States › Texas › 1996

Texas, 1996

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

3,962events recorded2,947 in 1995

33deaths recorded102 injuries

$551Mproperty damage (estimates)$568M crop damage

55disaster declarations1,055 NFIP claims, $10M paid

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.

Events by hazard

Hail1,604

Wind1,040

Drought543

Flood372

Winter194

Tornado138

Lightning33

Other13

Cold9

Wildfire6

Fog6

Heat4

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1996 was 3,962 against 2,947 in 1995.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1996
Tarrant County	108
Dallas County	102
Harris County	63
Denton County	59
Collin County	58
McLennan County	45
Randall County	45
Hutchinson County	39
Taylor County	39
Grayson County	38
Moore County	38
Carson County	37
Lamar County	37
Parker County	37
Lubbock County	36
Ellis County	35
Gregg County	35
Cooke County	34
Harrison County	34
Hill County	34
Tom Green County	33
Wichita County	33
Bell County	32
Montague County	30
Potter County	30

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
1 Jul 1996	Tarrant	Heat	—	—	6	—
22 Jan 1996	Dallas	Cold/Wind Chill	—	—	4	—
17 Jan 1996	El Paso	High Wind	86 mph	$10,000,000	3	—
24 Nov 1996	Denton	Flash Flood	—	—	3	—
1 Jul 1996	Dallas	Heat	—	—	2	—
12 Jun 1996	Denton	Lightning	—	—	1	2
25 Jun 1996	Hidalgo	Lightning	—	—	1	2
4 Feb 1996	Gregg	Ice Storm	—	$20,000	1	1
28 Oct 1996	Edwards	Flash Flood	—	$3,000	1	—
8 Jan 1996	Tarrant	Cold/Wind Chill	—	—	1	—
5 Jul 1996	Harrison	Heat	—	—	1	—
1 Jul 1996	Denton	Heat	—	—	1	—
3 Jun 1996	Fort Bend	Lightning	—	—	1	—
27 Sep 1996	Webb	Hail	1.75 in	—	1	—
8 Aug 1996	Van Zandt	Lightning	—	—	1	—
5 Apr 1996	Travis	Lightning	—	—	1	—
24 Nov 1996	Tarrant	Flash Flood	—	—	1	—
15 Sep 1996	Kerr	Flood	—	—	1	—
18 Sep 1996	McLennan	Flash Flood	—	—	1	—
20 Aug 1996	Trinity	Lightning	—	—	1	—
10 May 1996	Howard	Hail	5.00 in	$30,000,000	—	48
19 Apr 1996	Bell	Hail	4.50 in	$200,000,000	—	—
21 Oct 1996	Dallas	Tornado	F1	$3,000,000	—	7
19 Apr 1996	Rockwall	Thunderstorm Wind	—	$10,000	—	6
1 Jun 1996	Llano	Drought	—	$20,000,000	—	—
1 May 1996	Llano	Drought	—	$20,000,000	—	—
1 Aug 1996	Llano	Drought	—	$20,000,000	—	—
1 Jul 1996	Llano	Drought	—	$20,000,000	—	—
17 Jan 1996	Fannin	Tornado	F2	$150,000	—	5
1 Sep 1996	Val Verde	Drought	—	$12,000,000	—	—
7 Nov 1996	Bell	Thunderstorm Wind	—	$150,000	—	3
9 Jul 1996	Castro	Tornado	F0	$50,000	—	3
1 Oct 1996	Val Verde	Drought	—	$10,000,000	—	—
24 Mar 1996	Tarrant	Hail	2.50 in	$25,000,000	—	—
1 Dec 1996	Val Verde	Drought	—	$8,000,000	—	—
1 Nov 1996	Dimmit	Drought	—	$8,000,000	—	—
1 Aug 1996	Borden	Drought	—	$12,600,000	—	—
19 Apr 1996	Rockwall	Thunderstorm Wind	—	$400,000	—	2
30 Nov 1996	Trinity	Tornado	F0	$25,000	—	2
28 Oct 1996	Kerr	Flash Flood	—	$5,000	—	2

