Brazoria County

Every recorded tornado

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

Tsunamis

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 26, 2017Flash Flood$2.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flood waters, from sheet flooding and bayous/creeks coming out of banks, completely inundated hundreds to thousands of homes and businesses. Roads and highways in and around Pearland and south into Manvel, or east of Highway 288 along Highway 6, were flooded and therefore closed for long time periods. Major record flooding of the Brazos, San Bernard and Oyster Creek caused the flooding of hundreds to thousands of vicinity homes, vehicles and businesses. Numerous Roads and homes were inundated with flood waters on east side of Oyster Creek including the Columbia Lakes, Mallard Lakes, Great Lakes, Riverside Estates and Bar X subdivisions as well as homes along CR 39. Other…

2. Sep 12, 2008Storm Surge/Tide, Brazoria$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant damage occurred due to surge along gulf facing sections including Treasure Island, Quintana and Surfside areas. Surge estimates of 7 to 10 feet were obtained from high water marks.

3. Sep 12, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), Brazoria$700 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ike produced damage due to high storm surge and high winds over the region. Brazoria County was located to the left of the landfall where winds and surge were not quite as high, but still enough to produce significant damage. Storm surge estimates were 7 to 10 feet with wind gusts to hurricane force.

4. Sep 7, 1998Tropical Storm, Brazoria$28.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Synoptic Situation...On Monday September 7 (Labor Day) a tropical disturbance in the western Gulf of Mexico was increasing the pressure gradient along the Texas coast. A weak cold front had pushed south to near the Red River by Tuesday evening. At 4pm Tuesday the disturbance was upgraded to a Tropical Depression located about 250 miles south of Galveston. On Wednesday morning the cold front had sagged down to a Lufkin to Dallas line with a 1022 high pressure centered over the Ohio Valley. At 4 PM the depression was upgraded to a Tropical Storm and given the name Frances. Winds along the upper Texas coast were from the ENE 20 to 30 mph with gusts nearing 40 mph. The poorly…

5. Jun 5, 2001Tropical Storm, Brazoria$22.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Allison formed in the northwest Gulf of Mexico during the early afternoon of June 5th, 80 miles south of Galveston. Allison moved northward, making landfall on the west end of Galveston Island between midnight and 1am on the 6th, less than 12 hours after forming. As Allison moved inland it caused two to three foot tides, which had little impact on the area. On the evening of the 5th a tornado briefly touched down in Brazoria county causing damage to one home in the Manvel area. Over the next five days Allison produced record rainfall that led to devastating flooding across Southeast Texas, killing 22 people and damaging over 48,000 homes, 70,000 automobiles and…

6. Oct 31, 2015Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The EF-2 tornado touched down just east of Clover Field Airport (Brazoria County) and continued on a narrow northeast track into Galveston County. This tornado expanded in size and weakened in intensity as it approached FM 518 over the last half of its track. There was extensive tree damage along the entire track. Homes sustained partial roof loss and tree damage consistent with an EF-1 rating from east of the airport through Sunset Drive in Friendswood (Galveston County). Low-end EF-2 damage occurred on Chester Drive in Friendswood where there was complete loss of a residential home's roof. Estimated peak wind was 115 mph.

7. Oct 31, 2015Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The EF-2 tornado touched down just east of Clover Field Airport (Brazoria County) and continued on a narrow northeast track into Galveston County. This tornado expanded in size and weakened in intensity as it approached FM 518 over the last half of its track. There was extensive tree damage along the entire track. Homes sustained partial roof loss and tree damage consistent with an EF-1 rating from east of the airport through Sunset Drive in Friendswood (Galveston County). Low-end EF-2 damage occurred on Chester Drive in Friendswood where there was complete loss of a residential home's roof. Estimated peak wind was 115 mph.

8. Jul 14, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Brazoria$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Claudette made landfall along the middle Texas coast at Port O'Connor around 10:30 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 15, 2003. Claudette was the first hurricane to strike the Port O'Connor and Matagorda Bay area since Hurricane Fern on September 10, 1971. Historical records dating back to 1851 indicate Claudette is the first July hurricane to make landfall in this area. Claudette developed from a tropical wave over the central Caribbean Sea on July 8th. The storm moved westward until July 10th, when it turned northwestward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. This motion brought the center over the northeastern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico on July 11th. Claudette briefly became a…

9. Jul 1, 2010Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall caused flooding of 40 to 45 homes and businesses in the town of West Columbia.

10. May 2, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe wind damage at Clover Field. Two airplane hangars, 8 trailers, 1 helicopter, and an unknown number of small airplanes overturned or destroyed. Large awning and billboard down at FM 518 and SH 35. Large trees and power lines down in the Pearland area.

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

109°FAug 27, 2023

All-time low

5°FJan 23, 1940

Warmest night

84°F3 times, most recently Aug 22, 2024

Coldest day

25°FFeb 1, 1951

Wettest day

12.07 inAug 26, 2017

Snowiest day

4.4 inFeb 12, 1960

Hottest year

2023mean 74.3°F

Coldest year

1940mean 66.8°F

Wettest year

197983.02 in

Driest year

201125.40 in

Snowiest season

4.4 in1959-60

Station Houston William P Hobby Airport (USW00012918), 43 ft elevation, 21.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1930 to October 25, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00012918.
• 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.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• 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.