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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Port Isabel, TX

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

44 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Port Isabel, Texas since 1851, 22 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Harold in 2023. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
22

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
22

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
42

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
1

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Port Isabel

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Port Isabel, Texas, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2023HaroldAug 2264 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
2021NicholasSep 1335 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
2020HannaJul 2546 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 1
2018HectorAug 1363 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 4
2011DonJul 2967 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
2010HermineSep 724 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
2008DollyJul 2317 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 2
2003ErikaAug 1649 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 1
1999BretAug 2245 miCategory 4 (135 mph)Category 4
1993ArleneJun 2037 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1988UlekiSep 865 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1983BarryAug 2846 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1980AllenAug 103 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 5
1978AmeliaJul 302 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1971EdithSep 1552 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 5
1968CandyJun 2344 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1967BeulahSep 206 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 5
1960Unnamed 1960 stormJun 2315 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1958GerdaSep 2053 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1958AlmaJun 1562 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1954AliceJun 2562 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 2
1947Unnamed 1947 stormAug 231 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1945Unnamed 1945 stormAug 2647 miCategory 2 (107 mph)Category 3
1936Unnamed 1936 stormSep 132 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1933Unnamed 1933 stormSep 51 miCategory 3 (123 mph)Category 5
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 521 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 1
1931Unnamed 1931 stormJun 2732 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1925Unnamed 1925 stormSep 753 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormAug 1849 miCategory 4 (132 mph)Category 4
1913Unnamed 1913 stormJun 2756 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1912Unnamed 1912 stormOct 1630 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
1910Unnamed 1910 stormSep 1453 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1910Unnamed 1910 stormAug 3023 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1909Unnamed 1909 stormJun 291 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2618 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1895Unnamed 1895 stormOct 654 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1887Unnamed 1887 stormSep 211 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1886Unnamed 1886 stormSep 23overheadCategory 2 (97 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 1859 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1880Unnamed 1880 stormAug 139 miCategory 4 (137 mph)Category 4
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 444 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1867Unnamed 1867 stormOct 213 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1857Unnamed 1857 stormSep 3011 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1854Unnamed 1854 stormJun 2610 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s7
  • 2000s6
  • 1990s6
  • 1980s5
  • 1970s9
  • 1960s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Port Isabel, Texas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 12, 1969F322 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 9, 1980F220 mi4.6 mi0 / 0
May 12, 1969F220 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
May 13, 2023EF1in town0.45 mi1 / 11
Apr 4, 1997F116 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 16, 1977F16 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 1, 1970F124 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
May 13, 1969F12 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 20, 1967F120 mi1 mi0 / 0
Aug 20, 1967F116 mi5.4 mi0 / 0
Jul 26, 2020EF016 mi3.43 mi0 / 0
Jul 26, 2019EF06 mi0.01 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Port Isabel while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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