NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Vernia, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of La Vernia, Texas since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Harvey in 2017. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for La Vernia
The strongest storm to pass near La Vernia was Celia in 1970, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1942, whose centre came within 10 miles. The record near La Vernia begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Harvey in 2017, a tropical storm 31 miles away. The 1960s and the 2010s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 19 systems, 4 have come since 2000. La Vernia has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 75% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 20, 1967, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on September 17, 1988, killed 1 person. Of the 87, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on October 26, 2023. Of the 753 Texas cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than La Vernia. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than La Vernia.
Compare La Vernia's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near La Vernia
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | HarveyAug 27 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2015 | BillJun 17 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2010 | HermineSep 7 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2003 | ClaudetteJul 15 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1998 | FrancesSep 11 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | CeliaAug 4 | 74 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | AbbyAug 8 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 12 | 55 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 10 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJun 28 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 29 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormSep 24 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 20 | 11 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 59 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormJul 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormJun 26 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in La Vernia: 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 La Vernia
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s14
- 2000s12
- 1990s11
- 1980s8
- 1970s14
- 1960s18(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 1967 | F3 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 1, 1953 | F3 | 15 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Feb 19, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 4.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 30, 2015 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 30, 2015 | EF2 | 10 mi | 5.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 2007 | EF2 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 10, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 12.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 13, 1970 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1969 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 1969 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 3, 1969 | F2 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1967 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in La Vernia
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of La Vernia since 1968, made on 40 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 8, 1969. The most recent report is from March 23, 2025. April has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in La Vernia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Floresville, TX, 15 miles south of La Vernia at 400 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 98°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 65°F and 39°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 31.7 inches over 42 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (17.6 of 31.7 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 130 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 27 nights a year. That 31.7 inches is more than at 127 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (41%). Saint Hedwig, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (New Braunfels, TX): 33.7 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 98°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 39 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Feb | 69 | 43 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Mar | 76 | 51 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Apr | 82 | 56 | 2.4 | 3 |
| May | 88 | 66 | 4.4 | 4 |
| Jun | 94 | 71 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Jul | 96 | 74 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Aug | 98 | 73 | 2.7 | 3 |
| Sep | 92 | 68 | 4.1 | 4 |
| Oct | 84 | 58 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Nov | 74 | 48 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Dec | 66 | 41 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Year | 82 | 57 | 31.7 | 42 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Floresville, TX (400 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 La Vernia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 40 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Vernia: 21 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $327,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 17, 2016. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 18. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 394 have had fewer than La Vernia.
October 14, 2021: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of La Vernia — 2 killed.
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 La Vernia's ZIP code 78121 have filed 31 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1987, and were paid $884,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1998: 14 claims (45% of all) and $552,000. 48% 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, 122 have fewer than La Vernia.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1998 | 14 | $552,000 |
Wilson County, which includes La Vernia, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 hurricanes, 3 fires, 3 floods, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wilson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $31.9 million a year, the 59th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $22.8 million (71%), 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.