Frio County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Frio County: 5.
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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 8, 2002Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   General 2 to 3 inch rainfall was indicated across the county with amounts averaging 5 inches along FM140 from Frio Town through Pearsall to the Atascosa County line. A large part of the highway from Pearsall to the Atascosa County line received up to 8 inches of rain, with isolated totals to12 inches. High water trapped people in their homes. Just under two dozen homes as well as several businesses in Pearsall received flood damage. Several cars were also flooded out. One woman was rescued from her flooded home by helicopter. Most schools in the Pearsall area were closed on Monday due roads that were blocked. Widespread damage was reported to FM140 and bridges along the highway as…

2. Oct 29, 1996Flood, Frio$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the Frio River due to the heavy rainfall from the previous 24 hours developed in Uvalde County around 1000CST on the morning of the 28th and moved downstream, entering Frio County around 2000CST on the evening of the 29th. The crest of the flooding occurred near Derby on the night of the 30th, reaching a stage of nearly 9 feet. Flood stage at Derby is 6 feet.

3. May 18, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   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.

4. May 15, 2023Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS Storm Survey found that an EF-0 tornado initially touched down on the west side of Dilley where damage to hardwood trees was noted. The tornado then moved in a northeasterly direction, causing damage to roofs of buildings on either side of I-35. The |tornado lifted on the east side of the interstate and covered approximately 0.7 miles over a span of 2 minutes. Maximum winds were estimated at 75 mph.

5. Jul 15, 2003Tropical Storm, Frio$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds from former Hurricane Claudette, now Tropical Storm Claudette, were unofficially estimated at 50 to 60 mph. The winds blew down trees and caused minor roof damage to about a dozen homes in the southern part of the county.

6. Feb 10, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds caused damage between Moore and Big Foot, destroying a grainery at Moore and a shed at Big Foot.

7. Nov 23, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds broke power poles in half.

8. May 12, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were blown down by severe winds at the Fish Hatchery at Uvalde. In the Quemado area, severe winds uprooted trees and damaged trailers. Heavy rain fell shortly afterward in the Eagle Pass area, with rainfall totals of up to 4 inches. This caused low water crossing to flood very quickly. The Eagle Pass Police Department reported 3 motorists were stranded in their vehicles and had to be rescued. In Frio County, the Sheriff's Department reported trees and power lines blown down by severe winds in the Pearsall area.

9. Aug 20, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tractor trailer rig was blown over by severe winds.

10. Oct 24, 2002Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    By sunrise, showers and thunderstorms covered most of Frio County, with rain accumulations of 2 inches over the northeast sections. The showers continued until nearly noon, with rain totals countywide of 1 to 2 inches and accumulations of up to 5 inches in the northeast part of the County. Flash flooding began shortly after sunrise and ended shortly after noon. Damages were mainly to roads and bridges.

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

116°F2 times, most recently Jun 21, 2023

All-time low

15°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

87°FSep 6, 2024

Coldest day

23°FFeb 15, 2021

Wettest day

7.34 inOct 13, 2013

Snowiest day

2.9 inFeb 23, 1966

Hottest year

2024mean 77.1°F

Coldest year

1976mean 69.2°F

Wettest year

197138.42 in

Driest year

20117.82 in

Snowiest season

2.9 in1965-66

Station Cotulla La Salle County Airport (USW00012947), 472 ft elevation, 27.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 26, 2026; 85.6% 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 USW00012947.
• 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.