NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus, 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
36 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Columbus, Texas since 1851, 7 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Beryl in 2024. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 7
- Tropical storms
- 29
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbus
The strongest storm to pass near Columbus was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 2 hurricane with 99 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. The record near Columbus begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Beryl in 2024, a Category 1 hurricane 40 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 6 systems, 3 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 36 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Columbus has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 79% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on September 20, 1967, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on January 14, 1991, killed 1 person. Of the 67, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on June 19, 2024. Of the 753 Texas cities, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Columbus. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Columbus.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Columbus
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | BerylJul 8 | 40 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2021 | NicholasSep 14 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | BetaSep 22 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 27 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2015 | BillJun 17 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | AllisonJun 27 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1983 | AliciaAug 18 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1980 | DanielleSep 6 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | FeliceSep 16 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | AbbyAug 8 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 41 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 4 | 68 mi | Category 2 (97 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormAug 25 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 28 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 28 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 74 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 58 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 71 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormJun 23 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 17 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormJul 22 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormJul 10 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 36 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJul 5 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 17 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormSep 24 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormJun 24 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormJul 5 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 4 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 19 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Columbus: 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 Columbus
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s4
- 2000s6
- 1990s15
- 1980s4
- 1970s12
- 1960s18(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 1967 | F3 | 21 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1967 | F3 | 21 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1966 | F3 | 23 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2012 | EF2 | 14 mi | 0.62 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 13, 1994 | F2 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 25, 1971 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 25, 1971 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 25, 1971 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 21, 1967 | F2 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 21, 1965 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 4, 1964 | F2 | 16 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 16, 1961 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbus
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus since 1955, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 24, 2003. The most recent report is from May 2, 2025. April and May have the most reports, 11 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbus, TX, 1 mile southwest of Columbus at 225 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 64°F and 39°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 45.1 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (23.3 of 45.1 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 36 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 93°F and 3.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 132 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 30 nights a year. That 45.1 inches is more than at 240 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (77%). Schulenburg, 22 miles west, has its own station (Flatonia 4SE, TX): 37.9 inches a year, 7.2 less than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 64 | 39 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 68 | 43 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Mar | 75 | 49 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Apr | 81 | 56 | 3.8 | 5 |
| May | 88 | 64 | 4.8 | 5 |
| Jun | 93 | 70 | 5.1 | 6 |
| Jul | 96 | 71 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Aug | 98 | 71 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 93 | 66 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 85 | 56 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Nov | 74 | 47 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Dec | 66 | 41 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Year | 82 | 56 | 45.1 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbus, TX (225 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 Columbus
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 29 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus: 24 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $525,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 14, 1998.
July 14, 1998: thunderstorm wind in Columbus — 4 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Walmart sign blown down on several cars. Three 18-wheelers blown over on several parked cars on I-10.”
June 4, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Columbus — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Damage in Columbus. Numerous trees and power lines down across the county, especially along a 20-mile stretch between Weimar and Frelsburg.”
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 Columbus's ZIP code 78934 have filed 42 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $3.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Harvey in 2017: 21 claims (50% of all) and $2.1 million. 71% 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, 143 have fewer than Columbus.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Harvey2017 | 21 | $2.1 million |
Colorado County, which includes Columbus, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 3 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Colorado County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.9 million a year, the 103rd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.8 million (30%), 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 Columbus
- Weimar, TX12 mi
- New Ulm, TX14 mi
- Eagle Lake, TX17 mi
- Schulenburg, TX22 mi
- La Grange, TX23 mi
- Sealy, TX24 mi
- Bellville, TX26 mi
- Wallis, TX30 mi
- Hallettsville, TX30 mi
- East Bernard, TX32 mi
- Burton, TX33 mi
- Flatonia, TX34 mi
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