NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elgin, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Elgin, Texas since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Harvey in 2017. Since 1950, 105 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 105
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Elgin
The strongest storm to pass near Elgin was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. The record near Elgin begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Harvey in 2017, a tropical storm 73 miles away. Of the 14 systems, one has come since 2000. Elgin has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 105 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 7, 1980, came within 4 miles. Of the 105, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 28, 2024. Elgin has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 49% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 50 times since 1970, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Elgin.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Elgin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | HarveyAug 27 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 28 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 28 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 17 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | overhead | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 49 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 18 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 19 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Elgin: 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 Elgin
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s11
- 2000s17
- 1990s11
- 1980s13(1 EF3+)
- 1970s20
- 1960s12
- 1950s14(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 4 mi | 31.7 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 10, 1959 | F3 | 16 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1957 | F3 | 3 mi | 14.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F3 | 7 mi | 139.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | in town | 11.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 20 mi | 34.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 20, 2017 | EF2 | 14 mi | 4.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 20, 2017 | EF2 | 15 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 5, 1994 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 10, 1985 | F2 | 25 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 10, 1980 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 10, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 105, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elgin
The Storm Prediction Center has 50 hail reports within 10 miles of Elgin since 1970, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 30, 2024. The most recent report is from December 24, 2024. May has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elgin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elgin 1 N, TX, 2 miles north of Elgin at 594 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 61°F and 39°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.3 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (17.4 of 36.3 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 14 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 3.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 117 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 18 nights a year. That 36.3 inches is more than at 170 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (54%). Bastrop, 15 miles south, has its own station (Smithville, TX): 37.2 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and an August average high of 97°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 | 39 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Feb | 64 | 43 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Mar | 71 | 49 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 79 | 57 | 2.7 | 4 |
| May | 85 | 65 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Jun | 92 | 71 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Jul | 95 | 73 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 73 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Sep | 90 | 68 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Oct | 81 | 58 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Nov | 70 | 49 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Dec | 62 | 41 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Year | 79 | 57 | 36.3 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elgin 1 N, TX (594 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 Elgin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 45 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elgin: 21 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $589,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on August 8, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 19. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 414 have had fewer than Elgin.
April 4, 1997: thunderstorm wind in Elgin — $120,000 damage.
June 16, 2002: thunderstorm wind in Elgin — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Several large trees were knocked over by severe thunderstorm winds in and around the Elgin area. Windows were also broken out in homes by large limbs knocked off trees.”
August 8, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Elgin — $100,000 damage.
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 Elgin's ZIP code 78621 have filed 28 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $655,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Fall severe storms in 2015: 11 claims (39% of all) and $362,000. 61% 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, 112 have fewer than Elgin.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Fall severe storms2015 | 11 | $362,000 |
Bastrop County, which includes Elgin, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 fires, 5 floods, 4 hurricanes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on April 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bastrop County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, 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 $42.5 million a year, the 43rd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.7 million (63%), 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 Elgin
- Mc Dade, TX9 mi
- Manor, TX11 mi
- Bastrop, TX15 mi
- Cedar Creek, TX16 mi
- Taylor, TX17 mi
- Pflugerville, TX17 mi
- Paige, TX17 mi
- Hutto, TX18 mi
- Del Valle, TX19 mi
- Lexington, TX20 mi
- Thorndale, TX22 mi
- Austin, TX24 mi
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