with Texas and the United States

Measure	Jefferson County	Texas	US
Recorded events since 1950	710	165,476	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	81.0	63.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	28.0	56.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	7	4,723	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	26	2,429	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$5.6B	$111B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	89.5	13.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$67K	$55K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	57.3	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

Hail: 2Tornado: 10Wind: 7

Hail: 4Tornado: 16Wind: 18

Hail: 23Tornado: 40Wind: 29

Hail: 16Tornado: 15Wind: 44

Hail: 23Tornado: 12Flood: 9Wind: 46Winter: 1Tropical: 3Cold: 1Drought: 4Lightning: 2

Hail: 29Tornado: 7Flood: 36Wind: 44Winter: 2Tropical: 7Heat: 2Drought: 1Wildfire: 1Lightning: 2Fog: 1Other: 7

Hail: 30Tornado: 4Flood: 44Wind: 35Winter: 7Tropical: 3Cold: 1Lightning: 7Fog: 2Other: 12

Hail: 16Tornado: 6Flood: 36Wind: 35Winter: 2Tropical: 3Lightning: 3

191950s381960s921970s751980s1011990s1392000s1452010s1012020s

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

Trend: 298 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 199 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

Wind258

Hail143

Flood125

Tornado110

Other19

Tropical16

Lightning14

Winter12

Drought5

Fog3

Heat2

Cold2

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	258	1	0.6%	detail
■ Hail	143	—	0.3%	detail
■ Flood	125	10	0.8%	detail
■ Tornado	110	3	1.1%	detail
■ Other	19	—	1.0%
■ Tropical	16	5	2.8%
■ Lightning	14	3	1.4%
■ Winter	12	2	0.1%	detail
■ Drought	5	—	0.0%
■ Fog	3	2	1.1%
■ Heat	2	—	0.0%
■ Cold	2	—	0.1%
■ Wildfire	1	—	0.1%

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
27 Aug 2017	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$3.0B	—	5	1	County
26 Aug 2020	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$220M	—	5	18	Forecast zone
18 Sep 2019	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$300M	—	3	—	County
7 Nov 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	2	59	County
22 Nov 2012	Dense Fog	Fog	—	$6.0M	—	2	—	Forecast zone
23 Sep 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$1.3B	—	—	—	Forecast zone
20 May 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	1	9	County
23 Jul 2009	Lightning	Lightning	—	$5K	—	1	7	County
14 Aug 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$75K	—	1	1	County
29 Oct 2002	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	—	1	—	County
29 May 2006	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$10K	—	1	—	County
3 Feb 2011	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$10K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
29 Aug 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
27 May 2020	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
14 Feb 2021	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
6 Jan 2012	Dense Fog	Fog	—	—	—	—	54	Forecast zone
12 Sep 2008	Storm Surge/Tide	Tropical	—	$500M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
11 Oct 1970	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	19	County
13 Sep 2007	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$25M	—	—	12	Forecast zone
18 Aug 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$20M	—	—	10	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	Individual assistance, 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
9 Dec 2020	DR-4572	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	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
4 Oct 2019	DR-4466	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Imelda	Individual assistance
25 Aug 2017	DR-4332	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Harvey	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Sep 2011	DR-4029	Major disaster	Fire	Wildfires	Public assistance
13 Sep 2008	DR-1791	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Sep 2008	EM-3294	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Public assistance
29 Aug 2008	EM-3290	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	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	Individual assistance, 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
5 Nov 2002	DR-1439	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual 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
21 Oct 1998	DR-1257	Major disaster	Flood	Tx-Flooding 10/18/98	Individual assistance
23 Sep 1998	DR-1245	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Hurricane Georges - Texas	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Aug 1998	DR-1239	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Charley	—
18 Oct 1994	DR-1041	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Thunderstorms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Jul 1989	DR-836	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Allison	Individual assistance
19 May 1989	DR-828	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Sep 1980	DR-632	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Danielle	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Jul 1979	DR-595	Major disaster	Flood	Storms & Flash Floods	Individual assistance
26 Apr 1979	DR-580	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Jun 1973	DR-393	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 Jefferson County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197822,715

