DeWitt County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 18, 1998Flood, De Witt$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the Guadalupe RiverThe Guadalupe River at New Braunfels crested at 35.1 feet, with flood stage at 7 feet. This was over three feet higher than the disastrous flood of May 12, 1972. Homes were destroyed, moved downstream, or severely damaged from just below Sattler, near the Bear Creek confluence, across the remainder of the county. Homes along the entire reach were flooded well away from the channel, in areas that never flooded before. Along River Road, numerous autos, RVs, and homes were strewn along the flood plain. Recreational camps and outfitters headquarters buildings were destroyed. Homes near Common Street in New Braunfels had slabs as low as 12.5 feet.…

2. Oct 18, 1998Flash Flood$5.0 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,…

3. Aug 28, 2017Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The maximum rainfall recorded in DeWitt County was 22.99 inches near Yoakum with multiple reports of 10-15 inches. This caused widespread flash flooding as well as river flooding on the Guadalupe River. As many as 100 houses were affected by high water in and around Cuero. The Guadalupe River at Cuero crested at 44.36 feet, it's second highest crest on record. Damages due to flooding and river flooding is estimated from Emergency Management to be near 3 million dollars.

4. Oct 17, 1998Flood, De Witt$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sandies Creek in Dewitt County crested at 28.6 feet, with flood stage at 21 feet. Flow just barely topped the two- foot high railing at the bridge near Westhoff.

5. Apr 10, 1997Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding developed over the county just before midnight as the result of general 5 inch rainfall, with isolated totals up to 10 between Cuero and Hocheim. The flooding caused major damage to roads and crops across the entire county.

6. Jul 15, 2003Tropical Storm, De Witt$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Claudette strengthened just prior to making landfall near Port O'Connor. Its outer rain bands moved into South Central Texas through the afternoon Tuesday, July 15. DeWitt County was the first county in South Central Texas to feel the effects of Claudette, now Tropical Storm Claudette. Winds struck just after noon, blowing over trees and power poles, and causing minor damage to around 50 homes. Winds were unofficially estimated at between 70 and 80 mph with gusts to near 100 mph. Power

7. Aug 31, 2001Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the showers and thunderstorms continued moving southeastward, they entered Lavaca and DeWitt Counties just after midnight. Falling over soils that remained saturated from the extreme rainfall of the past two days, rain accumulations averaged almost three inches, with amounts over 6 inches in southern Gonzales County, across all but the eastern three-quarters of DeWitt County and the western three-quarters of Lavaca County. Highest amounts were 10 inch totals between Cuero and Hocheim and Smiley, as well as along the DeWitt-Victoria County line. Water began flooding homes around Yorktown in the early morning hours, and twenty people had to be rescued from their homes. Police and…

8. May 17, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Brief but widespread downbursts of severe winds blew down trees and knocked over power lines across all of the above listed counties. In DeWitt County, severe winds took roofs off homes in the Smiley area as well as between Cuero and Thomaston. Severe winds destroyed a mobile home near Pearsall, rolling it over 100 feet. In the Dilley area, the roof of a school building was damaged.

9. Feb 10, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
10. Mar 12, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe thunderstorm winds blew over trees and peeled back roofs of homes and businesses.

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

114°FAug 29, 2011

All-time low

7°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

87°FAug 5, 1940

Coldest day

25°F2 times, most recently Jan 13, 1963

Wettest day

12.40 inJun 30, 1940

Snowiest day

6.5 inFeb 13, 1960

Hottest year

2024mean 74.0°F

Coldest year

1903mean 67.6°F

Wettest year

191459.13 in

Driest year

191712.83 in

Snowiest season

6.5 in1959-60

Station Cuero (USC00412173), 214 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1901 to September 14, 2026; 93.4% 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 USC00412173.
• 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.