NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Austin, TX
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
13 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Austin, Texas since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Harvey in 2017. Since 1950, 121 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 121
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Austin
The strongest storm to pass near Austin was an unnamed storm in 1886, a Category 1 hurricane with 79 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The record near Austin begins with an unnamed storm in 1875; the most recent system was Harvey in 2017, a tropical storm 70 miles away. Of the 13 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Austin has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 121 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 27, 1997; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 121, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on April 28, 2024. Austin has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 349 times since 1955, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Austin has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Austin
Of the 13 tracks on the map, 7 were moving northwest as they passed Austin, 5 north and 1 west. The unnamed 1886 storm, the strongest pass, was heading northwest; its centre passed 70 miles southwest of Austin. None made landfall within 75 miles of Austin; 11 of the 13 were hurricanes at their peak, 2 at their closest to the city. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 2 came near Austin: 0.7 a decade, against 0.8 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | HarveyAug 27 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2010 | HermineSep 7 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 29 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 70 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 20 | 70 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Austin: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Check hail and hurricane history for any address
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Austin
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s18
- 2000s21
- 1990s14(2 EF3+)
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s21
- 1960s14
- 1950s13(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1997 | F4 | 13 mi | 5.6 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 15 mi | 31.7 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 27, 1997 | F3 | 11 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 15 |
| May 10, 1959 | F3 | 3 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1957 | F3 | 24 mi | 14.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F3 | 20 mi | 139.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 4, 1970 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 11.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 12 mi | 34.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 2000 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 10, 1985 | F2 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 22, 1985 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Austin
The Storm Prediction Center has 349 hail reports within 10 miles of Austin since 1955, made on 148 separate days. Of these, 255 were 1 inch across or larger, and 60 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 14, 2008. The most recent report is from May 28, 2025. May has the most reports, 107.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Austin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Austin-Camp Mabry, TX, 1 mile north of Austin at 670 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 63°F and 42°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.2 inches over 50 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (18.7 of 36.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 91°F and 3.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 123 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 12 nights a year. That 36.2 inches is more than at 169 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (54%). Round Rock, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Austin Great Hills, TX): 37.1 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and an August average high of 96°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63 | 42 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Feb | 67 | 46 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Mar | 73 | 52 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 80 | 59 | 2.4 | 4 |
| May | 87 | 67 | 5.0 | 6 |
| Jun | 93 | 73 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Jul | 97 | 75 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Aug | 98 | 75 | 2.7 | 3 |
| Sep | 91 | 70 | 3.5 | 4 |
| Oct | 83 | 61 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 72 | 51 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 64 | 43 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Year | 81 | 59 | 36.2 | 50 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Austin-Camp Mabry, TX (670 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Austin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 283 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Austin: 138 flash floods, 125 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 lightning strikes and 5 floods. They killed 13 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $178.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 28, 2025. May has had the most flash floods, 34 of 138. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 740 have had fewer than Austin.
October 31, 2013: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Austin — 4 killed, $100.0 million damage.
May 25, 2015: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Austin — 1 killed, $10.0 million damage.
October 13, 2013: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Austin — 1 killed, $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding in the Rollingwood and Sunset Valley sections of Austin. 33 inches in Travis County near Barton Creek and Loop 360 in west Austin.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Austin's 42 ZIP codes have filed 3,572 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $87.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1981: 761 claims (21% of all) and $7.8 million, then Fall severe storms in 2015 with 294 and Early summer storms in 2015 with 210. The year with the most claims was 2013, with 679. 40% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 433 Texas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 410 have fewer than Austin.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1981 | 761 | $7.8 million |
| Fall severe storms2015 | 294 | $13.8 million |
| Early summer storms2015 | 210 | $6.4 million |
| Early summer severe storms2016 | 51 | $1.7 million |
| Torrential rain2002 | 23 | $319,000 |
| Hurricane Harvey2017 | 16 | $11,000 |
Travis County, which includes Austin, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 fires, 8 hurricanes, 7 floods, 5 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on July 6, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Travis County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $376.3 million a year, the 6th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $214.2 million (57%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Austin
- Round Rock, TX12 mi
- Lakeway, TX12 mi
- Del Valle, TX13 mi
- Pflugerville, TX13 mi
- Manchaca, TX13 mi
- Manor, TX13 mi
- Cedar Park, TX14 mi
- Buda, TX16 mi
- Lago Vista, TX16 mi
- Leander, TX18 mi
- Cedar Creek, TX20 mi
- Spicewood, TX21 mi
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