Caldwell County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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. Oct 17, 1998Flood, Caldwell$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the San Marcos RiverIn Hays County, the flooding along the San Marcos River was most devastating to the eastern part of San Marcos, with many permanent homes flooded and several mobile homes washed from their sites, Homes and apartments were flooded along the San Marcos River on Riverside and Riviera Drives, along Purgatory Creek, and along Uhland and Post Roads.Downstream in and near Martindale in Caldwell County, the San Marcos River flooded several subdivisions. At Luling, the river gauge appears to have hung at 38.7 feet and rising, where flood stage is 20 feet. In Luling, the golf course was completely inundated and in the nearby south section of Luling had…

2. Oct 17, 1998Flood, Caldwell$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Plum Creek at Lockhart crested at 22.2 feet, with flood stage at 15 feet. The Creek was reported to be near a mile wide, flooding Highway 183 near Lockhart.

3. Oct 17, 1998Flash Flood$20.0 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. Jun 2, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$13.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the downburst crossed the Hays County line into Caldwell County, it struck the San Marcos Airport located in extreme eastern Caldwell County. The severe winds caused nearly $7 million in damages to hangars and to between 25 and 30 general aviation aircraft. As it exited the airport, the downburst moved across the Gary Job Corps Center, damaging buildings and knocking over trees. An additional $5 million damage was estimated at the campus. The downburst moved past the campus, across open country and through the town of Martindale. Amateur Radio operators reported trees blown down and damage to numerous roofs, vehicles and fences from west of Martindale and throughout the town.…

5. Aug 26, 2017Flood$12.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Harvey caused major flooding around the county. At one time, 140 roads were closed the most ever recorded. The emergency manager estimated that 75% of the county's roads were damaged by flooding. The cost of the damage to roads and dams was estimated at $10 million. There were 18 homes destroyed and another 198 damaged by flood water with a total cost of $2.85 million.

6. Oct 30, 2015Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing FM 1854 at Hwy 21. There were also reports of vehicles stranded in high water at other points along Hwys 21 and 130. In total there were 130 homes affected due to flooding on the 30th in Caldwell County, 31 homes were destroyed, most were mobile homes along the San Marcos River between San Marcos and Martindale. The county totaled nearly 1 million dollars in infrastructure losses and debris cost. This total does not include insured/uninsured losses to homes.

7. Jun 3, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds knocked over power lines between Maxwell and Lockhart, and blew down trees at the Lockhart ISD Freshman Campus as well as in the town of Maxwell. The severe winds also rolled over a mobile home over at Lockhart. Hundreds of customers were reported to be without power for several hours. City administrators estimated it would take more than a month to repair damages.

8. Sep 4, 2011Wildfire, Caldwell$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Delhi 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 burned 1000 acres and destroyed six homes.

9. Oct 13, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Caldwell County Emergency Manager reported that severe thunderstorm winds estimated near 80 knots blew over large trees and knocked down power lines just south of Lockhart. The winds also destroyed a metal barn in the area.

10. Apr 25, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The bow-shaped line along the Hays-Guadalupe-Wilson Counties accelerated as it crossed into Caldwell and Gonzales Counties after 1 am CST. The storms were now producing widespread wind gusts of 60 to 70 knots, with spotty higher gusts approaching 90 knots. Again, most of the damage was in the form of trees blown down, with some damages to roofs of homes. The worst damage was noted in central Lockhart where a old house was blown down. Wind gust estimates at this location were near 95 knots.

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, 22.0 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.