Bastrop County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Bastrop County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Sep 4, 2011Wildfire, Bastrop$250 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bastrop County Complex Wildfire started on September 4 behind Tropical Storm Lee and a cold front that brought strong northerly winds. The peak wind at Austin Bergstrom International Airport was 36 mph. The fire was not completely contained at the end of the month and had burned 34,068 acres. It destroyed 1669 homes and 40 commercial buildings. Two people were killed by the fire. This fire destroyed more homes than any other single fire in Texas history. These totals include the acreage and destruction from the Union Chapel fire. The fire started in two separate locations just to the north of the city of Bastrop and quickly grew to one fire, destroying much of the Bastrop…

2. Oct 17, 1998Flood, Bastrop$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the Colorado River.The Colorado River at Bastrop reached a crest of 32.3 feet, with flood stage 25 feet, flooding a golf course. At Smithville, the Colorado crested at 34.6 feet, where flood stage is 20 feet. Just upstream from Smithville, Pecan Shores Estates and Hidden Valley Estates experienced severely flooding. Numerous trailer homes floated downstream, and some permanent homes were nearly totally destroyed. At LaGrange, in Fayette County, the Colorado crested at 45.5 feet, with flood stage 32 feet The Frisch Auf community had water up to five feet deep in several homes. Several homes were flooded with up to three feet inside them. Numerous mobile homes had…

3. Oct 17, 1998Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Great October FloodIn advance of a very slow-moving upper level trough of low pressure over West Texas, a cold front drifted slowly southeastward into West Central Texas during the evening of Friday, October 16th. Deep moisture was in place across South Central Texas as the two systems approached, being fed at the mid and upper levels by two nearly stationary hurricanes, Madeline near the tip of Baja Mexico, and Lester, anchored just off Acapulco, Mexico, and in the low levels by a strong flow from the Gulf of Mexico. A very moisture-rich environment was in place across South Central Texas as the event developed. Near 3 am CST, with the cold front still west of San Angelo,…

4. Oct 30, 2015Flash Flood$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding leading to high water rescues on Tucker Hill Ln. near the Bastrop and Travis County line. Damage assessment from Bastrop County indicated nearly 60 homes destroyed, with 40 also sustaining major damage. Overall more than 100 homes were flooded or affected by the flooding many of them along Dry Creek near the Bastrop/Travis County line. Debris line showed that water was flowing over Highway 71 near this area. Other homes experienced flooding as the Colorado River went into flood due to all the rainfall that fell upstream of Bastrop. County monetary losses are estimated to be 2.1 million dollars to infrastructure, this…

5. May 25, 2015Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding in Bastrop. A 1000 foot long earthen dam holding a small fishing pond in Bastrop State Park ruptured. In addition multiple roads were closed across the county. Damage to infrastructure likely exceeded 2 million dollars.

6. Aug 27, 2017Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A number of places in Fayette, Lavaca, and Bastrop Counties received 20 or more inches of rain. Tropical storm force winds with estimated gusts up to 60 mph caused damage across the region. Trees and branches were knocked down by the winds. Some of these in turn knocked down power lines causing power outages. 100 People were evacuated in Bastrop County. Rainfall over the far western side of Bastrop County was about 12 inches, while the Smithville area had a 7 day rain total of nearly 24 inches. The Colorado River at Smithville crested near 32 feet on August 28, flooding about 60 homes in the Smithville area. There were about 150 low water crossings underwater and many roads were…

7. Feb 1, 2023Winter Weather, Bastrop$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces. The cost of damage was estimated at $1.2 million.

8. Jul 22, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a barn, damaged two other barns, and overturned a mobile home in the Cedar Creek area.

9. Jun 16, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several large trees were knocked over by severe thunderstorm winds in and around the Elgin area. Windows were also broken out in homes by large limbs knocked off trees.

10. May 23, 2017Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A NWS storm survey found that a tornado was produced by the bookend vortex |of a bow echo that moved through the city of Elgin on the afternoon|of May 23rd 2017. The tornado began just east of Texas Highway 95|and just north of Roemer Road, where it displaced and flipped a shed |off its foundation. The tornado then caused extensive damage to a|business along Roemer Road. As it continued to the east-southeast,|the tornado ripped the metal roof off a large barn and caused roof|damage to a well-built home adjacent to the barn. In the pasture |adjacent to these structures, there were multiple pieces of splintered |wood that were driven into the ground from the opposite direction from…

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

112°FSep 5, 2000

All-time low

−5°FJan 31, 1949

Warmest night

82°F2 times, most recently Sep 1, 2020

Coldest day

20°F2 times, most recently Jan 10, 1962

Wettest day

12.49 inOct 30, 2015

Snowiest day

6.1 inFeb 15, 2021

Hottest year

1954mean 71.4°F

Coldest year

1968mean 66.0°F

Wettest year

201558.29 in

Driest year

19549.98 in

Snowiest season

7.8 in2020-21

Station Austin Bergstrom International Airport (USW00013904), 481 ft elevation, 18.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 96.6% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00013904.
• 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.