NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Blanco, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Blanco, Texas since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Harvey in 2017. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 48
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Blanco
The strongest storm to pass near Blanco was an unnamed storm in 1886, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. The record near Blanco begins with an unnamed storm in 1886; the most recent system was Harvey in 2017, a tropical storm 74 miles away. The 1960s and the 2010s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 9 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Blanco has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on October 12, 2001, came within 18 miles. Of the 48, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on October 24, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Blanco. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Blanco.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Blanco
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | HarveyAug 27 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2010 | HermineSep 7 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 20 | 30 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Blanco: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Blanco
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s4
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s4
- 1970s10
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2001 | F3 | 18 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 6, 1969 | F3 | 8 mi | 38.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 10, 1980 | F2 | in town | 47.7 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Mar 30, 1976 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 1976 | F2 | 17 mi | 15.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1970 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1962 | F2 | 24 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 2025 | EF1 | 11 mi | 20.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2021 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF1 | 24 mi | 6.96 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 12, 2020 | EF1 | 23 mi | 11.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2015 | EF1 | 24 mi | 2.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 48, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Blanco
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Blanco since 1963, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 26, 2000. The most recent report is from November 4, 2024. April has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Blanco
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blanco, TX, 1 mile east of Blanco at 1,310 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 60°F and 35°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.8 inches over 49 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 96 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 44 nights a year. That 34.8 inches is more than at 151 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (48%). Johnson City, 13 miles north, has its own station (Johnson City 2N, TX): 33.2 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and an August average high of 97°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 35 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Feb | 64 | 39 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Mar | 70 | 46 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 77 | 53 | 2.8 | 4 |
| May | 83 | 62 | 5.0 | 5 |
| Jun | 90 | 68 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Jul | 93 | 71 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Aug | 94 | 70 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Sep | 88 | 64 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 79 | 55 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Nov | 68 | 45 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 61 | 37 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Year | 77 | 54 | 34.8 | 49 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Blanco, TX (1,310 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 Blanco
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 25 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Blanco: 14 flash floods and 11 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $20.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 15, 2018. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 14. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 298 have had fewer than Blanco.
May 23, 2015: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Blanco — 1 killed, $20.0 million damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing FM 1623 along the Blanco River. A 42 year old man died in his vehicle along the Blanco River near downtown Blanco.”
May 23, 2015: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Blanco — 1 killed.
NWS: “Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding of the Little Blanco River. An 81 year old man was swept away near FM 473 at FM 32 and died.”
May 3, 2019: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Blanco — 1 killed.
NWS: “Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding. At approximately 8:07 PM local time, Blanco County Fire/EMS responded to a call about a vehicle that had been swept away due to flood waters on the Blanco River just east of the City of Blanco.”
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 Blanco's ZIP code 78606 have filed 38 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $2.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Early summer storms in 2015: 30 claims (79% of all) and $2.2 million. 82% 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, 134 have fewer than Blanco.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Early summer storms2015 | 30 | $2.2 million |
Blanco County, which includes Blanco, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1989, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 fires, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 17, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Blanco County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.1 million a year, the 145th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (65%), 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 Blanco
- Johnson City, TX13 mi
- Spring Branch, TX14 mi
- Canyon Lake, TX18 mi
- Wimberley, TX19 mi
- Dripping Springs, TX22 mi
- Bulverde, TX23 mi
- Driftwood, TX24 mi
- Boerne, TX25 mi
- Fredericksburg, TX30 mi
- Comfort, TX30 mi
- Horseshoe Bay, TX31 mi
- Spicewood, TX31 mi
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