NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Port Lavaca, 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
47 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Port Lavaca, Texas since 1851, 23 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Beryl in 2024. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 23
- Tropical storms
- 24
- Tornadoes
- 76
- 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 Port Lavaca
The strongest storm to pass near Port Lavaca was an unnamed storm in 1886, a Category 4 hurricane with 142 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Carla in 1961, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Port Lavaca begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Beryl in 2024, a Category 1 hurricane 38 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 6 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 47 systems, 8 have come since 2000. Port Lavaca has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 95% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on November 5, 1968; its path came within 12 miles. Of the 76, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 13, 2024. Of the 753 Texas cities, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Port Lavaca. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 1980, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Port Lavaca.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Port Lavaca
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | BerylJul 8 | 38 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2021 | NicholasSep 14 | 44 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | BetaSep 22 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2019 | ImeldaSep 17 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2015 | BillJun 16 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2003 | ClaudetteJul 15 | 8 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2002 | FaySep 7 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1998 | FrancesSep 11 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1998 | CharleyAug 22 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | AllisonJun 26 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1980 | DanielleSep 6 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | ElenaSep 1 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 5 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | FernSep 10 | 27 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | CeliaAug 3 | 62 mi | Category 4 (137 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1968 | CandyJun 24 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | AbbyAug 8 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 11 | overhead | Category 3 (122 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 4 | 62 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 27 | 15 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 30 | 14 mi | Category 2 (109 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 23 | 64 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJun 27 | 52 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJul 25 | 36 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormJul 23 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 71 mi | Category 2 (97 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormJun 28 | 8 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormJun 22 | 44 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormOct 17 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormJul 21 | 48 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormJul 10 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 5 | 66 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJul 5 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 17 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormSep 24 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 20 | 33 mi | Category 4 (142 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 13 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormJun 24 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 41 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormJul 4 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormAug 17 | 35 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormJul 15 | 6 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 29 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 19 | 52 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormJun 25 | 30 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Port Lavaca: 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 Lavaca
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s6
- 2000s11
- 1990s16
- 1980s2
- 1970s14
- 1960s24(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 1968 | F3 | 12 mi | 14.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 29, 1972 | F2 | 5 mi | 10.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 7, 1972 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 3, 1970 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1967 | F2 | 9 mi | 15.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 2, 1961 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2024 | EF1 | 3 mi | 13.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 2018 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 2006 | F1 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 20, 2004 | F1 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1991 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1982 | F1 | 1 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Port Lavaca
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Port Lavaca since 1980. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 29, 1990. The most recent report is from November 23, 2004.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Port Lavaca
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pt Comfort, TX, 6 miles northeast of Port Lavaca at 20 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 78°F; January is the coolest, at 64°F and 46°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 41.5 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 57% of the year's precipitation (23.6 of 41.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 47 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 77 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 5 nights a year. That 41.5 inches is more than at 223 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (71%). Seadrift, 14 miles south, has its own station (Aransas Wr, TX): 41.0 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and an August average high of 90°F against 92°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Port Lavaca, TX, 3 miles northeast, averaged 88°F in August and 57°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from May to September. Sea level at the Rockport tide gauge, 48 miles from Port Lavaca, has risen 2.38 ± 0.09 inches per decade from 1937 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 23.8 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 132 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 64 | 46 | 3.1 | 5 | 57 |
| Feb | 68 | 49 | 1.8 | 4 | 58 |
| Mar | 73 | 57 | 3.2 | 4 | 68 |
| Apr | 78 | 63 | 2.6 | 3 | 74 |
| May | 84 | 71 | 4.3 | 5 | 81 |
| Jun | 89 | 76 | 4.9 | 6 | 86 |
| Jul | 91 | 78 | 3.2 | 4 | 87 |
| Aug | 92 | 78 | 3.4 | 5 | 88 |
| Sep | 89 | 73 | 4.8 | 6 | 85 |
| Oct | 83 | 65 | 3.7 | 5 | 78 |
| Nov | 74 | 55 | 3.6 | 5 | 68 |
| Dec | 67 | 48 | 2.9 | 5 | 63 |
| Year | 79 | 63 | 41.5 | 55 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pt Comfort, TX (20 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Port Lavaca, TX, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Port Lavaca
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 42 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Port Lavaca: 30 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods, 1 flood, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on May 1, 2026. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 176 have had fewer than Port Lavaca.
May 21, 2015: lightning strike in Port Lavaca — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “Man was struck by lightning after seeking shelter from the thunderstorm outside a store near the 500 block of Benavides Street. The man was revived by CPR, but later died from his injuries on July 2nd.”
May 13, 2024: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Port Lavaca — 2 injured, $355,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency manager of Calhoun confirms at least 12 RVs were either damaged or completed destroyed with two confirmed injuries. There was also sporadic tree damage and a couple power poles leaning significantly.”
May 1, 2026: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Port Lavaca — 1 injured.
NWS: “Electrical Transmission Lines (ETL)/wood poles broken. Report of 1 minor injury so far from a driver of an unloaded semi that rolled on FM1593 right at Gate 4 of Formosa Plastics.”
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 Port Lavaca's ZIP code 77979 have filed 476 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $5.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Harvey in 2017: 133 claims (28% of all) and $2.2 million, then Flooding in 1984 with 90 and Hurricane Claudette in 2003 with 54. 65% 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, 334 have fewer than Port Lavaca.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Harvey2017 | 133 | $2.2 million |
| Flooding1984 | 90 | $172,000 |
| Hurricane Claudette2003 | 54 | $311,000 |
| Hurricane Allen1980 | 10 | $76,000 |
Calhoun County, which includes Port Lavaca, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 hurricanes, 5 floods, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Calhoun County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, coastal flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.6 million a year, the 85th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.0 million (51%), is from hurricanes.
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.
Cities near Port Lavaca
- Seadrift, TX14 mi
- Inez, TX23 mi
- Edna, TX25 mi
- Palacios, TX26 mi
- Victoria, TX27 mi
- Ganado, TX30 mi
- Refugio, TX42 mi
- Rockport, TX46 mi
- El Campo, TX46 mi
- Goliad, TX47 mi
- Bay City, TX48 mi
- Cuero, TX52 mi
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