List of Hurricanes That Hit Corpus Christi
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
21 hurricanes passed within 75 miles of Corpus Christi at hurricane strength from 1851 to 2025: 13 of them within 50 miles and 6 within 25 miles. The most recent was Hanna in 2020, 64 miles south of the city as a Category 1 hurricane; it came ashore 64 miles south of Corpus Christi. 18 of the 21 came ashore within 75 miles, 10 of them as major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger at landfall).
- Hurricanes, 75 mi
- 21
- Came ashore nearby
- 18
- Most recent
- Hanna 2020
- Longest gap
- 28 years
13 within 50 mi
10 as major
1971–1999
Every hurricane that passed within 75 miles of Corpus Christi
| Year | Storm | Date | Closest | Strength there | Corpus Christi on | Came ashore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 storm | June 26 | 37 mi north | Category 1 (75 mph) | left side | 49 mi northeast, Category 1 |
| 1867 | Unnamed 1867 storm | October 3 | 72 mi southeast | Category 2 (104 mph) | left side | — |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 storm | August 17 | 31 mi north | Category 1 (81 mph) | left side | 45 mi northeast, Category 2 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 storm | September 16 | 11 mi east | Category 3 (113 mph) | left side | 12 mi east, Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 storm | August 20 | 44 mi northeast | Category 4 (144 mph) | left side | 45 mi northeast, Category 4 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 storm | September 23 | 6 mi west | Category 1 (82 mph) | right side | — |
| 1910 | Unnamed 1910 storm | September 14 | 57 mi south | Category 2 (104 mph) | right side | 57 mi south, Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 storm | August 18 | 43 mi southwest | Category 2 (107 mph) | right side | 50 mi south, Category 4 |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 storm | September 14 | 32 mi south | Category 2 (105 mph) | right side | 37 mi south, Category 3 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 storm | June 28 | 69 mi northeast | Category 1 (85 mph) | left side | 73 mi northeast, Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 storm | July 25 | 28 mi north | Category 1 (81 mph) | left side | 45 mi northeast, Category 1 |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 storm | June 27 | 25 mi northeast | Category 1 (75 mph) | left side | 27 mi northeast, Category 1 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 storm | August 30 | 63 mi northeast | Category 3 (112 mph) | left side | 63 mi northeast, Category 3 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 storm | August 27 | 25 mi east | Category 3 (115 mph) | left side | 54 mi northeast, Category 3 |
| 1961 | Carla | September 11 | 72 mi northeast | Category 4 (144 mph) | left side | 73 mi northeast, Category 4 |
| 1967 | Beulah | September 21 | 65 mi southwest | Category 1 (86 mph) | right side | — |
| 1970 | Celia | August 3 | 13 mi northeast | Category 3 (129 mph) | left side | 19 mi east, Category 4 |
| 1971 | Fern | September 11 | 5 mi southeast | Category 1 (82 mph) | right side | 6 mi east, Category 1 |
| 1999 | Bret | August 23 | 55 mi south | Category 2 (106 mph) | right side | 57 mi south, Category 3 |
| 2017 | Harvey | August 26 | 36 mi northeast | Category 3 (129 mph) | left side | 36 mi northeast, Category 4 |
| 2020 | Hanna | July 25 | 64 mi south | Category 1 (92 mph) | right side | 64 mi south, Category 1 |
How often hurricanes reach Corpus Christi
The 21 hurricanes came in 20 different seasons. The median wait from one hurricane season to the next was 6 years; the longest, 28 years, ran from 1971 to 1999. One season brought two or more: 1886 (unnamed, August and unnamed, September). In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025) 3 passed within 75 miles of Corpus Christi at hurricane strength, against 3 in the 30 before (1966–1995) and 3.9 per 30 seasons from 1851 to 1965, when ships and coastal stations missed more storms.
The 1910s had the most hurricanes, 3. Tropical storms are the other 20 systems that passed within 75 miles below hurricane strength.
8 came in August, 7 came in September and 3 came in June. The earliest in the season was the unnamed storm of June 1851, on June 26; the latest, the unnamed storm of October 1867, on October 3.
Strongest passes and the side of the storm Corpus Christi was on
8 of the 21 passed with Corpus Christi on their right-hand side, where wind and surge are usually strongest, and 13 with the city on the left. The strongest right-side pass was the unnamed storm of August 1916, a Category 2 hurricane 43 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. The strongest at their closest point: the unnamed storm of August 1886 (Category 4, 144 mph, 44 miles away), Carla (1961, Category 4, 144 mph, 72 miles away) and Celia (1970, Category 3, 129 mph, 13 miles away).
Corpus Christi against nearby cities
Of the 5 cities compared here, Brownsville has the most hurricane passes within 75 miles (24) and Kingsville the fewest (12); Corpus Christi ranks 3rd. Brownsville, 123 miles south, shares the fewest: 8 of its 24 hurricanes also passed within 75 miles of Corpus Christi at hurricane strength.
| City | Distance | Hurricanes, 75 mi | Within 50 mi | Shared with Corpus Christi | Strongest | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corpus Christi, TX | — | 21 | 13 | — | Unnamed 1886, 144 mph | Hanna 2020 |
| Port Aransas, TX | 21 mi east | 22 | 13 | 20 | Unnamed 1886, 150 mph | Hanna 2020 |
| Rockport, TX | 31 mi northeast | 21 | 16 | 17 | Unnamed 1886, 145 mph | Beryl 2024 |
| Kingsville, TX | 32 mi southwest | 12 | 7 | 11 | Unnamed 1886, 137 mph | Hanna 2020 |
| Brownsville, TX | 123 mi south | 24 | 16 | 8 | Unnamed 1880, 133 mph | Hanna 2020 |
- Corpus Christi's full storm record: all 41 tropical systems, tornadoes, hail and flood claims →
- Hurricane landfalls on the Gulf Coast, state by state →
How each figure on this page is counted: methodology.