NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Crystal City, 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 Crystal City, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Dolly in 2008. Since 1950, 11 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 11
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Crystal City
None of the 13 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Crystal City; the strongest was Celia in 1970, a tropical storm with 71 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Crystal City begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Dolly in 2008, a tropical storm 55 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1910s, with 3 systems. Of the 13 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Crystal City has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 59% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 11 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on February 25, 1971, came within 12 miles. Of the 11, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on April 24, 2015. Of the 753 Texas cities, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Crystal City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 27 times since 1964, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 753 Texas cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Crystal City.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Crystal City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | DollyJul 24 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2003 | ClaudetteJul 16 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1980 | AllenAug 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1970 | CeliaAug 4 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | AliceJun 26 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJul 26 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormSep 15 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormAug 19 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1913 | Unnamed 1913 stormJun 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormAug 14 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormAug 17 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormJun 27 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Crystal City: 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 Crystal City
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s1
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s3
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25, 1971 | F2 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 1966 | F2 | 1 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1956 | F2 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1980 | F1 | 15 mi | 99.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1972 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 18, 1964 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 24, 2015 | EF0 | 4 mi | 1.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 23, 2004 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1999 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 1988 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1975 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 11 of 11, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Crystal City
The Storm Prediction Center has 27 hail reports within 10 miles of Crystal City since 1964, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on April 19, 1971. The most recent report is from May 4, 2023. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Crystal City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Crystal City, TX, 1 mile southwest of Crystal City at 580 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 99°F and low of 76°F; January is the coolest, at 67°F and 44°F. September is the wettest at 2.4 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 19.4 inches over 32 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 59% of the year's precipitation (11.5 of 19.4 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal August there has highs of 99°F and 1.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 154 days a year, almost all from March to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 8 nights a year. That 19.4 inches is more than at 34 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (11%). Carrizo Springs, 11 miles south, has its own station (Carrizo Springs 3S, TX): 19.7 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and an August average high of 100°F against 99°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 44 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 72 | 49 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Mar | 79 | 55 | 1.7 | 2 |
| Apr | 86 | 62 | 1.3 | 2 |
| May | 91 | 70 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Jun | 96 | 75 | 2.1 | 3 |
| Jul | 97 | 76 | 2.1 | 3 |
| Aug | 99 | 76 | 1.9 | 3 |
| Sep | 93 | 72 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Oct | 85 | 64 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Nov | 74 | 53 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Dec | 68 | 45 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Year | 84 | 62 | 19.4 | 32 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Crystal City, TX (580 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 Crystal City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 21 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Crystal City: 13 flash floods, 7 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $563,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on April 1, 2016. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 275 have had fewer than Crystal City.
March 18, 2016: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Crystal City — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Some oil tanks were ignited by a lightning strike in Dimmit County one mile south of the Zavala County line. Fourteen tanks were lost, and two holding tanks and their contents were saved.”
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 Crystal City's ZIP code 78839 have filed 44 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $735,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2007, with 11. 30% 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, 149 have fewer than Crystal City.
Zavala County, which includes Crystal City, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1984, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Zavala County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.8 million a year, the 147th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (66%), 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 Crystal City
- Carrizo Springs, TX11 mi
- Dilley, TX35 mi
- Uvalde, TX39 mi
- Cotulla, TX40 mi
- Eagle Pass, TX41 mi
- Pearsall, TX46 mi
- Brackettville, TX57 mi
- Devine, TX62 mi
- Hondo, TX63 mi
- Natalia, TX68 mi
- Lytle, TX72 mi
- Castroville, TX73 mi
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