NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kenedy, 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 Kenedy, Texas since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Beta in 2020. Since 1950, 45 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 21
- Tornadoes
- 45
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Kenedy
The strongest storm to pass near Kenedy was an unnamed storm in 1886, a Category 2 hurricane with 107 mph winds when its centre passed 6 miles away. The record near Kenedy begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Beta in 2020, a tropical storm 64 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1960s, with 4 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 26 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Kenedy has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 75% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 45 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on April 25, 1966; its path came within 3 miles. Of the 45, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on May 10, 2012. Of the 753 Texas cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Kenedy. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 24 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 90% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Kenedy.
Compare Kenedy's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kenedy
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | BetaSep 22 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 26 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2015 | BillJun 16 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2010 | HermineSep 7 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2003 | ClaudetteJul 15 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1998 | FrancesSep 11 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1998 | CharleyAug 22 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1978 | AmeliaJul 31 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1970 | CeliaAug 4 | 43 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | AbbyAug 8 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 59 mi | Category 1 (94 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | Unnamed 1960 stormJun 24 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 19 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJun 28 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJul 25 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormOct 17 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormSep 24 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 20 | 6 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 34 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormJul 5 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormAug 17 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormJul 16 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormJun 26 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kenedy: 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 Kenedy
By decade
- 2010s7
- 2000s7
- 1990s3
- 1980s6
- 1970s2
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 1966 | F3 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 8, 1967 | F2 | 16 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1965 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 15, 1960 | F2 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 2001 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 2001 | F1 | 15 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1991 | F1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1988 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1981 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1980 | F1 | 1 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 28, 1978 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1971 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 45, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kenedy
The Storm Prediction Center has 24 hail reports within 10 miles of Kenedy since 1968, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 7, 1984. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kenedy
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Beeville 5 NE, TX, 24 miles south of Kenedy at 255 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 66°F and 44°F. September is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 32.1 inches over 43 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 59% of the year's precipitation (19.0 of 32.1 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 123 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 9 nights a year. That 32.1 inches is more than at 131 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (42%). Karnes City, 8 miles north, has its own station (Floresville, TX): 31.7 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and an August average high of 98°F against 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 66 | 44 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Feb | 69 | 47 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Mar | 75 | 54 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Apr | 81 | 60 | 2.3 | 3 |
| May | 87 | 67 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Jun | 92 | 72 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Jul | 94 | 73 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Aug | 96 | 73 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Sep | 90 | 70 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 84 | 61 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Nov | 75 | 53 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Dec | 67 | 45 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Year | 81 | 60 | 32.1 | 43 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Beeville 5 NE, TX (255 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 Kenedy
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 25 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kenedy: 12 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $155,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 22, 2022. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 11. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 227 have had fewer than Kenedy.
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 Kenedy's ZIP code 78119 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $31,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 45% 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, 13 have fewer than Kenedy.
Karnes County, which includes Kenedy, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Karnes County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.0 million a year, the 134th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.1 million (51%), 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.