Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mcallen, TX

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mcallen, TX, 3 miles south of Mcallen at 100 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 99°F and low of 77°F; January is the coolest, at 71°F and 49°F. September is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and February and December the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 18.8 inches over 29 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 70% of the year's precipitation (13.1 of 18.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 33 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (13); a normal September there has highs of 94°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 170 days a year, almost all from February to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 18.8 inches is more than at 26 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (8%). Hidalgo, 8 miles south, has its own station (Mcallen Miller International Airport, TX): 22.2 inches a year, 3.4 more than here, and an August average high of 100°F against 99°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 142 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mcallen: 78 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 floods, 22 flash floods, 15 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $100.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on May 31, 2016. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 22. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 466 have had fewer than Mcallen.

Flood insurance policyholders in Mcallen's 3 ZIP codes have filed 719 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $14.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Allen in 1980: 138 claims (19% of all) and $988,000, then Hurricane Hanna in 2020 with 65 and Hurricane Dolly in 2008 with 33. The year with the most claims was 2012, with 155. 38% 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, 354 have fewer than Mcallen.