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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lago Vista, 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

9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Lago Vista, Texas since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Hermine in 2010. Since 1950, 104 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
7

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
104

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

3 deaths in all

What the records show for Lago Vista

The strongest storm to pass near Lago Vista was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1886, whose centre came within 67 miles. The record near Lago Vista begins with an unnamed storm in 1886; the most recent system was Hermine in 2010, a tropical storm 60 miles away. The 1900s and the 1960s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. Of the 9 systems, one has come since 2000. Lago Vista has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 104 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 27, 1997; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 104, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on April 28, 2024. Of the 753 Texas cities, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lago Vista. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 135 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Lago Vista has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 753 Texas cities.

Compare Lago Vista's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lago Vista

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Lago Vista, Texas, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2010HermineSep 760 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1973DeliaSep 612 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1968CandyJun 2419 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1961CarlaSep 1223 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1932Unnamed 1932 stormAug 1443 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2738 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 974 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 4
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 1359 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormAug 2067 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Lago Vista: 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 Lago Vista

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s17
  • 2000s16
  • 1990s15(3 EF3+)
  • 1980s12(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s12(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s9(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Lago Vista, Texas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 27, 1997F46 mi5.6 mi1 / 5
Apr 7, 1980F317 mi31.7 mi1 / 5
May 27, 1997F36 mi9.2 mi0 / 15
May 13, 1994F318 mi3.5 mi0 / 1
Mar 10, 1973F324 mi7.8 mi0 / 40
May 6, 1969F322 mi38.9 mi0 / 2
May 10, 1959F319 mi11 mi0 / 0
Jul 4, 1970F24 mi1.5 mi1 / 4
Mar 21, 2022EF217 mi34.62 mi0 / 0
Mar 16, 2000F213 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Dec 10, 1985F220 mi5 mi0 / 2
Feb 10, 1981F224 mi0.8 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 104, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Lago Vista

The Storm Prediction Center has 135 hail reports within 10 miles of Lago Vista since 1961, made on 75 separate days. Of these, 98 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 19, 1982. The most recent report is from May 28, 2025. April has the most reports, 41.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Lago Vista

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Austin Great Hills, TX, 13 miles east of Lago Vista at 880 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 60°F and 38°F. October is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 37.1 inches over 48 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 114 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 27 nights a year. That 37.1 inches is more than at 179 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (57%). Lakeway, 5 miles south, has its own station (Dripping Springs 6 E, TX): 35.8 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and an August average high of 95°F against 96°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Austin Great Hills, TX
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan60382.64
Feb65412.03
Mar72483.04
Apr79552.34
May84644.16
Jun92704.45
Jul96732.84
Aug96722.32
Sep89673.45
Oct80574.64
Nov69472.84
Dec61392.84
Year795637.148

Averages for 1991–2020 at Austin Great Hills, TX (880 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.

Texas weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Lago Vista

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lago Vista: 53 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 7 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 3 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $20.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 12, 2014. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 414 have had fewer than Lago Vista.

  • July 5, 2025: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Lago Vista — 1 killed, $5.0 million damage.

    NWS: “Slow-moving thunderstorms produced 8-10 inches of rain over the headwaters of Cow Creek. The FM 1431 bridge across Cow Creek was destroyed with the main bridge structure collapsing and fragmenting into at least four segments.”

  • September 18, 2014: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Lago Vista — 1 killed.

  • September 25, 2016: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Lago Vista — 1 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 Lago Vista's ZIP code 78645 have filed 139 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1987, and were paid $2.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 44 claims (32% of all) and $903,000, then Fall 2018 Texas Flooding in 2018 with 36 and Thunderstorms in 2007 with 26. The year with the most claims was 2018, with 38. 80% 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, 258 have fewer than Lago Vista.

Flood insurance claims in Lago Vista by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Flooding199744$903,000
Fall 2018 Texas Flooding201836$925,000
Thunderstorms200726$576,000

Travis County, which includes Lago Vista, has been named in 37 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 fires, 8 hurricanes, 7 floods, 5 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on July 6, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Travis County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $376.3 million a year, the 6th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $214.2 million (57%), 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.

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