NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Port Neches, 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
54 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Port Neches, Texas since 1851, 22 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Nicholas in 2021. Since 1950, 154 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 22
- Tropical storms
- 32
- Tornadoes
- 154
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Port Neches
The strongest storm to pass near Port Neches was Laura in 2020, a Category 4 hurricane with 143 mph winds when its centre passed 40 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Humberto in 2007, whose centre came within 2 miles. The record near Port Neches begins with an unnamed storm in 1863; the most recent system was Nicholas in 2021, a tropical storm 62 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1980s, with 7 systems, 3 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 54 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Port Neches has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 95% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 154 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on November 7, 1957; its path came within 5 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on November 7, 1957, killed 2 people. Of the 154, 26 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2024. Port Neches has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 79 times since 1957, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 50% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Port Neches.
Compare Port Neches's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Port Neches
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | NicholasSep 14 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | DeltaOct 9 | 52 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 40 mi | Category 4 (143 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2017 | HarveyAug 30 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2017 | CindyJun 22 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | IkeSep 13 | 59 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2008 | EdouardAug 5 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2007 | HumbertoSep 13 | 2 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 24 | 7 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | JerryOct 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1989 | ChantalAug 1 | 37 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1987 | Unnamed 1987 stormAug 10 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1986 | BonnieJun 26 | 21 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1985 | JuanOct 28 | 74 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1982 | ChrisSep 11 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1980 | DanielleSep 5 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | ClaudetteJul 24 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1978 | DebraAug 29 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1974 | CarmenSep 9 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1973 | Unnamed 1973 stormSep 12 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | EdithSep 16 | 60 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1970 | FeliceSep 16 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1963 | CindySep 17 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | DebraJul 25 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1957 | BerthaAug 10 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 27 | 18 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1955 | Unnamed 1955 stormAug 27 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | BarbaraJul 29 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 4 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormAug 24 | 69 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 27 | 48 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 21 | 51 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormSep 24 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 7 | 21 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormOct 17 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormAug 15 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormAug 27 | 54 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 6 | 33 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormAug 1 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 28 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 20 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 15 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormOct 7 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 12 | 23 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 14 | 3 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 15 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 22 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 18 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 9 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1867 | Unnamed 1867 stormOct 4 | 71 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 13 | 31 mi | Category 1 (94 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 29 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Port Neches: 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 Neches
By decade
- 2020s13(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8
- 2000s13
- 1990s18
- 1980s20(1 EF3+)
- 1970s47(3 EF3+)
- 1960s21(1 EF3+)
- 1950s14(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 7, 1957 | F4 | 5 mi | 12.9 mi | 1 / 81 |
| Nov 7, 1957 | F3 | 3 mi | 3.6 mi | 2 / 59 |
| Oct 28, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 9.6 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Dec 28, 2024 | EF3 | 10 mi | 67.88 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 31, 1983 | F3 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 17, 1973 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 11, 1970 | F3 | 6 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 19 |
| Mar 23, 1969 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 7, 1957 | F3 | 6 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 20, 1983 | F2 | 3 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 10, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 2023 | EF2 | 8 mi | 25.21 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 154, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Port Neches
The Storm Prediction Center has 79 hail reports within 10 miles of Port Neches since 1957, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 6, 1969. The most recent report is from December 28, 2024. May has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Port Neches
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Port Arthur SE Tx Airport, TX, 4 miles southwest of Port Neches at 16 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 64°F and 44°F. July and August are the wettest at 6.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 62.2 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 59% of the year's precipitation (36.6 of 62.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 54 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (19); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 6.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 93 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 9 nights a year. That 62.2 inches is more than at 306 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (98%). Vidor, 12 miles north, has its own station (Beaumont City, TX): 65.1 inches a year, 2.9 more than here, and the same August average high, 93°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Port Arthur, TX, 8 miles south, averaged 88°F in August and 56°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from June to September. Sea level at the Sabine Pass tide gauge, 18 miles from Port Neches, has risen 2.43 ± 0.15 inches per decade from 1958 to 2020, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 24.3 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 136 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 64 | 44 | 5.3 | 6 | 56 |
| Feb | 67 | 48 | 3.1 | 5 | 58 |
| Mar | 73 | 53 | 3.6 | 5 | 65 |
| Apr | 79 | 60 | 3.9 | 5 | 72 |
| May | 86 | 67 | 4.7 | 5 | 79 |
| Jun | 91 | 73 | 6.7 | 8 | 85 |
| Jul | 93 | 75 | 6.9 | 8 | 87 |
| Aug | 93 | 74 | 6.9 | 7 | 88 |
| Sep | 90 | 71 | 6.7 | 7 | 85 |
| Oct | 82 | 61 | 5.5 | 5 | 78 |
| Nov | 72 | 52 | 3.9 | 5 | 68 |
| Dec | 66 | 46 | 5.0 | 6 | 61 |
| Year | 80 | 60 | 62.2 | 71 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Port Arthur SE Tx Airport, TX (16 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Port Arthur, 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 Neches
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 138 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Port Neches: 81 thunderstorm wind reports, 48 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes, 3 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $8.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on April 14, 2018. June has had the most flash floods, 15 of 48. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 661 have had fewer than Port Neches.
March 21, 2012: flood 6 miles from the centre of Port Neches — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
August 29, 2007: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Port Neches — 1 killed.
December 28, 2024: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Port Neches — 2 injured, $100,000 damage.
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 Neches's ZIP code 77651 have filed 776 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $24.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Harvey in 2017: 294 claims (38% of all) and $20.3 million, then Hurricane Rita in 2005 with 180 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 69. 85% 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, 356 have fewer than Port Neches.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Harvey2017 | 294 | $20.3 million |
| Hurricane Rita2005 | 180 | $2.0 million |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 69 | $1.3 million |
| Flooding1994 | 37 | $156,000 |
| Hurricane Danielle1980 | 21 | $32,000 |
| Tropical Storm Allison2001 | 20 | $173,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Port Neches, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 7 floods, 5 severe storms, 3 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $140.7 million a year, the 17th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $61.2 million (44%), 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.