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1996

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
17 Jul 1996	FM-2184	Fire management assistance	Fire	Laacey Fire	0
24 May 1996	FM-2179	Fire management assistance	Fire	Puducah Fire	0
1 May 1996	FM-2175	Fire management assistance	Fire	Sportsman'S World Complex Fire	0
25 Apr 1996	FM-2174	Fire management assistance	Fire	North Memphis Fire	0
16 Apr 1996	FM-2172	Fire management assistance	Fire	Kirby Road Complex Fire	0
16 Apr 1996	FM-2171	Fire management assistance	Fire	Beaver Pond Fire	0
15 Apr 1996	FM-2170	Fire management assistance	Fire	Little Cypress Fire	0
14 Apr 1996	FM-2169	Fire management assistance	Fire	Pitchfork Fire	0
3 Apr 1996	FM-2168	Fire management assistance	Fire	Doc Howard Fire	0
2 Apr 1996	FM-2167	Fire management assistance	Fire	Eureka Fire	0
2 Apr 1996	FM-2166	Fire management assistance	Fire	Old Prospect Fire	0
2 Apr 1996	FM-2165	Fire management assistance	Fire	Devil'S Hollow Fire	0
1 Apr 1996	FM-2164	Fire management assistance	Fire	Knight Fire	0
31 Mar 1996	FM-2163	Fire management assistance	Fire	Thomas Road Fire	0
30 Mar 1996	FM-2162	Fire management assistance	Fire	Old Fred Fire	0
30 Mar 1996	FM-2161	Fire management assistance	Fire	Oak Creek Fire	0
30 Mar 1996	FM-2160	Fire management assistance	Fire	Eyed Fire	0
24 Mar 1996	FM-2159	Fire management assistance	Fire	Rough Creek Complex Fire	0
24 Mar 1996	FM-2158	Fire management assistance	Fire	Worsham Complex Fire	0
24 Mar 1996	FM-2157	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ivan Fire	0
24 Mar 1996	FM-2156	Fire management assistance	Fire	West Breckenridge Fire	0
23 Mar 1996	FM-2155	Fire management assistance	Fire	Oil Patch Fire	0
23 Mar 1996	FM-2154	Fire management assistance	Fire	Galaxy Fire	0
23 Mar 1996	FM-2153	Fire management assistance	Fire	Hamby Fire	0
22 Mar 1996	FM-2152	Fire management assistance	Fire	171 Fire	0
19 Mar 1996	FM-2151	Fire management assistance	Fire	Livington - 7 Oaks Fire	0
19 Mar 1996	FM-2150	Fire management assistance	Fire	Crum Fire	0
19 Mar 1996	FM-2149	Fire management assistance	Fire	Cartwright Fire	0
19 Mar 1996	FM-2148	Fire management assistance	Fire	Exxon Fire	0
19 Mar 1996	FM-2147	Fire management assistance	Fire	Godley Road Fire	0
14 Mar 1996	FM-2146	Fire management assistance	Fire	Doouble Mountain Fire	0
14 Mar 1996	FM-2145	Fire management assistance	Fire	Triangle Complex Fire	0
14 Mar 1996	FM-2143	Fire management assistance	Fire	Caddo Ii Fire	0
14 Mar 1996	FM-2142	Fire management assistance	Fire	Buckle-L Fire	0
12 Mar 1996	FM-2141	Fire management assistance	Fire	Nas Fire	0
12 Mar 1996	FM-2139	Fire management assistance	Fire	Caddo Fire	0
12 Mar 1996	FM-2138	Fire management assistance	Fire	Gainesbend Fire	0
12 Mar 1996	FM-2137	Fire management assistance	Fire	Duncanville Fire	0
11 Mar 1996	FM-2135	Fire management assistance	Fire	Zion Valley Fire	0
11 Mar 1996	FM-2134	Fire management assistance	Fire	Jeter Road Fire	0
11 Mar 1996	FM-2133	Fire management assistance	Fire	Colony Creek Fire	0
10 Mar 1996	FM-2132	Fire management assistance	Fire	Riney Road Fire	0
10 Mar 1996	FM-2131	Fire management assistance	Fire	Leuders Fire	0
7 Mar 1996	FM-2130	Fire management assistance	Fire	Phamtom Lake Fire	0
7 Mar 1996	FM-2129	Fire management assistance	Fire	Lakeview Fire	0
7 Mar 1996	FM-2128	Fire management assistance	Fire	Choo Choo Fire	0
7 Mar 1996	FM-2127	Fire management assistance	Fire	Junction Fire	0
7 Mar 1996	FM-2126	Fire management assistance	Fire	Windy Fire	0
5 Mar 1996	FM-2125	Fire management assistance	Fire	Seven-One-Seven Fire	0
4 Mar 1996	FM-2124	Fire management assistance	Fire	Clyde Fire	0
3 Mar 1996	FM-2123	Fire management assistance	Fire	Fillibuster Fire	0
2 Mar 1996	FM-2122	Fire management assistance	Fire	Bowie Fire	0
26 Feb 1996	FM-2121	Fire management assistance	Fire	Northwest Amarillo Fire	0
23 Feb 1996	EM-3117	Emergency	Fire	Extreme Fire Hazard	50
22 Feb 1996	FM-2117	Fire management assistance	Fire	North Texas Complex Fire	0

Flood insurance claims with a 1996 date of loss

1,055 NFIP claims, 804 of them paid, for $10,209,527.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.