NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Gonzales, 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
26 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Gonzales, Texas since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Beta in 2020. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 23
- Tornadoes
- 48
- 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 Gonzales
The strongest storm to pass near Gonzales was an unnamed storm in 1886, a Category 2 hurricane with 97 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Carla in 1961, whose centre came within 14 miles. The record near Gonzales begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Beta in 2020, a tropical storm 63 miles away. Of the 26 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Gonzales has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 69% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 7 times; the most recent, on March 21, 2022, came within 21 miles. Of the 48, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 13. Of the 753 Texas cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Gonzales. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 20 times since 1975, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 93% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Gonzales.
Compare Gonzales's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Gonzales
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | BetaSep 22 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 27 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2015 | BillJun 17 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2010 | HermineSep 7 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2003 | ClaudetteJul 15 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1998 | FrancesSep 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1980 | DanielleSep 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | AbbyAug 8 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 14 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 37 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJun 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 17 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormJul 22 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormJul 10 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 17 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormSep 24 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 20 | 48 mi | Category 2 (97 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormJul 5 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormJul 15 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 19 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Gonzales: 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 Gonzales
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s4
- 2000s5
- 1990s10
- 1980s5
- 1970s9
- 1960s9
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 2022 | EF2 | 21 mi | 7.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 19, 1991 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1973 | F2 | 15 mi | 8.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 15, 1965 | F2 | 24 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 1961 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1957 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1955 | F2 | 18 mi | 20.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1999 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1998 | F1 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1998 | F1 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1994 | F1 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1991 | F1 | 23 mi | 5 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 Gonzales
The Storm Prediction Center has 20 hail reports within 10 miles of Gonzales since 1975, made on 17 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 16, 1980. The most recent report is from January 8, 2024. May has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Gonzales
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gonzales 2S, TX, 3 miles south of Gonzales at 296 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 62°F and 40°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.0 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (18.5 of 36.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 26 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 113 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 19 nights a year. That 36.0 inches is more than at 165 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (53%). Shiner, 17 miles east, has its own station (Yoakum, TX): 40.1 inches a year, 4.1 more than here, and the same August average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 40 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Feb | 66 | 44 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Mar | 73 | 51 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Apr | 79 | 57 | 2.8 | 3 |
| May | 86 | 66 | 4.7 | 4 |
| Jun | 92 | 72 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Jul | 94 | 74 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Aug | 96 | 74 | 2.9 | 3 |
| Sep | 90 | 69 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 82 | 59 | 3.9 | 4 |
| Nov | 72 | 49 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Dec | 64 | 42 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Year | 80 | 58 | 36.0 | 46 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gonzales 2S, TX (296 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 Gonzales
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 35 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Gonzales: 19 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $334,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 27, 2020. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 298 have had fewer than Gonzales.
August 8, 2003: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Gonzales — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “As the line of thunderstorms associated with the late season cold front moved southward into Lavaca County, they produced severe winds just south of the Fayette County line. The wind knocked down many trees and power lines.”
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 Gonzales's ZIP code 78629 have filed 204 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $5.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1998: 80 claims (39% of all) and $2.4 million, then Torrential rain in 2002 with 25 and Early summer storms in 2015 with 10. 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, 291 have fewer than Gonzales.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1998 | 80 | $2.4 million |
| Torrential rain2002 | 25 | $580,000 |
| Early summer storms2015 | 10 | $75,000 |
Gonzales County, which includes Gonzales, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 hurricanes, 4 fires, 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 Gonzales County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.8 million a year, the 48th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.8 million (70%), 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 Gonzales
- Shiner, TX17 mi
- Luling, TX17 mi
- Kingsbury, TX22 mi
- Nixon, TX24 mi
- Flatonia, TX24 mi
- Yoakum, TX26 mi
- Lockhart, TX28 mi
- Dale, TX30 mi
- Cuero, TX30 mi
- Red Rock, TX30 mi
- Seguin, TX31 mi
- Martindale, TX32 mi
All Texas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Gonzales with another place →