NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harper, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Harper, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Delia in 1973. Since 1950, 17 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 17
- 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 Harper
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Harper; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1886, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Harper begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Delia in 1973, a tropical storm 71 miles away. None of the 5 systems has come since 2000. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 63% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Harper. The highest rating among the 17 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 11, 1999, came within 6 miles. Of the 17, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on May 28, 2016. Of the 753 Texas cities, 96% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Harper. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1964, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Harper.
Compare Harper's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harper
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 21 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormJun 27 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Harper: 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 Harper
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s3
- 1990s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1999 | F3 | 6 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1969 | F3 | 24 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2016 | EF2 | 7 mi | 4.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1995 | F2 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 25, 1971 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1965 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 1965 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 1976 | F1 | 24 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1969 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2007 | EF0 | 3 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 2004 | F0 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2004 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 17, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harper
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Harper since 1964, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 7, 1995. The most recent report is from March 23, 2025. May has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harper
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kerrville 3 NNE, TX, 21 miles southeast of Harper at 1,797 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 34°F. May is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 30.6 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 95 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 46 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 30.6 inches is more than at 116 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (37%). Fredericksburg, 25 miles east, has its own station (Fredericksburg, TX): 30.7 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and an August average high of 94°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 34 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 63 | 38 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 70 | 45 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 76 | 52 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| May | 82 | 62 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 2.1 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 69 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 63 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 54 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 44 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 60 | 36 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Year | 76 | 53 | 30.6 | 46 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kerrville 3 NNE, TX (1,797 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 Harper
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 13 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harper: 8 thunderstorm wind reports and 5 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $198,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 14, 2006. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 68 have had fewer than Harper.
May 8, 2005: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Harper — 1 injured, $3,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm wind gusts overturned a travel trailer injuring one person inside.”
May 14, 2006: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Harper — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe thunderstorm winds damaged roofs and blew down small out-buildings near Andice.”
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
Gillespie County, which includes Harper, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 fires, 3 hurricanes, 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 Gillespie County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.0 million a year, the 101st highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.5 million (62%), 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 Harper
- Ingram, TX16 mi
- Kerrville, TX22 mi
- Fredericksburg, TX25 mi
- Mason, TX29 mi
- Junction, TX30 mi
- Center Point, TX30 mi
- Comfort, TX34 mi
- Bandera, TX45 mi
- Llano, TX46 mi
- Boerne, TX51 mi
- Pipe Creek, TX53 mi
- Johnson City, TX54 mi
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