States › Texas › Wharton County

Wharton 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 48481 · 41,721 residents (2021) · 1,086 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 80Tornado · 71Flood · 30Wind · 118Winter · 8

Wharton 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.

Wharton County, Texas, has 374 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 34.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Texas figure of 63.3, and 89.6 per 10,000 residents against 56.0 statewide.

2 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 3 deaths and 27 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $216M and crop damage at $12M.

FEMA has designated the county in 26 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 1,166 claims since 1978, of which 982 were paid, totalling $52M (about $53K per paid claim). FEMA counts 1,617 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($35M a year across 18 hazards).

70 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 11 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

2events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

374events since 19503 deaths, 27 injuries recorded

26disaster declarationslast 9 Jul 2024

1,166NFIP flood claims$52M paid

Compared with Texas and the United States

Measure	Wharton County	Texas	US
Recorded events since 1950	374	165,476	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	34.4	63.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	89.6	56.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	2	4,723	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	3	2,429	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$216M	$111B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	27.9	13.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$53K	$55K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	35.3	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

Tornado: 4

Hail: 2Tornado: 13Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 10Wind: 3

Hail: 8Tornado: 2Wind: 15

Hail: 28Tornado: 17Flood: 14Wind: 32Winter: 1Tropical: 1Heat: 2Drought: 7

Hail: 27Tornado: 16Flood: 11Wind: 40Winter: 3Tropical: 2Heat: 4Drought: 2Lightning: 3Other: 21

Hail: 14Tornado: 6Flood: 4Wind: 21Winter: 3Tropical: 2Other: 7

Tornado: 3Flood: 1Wind: 6Winter: 1Tropical: 1Heat: 7Cold: 1Drought: 7

41950s161960s141970s251980s1021990s1292000s572010s272020s

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

Trend: 121 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 202 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

Wind118

Hail80

Tornado71

Flood30

Other28

Drought16

Heat13

Winter8

Tropical6

Lightning3

Cold1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	118	—	0.3%	detail
■ Hail	80	—	0.1%	detail
■ Tornado	71	1	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	30	—	0.2%	detail
■ Other	28	—	1.5%
■ Drought	16	—	0.1%
■ Heat	13	—	0.2%
■ Winter	8	1	0.1%
■ Tropical	6	—	1.0%
■ Lightning	3	—	0.3%
■ Cold	1	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
20 Sep 1967	Tornado	Tornado	—	$25K	—	1	1	County
15 Feb 2021	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	$26K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
12 Jan 1997	Ice Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
25 Aug 2017	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$200M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
8 Jun 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$300K	—	—	6	County
30 Aug 1955	Tornado	Tornado	F1	—	—	—	5	County
4 Aug 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$20K	—	—	3	County
5 Jun 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	—	3	County
20 Sep 1967	Tornado	Tornado	—	$25K	—	—	2	County
17 Nov 2003	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$8K	—	—	2	County
13 Dec 1977	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
20 Sep 1967	Tornado	Tornado	—	$25K	—	—	1	County
11 Feb 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	$5K	—	—	1	County
22 Nov 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F3	—	—	—	1	County
20 Jun 1996	Hail	Hail	4.50 in	$5.0M	$5.0M	—	—	County
24 Jul 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	—	1	County
1 Aug 1998	Drought	Drought	—	$1.0M	$7.3M	—	—	Forecast zone
21 Nov 2004	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.1M	—	—	—	County
12 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
11 Jun 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$400K	$10K	—	—	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
24 Aug 2020	EM-3540	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storms Marco And Laura	Public assistance
26 Jul 2020	EM-3530	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Hanna	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 Aug 2017	DR-4332	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Harvey	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Apr 2016	DR-4269	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 May 2015	DR-4223	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Sep 2008	DR-1791	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Public assistance
10 Sep 2008	EM-3294	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ike	Public assistance
29 Aug 2008	EM-3290	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
18 Aug 2007	EM-3277	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Dean	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
26 Sep 2002	DR-1434	Major disaster	Coastal Storm	Tropical Storm Fay	Individual 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, 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
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

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 Wharton County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,166

Paid claims982

Total paid$52M

Average paid claim$53K

Repetitive-loss properties8311 severe

Residential policies in force1,61710.0% of 16,210 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	0	$0	—
2024	7	1	$19,257	$19,257
2023	2	1	$8,101	$8,101
2022	1	1	$14,429	$14,429
2021	3	2	$45,137	$22,568
2019	67	60	$2,910,169	$48,503
2018	2	0	$0	—
2017	488	417	$36,593,895	$87,755
2016	76	57	$2,545,849	$44,664
2015	38	31	$1,165,527	$37,598
2014	2	2	$10,881	$5,440
2013	1	1	$6,567	$6,567
2010	1	1	$13,951	$13,951
2009	3	2	$16,495	$8,248
2008	4	2	$25,702	$12,851
2007	3	1	$1,147	$1,147
2005	3	2	$13,490	$6,745
2004	206	183	$5,514,702	$30,135
2003	10	5	$33,742	$6,748
2002	73	63	$731,562	$11,612
2001	11	7	$143,410	$20,487
2000	4	2	$5,682	$2,841
1998	59	56	$1,559,961	$27,856
1997	11	8	$49,573	$6,197
1995	1	0	$0	—

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 Moderatescore 83.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$35MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Relatively High	$14,223,175
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$9,116,545
Cold wave	Relatively High	$6,082,759
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$1,924,637
Drought	Relatively High	$1,322,505
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$986,168
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$500,421
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$343,311
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$341,788
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$78,161
Wildfire	Very Low	$38,451
Earthquake	Very Low	$35,364
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$27,643
Landslide	Very Low	$24

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 miles70

Tracks within 50 miles28

Hurricane strength within 50 miles11

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Beryl	2024	14 mi	92 mph
Nicholas	2021	46 mi	75 mph
Beta	2020	48 mi	52 mph
Imelda	2019	54 mi	46 mph
Harvey	2017	48 mi	132 mph
Bill	2015	42 mi	58 mph
Edouard	2008	99 mi	46 mph
Ike	2008	92 mi	109 mph
Humberto	2007	92 mi	63 mph
Claudette	2003	62 mi	92 mph
Grace	2003	63 mi	40 mph
Fay	2002	54 mi	58 mph
Allison	2001	56 mi	58 mph
Frances	1998	71 mi	52 mph
Dean	1995	56 mi	46 mph
Allison	1989	34 mi	52 mph
Chantal	1989	89 mi	58 mph
Jerry	1989	74 mi	86 mph
Alicia	1983	53 mi	115 mph
Danielle	1980	4 mi	46 mph
Elena	1979	60 mi	40 mph
Delia	1973	36 mi	63 mph
Fern	1971	56 mi	75 mph
Felice	1970	61 mi	46 mph
Candy	1968	90 mi	69 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

77488 695
77437 242
77435 114
77420 61
77455 30
77443 10
77448 5

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 Wharton County, TX?

NCEI records 80 hail events in Wharton County since 1950, in 29 different years; that is about 1.0 recorded events a year. 24 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Wharton County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 71 tornadoes in Wharton County since 1950, 9 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 1.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Wharton County?

9 Jul 2024: Hurricane Beryl, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 26 declarations since 1953.

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

1,166 NFIP claims since 1978, 982 of them paid, for $52M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Wharton County compare with the rest of Texas?

34.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 63.3 statewide, and 27.9 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.