NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tomball, 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
48 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Tomball, Texas since 1851, 7 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Beryl in 2024. Since 1950, 193 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 7
- Tropical storms
- 41
- Tornadoes
- 193
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Tomball
The strongest storm to pass near Tomball was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 2 hurricane with 106 mph winds when its centre passed 24 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Alicia in 1983, whose centre came within 7 miles. The record near Tomball begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Beryl in 2024, a tropical storm 15 miles away. The 1940s and the 1980s were the busiest decades, with 7 systems each. Of the 48 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Tomball has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 79% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The strongest of the 193 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on November 21, 1992; its path came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on February 5, 1986, killed 2 people. Of the 193, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on November 24, 2025. Tomball has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 107 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Tomball has more hail reports within 10 miles than 66% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Tomball
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | BerylJul 8 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2021 | NicholasSep 14 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2019 | ImeldaSep 17 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | IkeSep 13 | 28 mi | Category 2 (100 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2008 | EdouardAug 5 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2003 | GraceAug 31 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2001 | AllisonJun 6 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | DeanJul 31 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1989 | JerryOct 16 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1989 | ChantalAug 1 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1989 | AllisonJun 27 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1987 | Unnamed 1987 stormAug 10 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1986 | BonnieJun 26 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1983 | AliciaAug 18 | 7 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1980 | DanielleSep 6 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | Unnamed 1973 stormSep 12 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | FeliceSep 16 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1963 | CindySep 18 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | DebraJul 25 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1957 | BerthaAug 10 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 4 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormAug 25 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 28 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 28 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 21 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 8 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormOct 17 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 44 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormJun 23 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 17 | 33 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormJul 21 | 63 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 24 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormJun 27 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 28 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormOct 7 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJul 5 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 17 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 15 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 72 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 9 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 4 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 29 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 20 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Tomball: 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 Tomball
By decade
- 2020s14(1 EF3+)
- 2010s22
- 2000s23
- 1990s40(1 EF3+)
- 1980s32(1 EF3+)
- 1970s43(1 EF3+)
- 1960s14(4 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 1992 | F4 | 24 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 16 |
| Feb 5, 1986 | F3 | 2 mi | 5 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Dec 13, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 25.1 mi | 1 / 40 |
| Dec 28, 2024 | EF3 | 17 mi | 10.34 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Dec 12, 1968 | F3 | 24 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1967 | F3 | 24 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1967 | F3 | 24 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 1994 | F2 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 20, 1983 | F2 | 5 mi | 4 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 20, 1983 | F2 | 10 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 7 |
| May 20, 1983 | F2 | 6 mi | 7 mi | 1 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 193, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tomball
The Storm Prediction Center has 107 hail reports within 10 miles of Tomball since 1963, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 4, 2006. The most recent report is from August 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tomball
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Houston Hooks Mem Airport, TX, 5 miles north of Tomball at 152 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 95°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 63°F and 43°F. October is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 50.8 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 57% of the year's precipitation (28.8 of 50.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 48 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (16); a normal September there has highs of 91°F and 5.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 111 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 15 nights a year. That 50.8 inches is more than at 280 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (90%). Shenandoah, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (Conroe, TX): 51.1 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and an August average high of 96°F against 95°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63 | 43 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Feb | 68 | 47 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Mar | 74 | 53 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Apr | 80 | 59 | 3.8 | 4 |
| May | 87 | 67 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Jun | 92 | 73 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Jul | 94 | 75 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Aug | 95 | 74 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Sep | 91 | 70 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 82 | 60 | 5.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 72 | 50 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Dec | 65 | 44 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Year | 80 | 59 | 50.8 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Houston Hooks Mem Airport, TX (152 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Tomball
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 106 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tomball: 63 thunderstorm wind reports, 30 flash floods and 13 lightning strikes. They killed 9 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $9.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on June 21, 2023. May has had the most flash floods, 10 of 30. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 558 have had fewer than Tomball.
April 18, 2009: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Tomball — 5 killed, $3.5 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall persisted across the county as several thunderstorms produced rainfall totals of 8 to 10 inches across the county. Numerous roads were closed in areas of the county, including Jersey Village, Houston Heights, La Porte, Pasadena, Webster, and near the Houston Hobby airport.”
October 31, 2015: flash flood in Tomball — 2 killed, $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “There was widespread flooding across the city of Houston and surrounding areas. The worst flooding occurred across eastern and southern Houston and towns north and east of the city.”
May 8, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Tomball — 1 killed, 1 injured.
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 Tomball's 2 ZIP codes have filed 1,049 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $65.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Harvey in 2017: 344 claims (33% of all) and $42.8 million, then Spring severe storms in 2016 with 123 and Flooding in 1998 with 112. 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, 373 have fewer than Tomball.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Harvey2017 | 344 | $42.8 million |
| Spring severe storms2016 | 123 | $7.2 million |
| Flooding1998 | 112 | $2.4 million |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 92 | $1.7 million |
| Tropical Storm Allison2001 | 85 | $2.1 million |
| Tropical Storm Paul2006 | 44 | $2.1 million |
Harris County, which includes Tomball, has been named in 41 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 floods, 12 hurricanes, 8 severe storms, 3 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Harris County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for coastal flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.22 billion a year, the highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.12 billion (51%), 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.
Cities near Tomball
- Spring, TX8 mi
- Cypress, TX9 mi
- Pinehurst, TX13 mi
- The Woodlands, TX14 mi
- Magnolia, TX15 mi
- Shenandoah, TX15 mi
- Houston, TX16 mi
- Hockley, TX16 mi
- Katy, TX19 mi
- Humble, TX19 mi
- Porter, TX19 mi
- Bellaire, TX20 mi
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