Palestine

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Anderson County, the county that contains Palestine.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Anderson County, the county that contains Palestine.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Anderson County, the county that contains Palestine.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Feb 24, 2003Winter Storm, Anderson$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain and sleet began falling across western parts of North Texas late Monday morning the 24th and spread eastward during the afternoon and night, before ending the morning of the 25th. South of a Lampasas to Gatesville to Mexia to Athens line the precipitation was predominantly freezing rain, with ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch. North of this line the precipitation was mostly sleet and snow, with most of the snow falling north of interstate 20. Sleet and snow accumulations were generally 1 to 3 inches, with 3 to 5 inches of snow north of a Breckenridge to Decatur to Dallas to Paris line. Schools and businesses closed early on the 24th, many not reopening until the…

2. Jun 9, 2010Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads across the county had significant flash flooding. There were several flooded homes and a house rescue conducted in Palestine. Parts of Highway 315 was washed away and a vehicle was stranded near the town of Elmwood. At least 4 feet of water was over County Road 404 12 miles NNW of Palestine. Several roads in the city of Palestine were closed for several days due to damage suffered by the flood waters.

3. Apr 30, 2016Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Nearly 7.5 of rain fell over Palestine in about one hour causing flooding across the city. Cars were flooded in downtown Palestine. Newspapers also reported that businesses and homes in low-lying areas across the city were flooded and damaged. A total of 35 homes sustained major damage and 3 businesses in Old Town Palestine were damaged. the railroad track at Sycamore and Gillespie streets were washed out. Flooding was also reported at Loop 256 and Highway 84 on the east side of Palestine. To the southwest of Palestine, part of Shamrock Drive was washed out.

4. Feb 15, 2021Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Anderson$850,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme cold gripped the county for several days. Overnight lows were near or below 25 degrees Fahrenheit almost all week. The period of February 15-16th was the coldest with low temperatures between 3 and -6 degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum temperature on the 15th was only in the lower teens. Wind chill values during the 14th-16th were between 10 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time. The cold temperatures resulted in an extreme amount of damage to pipes, infrastructure, and power.

5. Apr 29, 2016Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant and deadly flash flooding happened on Timber Drive in Palestine after 7.5 of water fell in one hour. A family of 5 died in this location while drying to escape the flood waters. Six of 10 homes on the cul-de-sac were completely destroyed by flood waters. Some residents had to be rescued from the roofs of their homes and the water was reported to be 12 feet deep inside some homes.

6. Aug 15, 2011Wildfire, Anderson$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tree limb fell on a power line and sparked a grass fire the burned 464 acres near Todd City. The Todd City fire was centered near the intersection of FM 19 and CR 335 in the northeastern part of the county. The fire began on the 15th, was contained on the 15th, and then fully controlled on the 20th. The fire consumed a deer camp, a fiberglass salt water tank, several outbuildings, and an oil tank. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital.

7. May 4, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tree and roof damage was reported throughout the Frankston area. The roof of a restaurant was also damaged including loss of shingles, partial decking removal and collapse of portions of the awning. One tree fell onto a manufactured house, killing two adults in the home. A post event assessment determined 70-90 mph winds caused the damage.

8. Oct 1, 2006Drought, Anderson$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent drought conditions continued across portions of north Texas. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the region was still experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. The areas which were rated exceptional drought (D4) last month had received enough rainfall to be downgraded into the D3 category this month.|Even though drought conditions were lessened by a few rain events this month, serious hydrological problems remained. For instance, as much water was used from Lake Bridgeport in one month alone as was saved through conservation efforts by north Texas over the summer. Almost every north Texas lake remained well below conservation levels. The rain events this…

9. Nov 7, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds damaged 25 homes and blew down trees and power lines.

10. Aug 30, 2011Wildfire, Anderson$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Henderson Fire #475 began on the 30th in the far northeastern parts of the county near Frankston, was contained September 5th, and fully controlled on September 15th. The fire burned 2314 acres and claimed 3 homes.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

110°FSep 5, 2000

All-time low

−3°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

83°FJul 14, 1954

Coldest day

11°FFeb 16, 2021

Wettest day

10.00 inJun 7, 2001

Snowiest day

7.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 15, 2021

Hottest year

2025mean 68.1°F

Coldest year

1968mean 63.3°F

Wettest year

199188.41 in

Driest year

195427.00 in

Snowiest season

13.3 in1947-48

Station Rusk (USC00417841), 695 ft elevation, 29.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1942 to September 30, 2026; 98.1% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Anderson County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00417841.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.