Paid claims17,871

Total paid$1.2B

Average paid claim$67K

Repetitive-loss properties1,957378 severe

Residential policies in force18,64522.0% of 84,841 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	78	66	$3,004,254	$45,519
2025	9	6	$205,748	$34,291
2024	46	20	$657,451	$32,873
2023	8	5	$383,944	$76,789
2022	39	22	$529,461	$24,066
2021	131	78	$2,926,423	$37,518
2020	110	24	$957,261	$39,886
2019	2,771	2,552	$229,195,743	$89,810
2018	148	110	$1,963,798	$17,853
2017	7,338	6,555	$774,059,870	$118,087
2016	46	27	$569,890	$21,107
2015	92	64	$1,297,286	$20,270
2014	159	132	$2,549,424	$19,314
2013	35	26	$335,765	$12,914
2012	29	13	$67,306	$5,177
2011	13	4	$147,359	$36,840
2010	9	1	$2,866	$2,866
2009	61	37	$419,582	$11,340
2008	1,604	961	$65,318,439	$67,969
2007	117	69	$533,334	$7,729
2006	186	159	$3,031,719	$19,067
2005	2,634	1,225	$38,825,373	$31,694
2004	54	39	$480,115	$12,311
2003	136	121	$2,147,193	$17,745
2002	653	560	$10,925,720	$19,510

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 Highscore 95.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$141MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Very High	$61,248,977
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$31,824,259
Tornado	Relatively High	$21,035,506
Cold wave	Relatively High	$10,789,585
Lightning	Very High	$5,879,015
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,921,950
Coastal flooding	Relatively Moderate	$1,465,971
Wildfire	Relatively Moderate	$1,464,168
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,109,358
Ice storm	Relatively High	$1,057,956
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$997,284
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$465,788
Hail	Relatively Low	$333,796
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$99,843
Landslide	Very Low	$142

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 miles74

Tracks within 50 miles31

Hurricane strength within 50 miles15

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Nicholas	2021	48 mi	58 mph
Laura	2020	51 mi	150 mph
Delta	2020	63 mi	104 mph
Barry	2019	89 mi	58 mph
Imelda	2019	96 mi	46 mph
Cindy	2017	27 mi	52 mph
Harvey	2017	39 mi	52 mph
Edouard	2008	18 mi	63 mph
Ike	2008	51 mi	109 mph
Humberto	2007	20 mi	92 mph
Rita	2005	29 mi	115 mph
Ivan	2004	98 mi	46 mph
Grace	2003	70 mi	40 mph
Allison	2001	79 mi	52 mph
Dean	1995	78 mi	46 mph
Allison	1989	73 mi	52 mph
Chantal	1989	23 mi	81 mph
Jerry	1989	59 mi	86 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1987	32 mi	46 mph
Bonnie	1986	10 mi	86 mph
Danny	1985	87 mi	92 mph
Juan	1985	79 mi	86 mph
Alicia	1983	77 mi	115 mph
Chris	1982	21 mi	63 mph
Danielle	1980	55 mi	58 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

77642 4,366
77705 3,201
77640 2,492
77627 2,067
77706 1,960
77619 1,721
77707 1,489
77713 1,382
77701 862
77651 776
77703 725
77708 449
77622 326
77702 238
77655 179
77704 70
77629 67
77613 51
77726 20
77700 16
77709 12
77641 11
77643 9

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 Jefferson County, TX?

NCEI records 143 hail events in Jefferson County since 1950, in 47 different years; that is about 1.9 recorded events a year. 42 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Jefferson County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 110 tornadoes in Jefferson County since 1950, 28 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 3.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Jefferson County?

9 Jul 2024: Hurricane Beryl, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 31 declarations since 1953.

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

22,715 NFIP claims since 1978, 17,871 of them paid, for $1.2B in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Jefferson County compare with the rest of Texas?

81.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 63.3 statewide, and 89.5 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.