Jefferson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Jefferson County: 3.
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.

High tide flooding

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, 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. Aug 27, 2017Flash Flood$3.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread and long duration rainfall produced a storm total rainfall over 40 inches across a large portion of the county. The highest rainfall totals in Jefferson County were 60.58 inches 1.5 mile southwest of Nederland and 60.54 inches 1.3 mile north of Groves. This resulted in over 64,000 homes being flooded. The hardest hit areas were Port Arthur, Groves, Bevil Oaks, Hamphire, Fannet, China, and northeast Beaumont. Several refineries in the county also received floodwaters and were offline for an extended period. City and county infrastructure was also damaged with water pumps and treatment plants being inundated. Record crests were observed along Pine Island and the lower…

2. Sep 23, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Jefferson$1.3 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although Hurricane Rita made landfall just east of the Texas - Louisiana border, she moved northwest and moved across southeast Texas in the morning hours of September 24th as a dangerous category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph. Along the coast of Jefferson County, storm surges near 10 feet occurred near Sabine Pass, where over 90 percent of the homes were severely damaged or destroyed. The storm surge backed up the Sabine River, and flooded a small section of downtown Orange with around 4 to 5 feet of storm surge. Winds blew over 100 mph across the entire region, snapping and uprooting trees, and damaged over 125,000 homes and businesses. Some homes in rural Jasper…

3. Sep 12, 2008Storm Surge/Tide, Jefferson$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 14-15 storm surge at Sabine Pass resulted in the highest water level ever recorded at that location. Any home that was not elevated was destroyed. The storm surge did not top the seawall in Port Arthur, but wave action on top of the surge did. At least 100 homes were flooded in Port Arthur. The surge also backed up Hillebrandt and Taylor Bayou west of Port Arthur, causing widespread flooding in the Hillebrandt, Hamshire, and Fannett communities. The surge also backed up the Neches River in Beaumont, where some homes along the river flooded. In total, at least 4000 homes were flooded county-wide.

4. Sep 18, 2019Flash Flood$300 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Imelda drifted slowly across the interior sections of Southeast Texas during the 18th. A very heavy band of rain dumped over 30 inches of rain in a 12 hour period which created extensive flooding across Jefferson County. The maximum storm total was 44.29 inches near Fannet. The first report of flooding was from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department with major street flooding in the city of Beaumont and water was entering several homes. Due to the intense rate at which the rain fell flooding depth was worse than Harvey at some locations. Over 5100 homes were flooded. Numerous high water rescues were conducted through out the county. Three people drowned in…

5. Aug 26, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Jefferson$220 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Mandatory evacuation. Storm surge flooded Sabine Pass and backed up area waterways including the Neches River, Hillebrandt Bayou, and Taylor Bayou. Numerous trees and power lines blown down across Port Arthur, Port Neches, Beaumont, Nederland, and Groves. Homes and businesses were damaged by the fallen trees, lines, and poles. Over 60 percent of the county was without power during the peak of the storm. Five people died (indirect deaths) from carbon monoxide poisoning including three in Port Arthur from a generator running in an enclosed area. Another 18 persons were injured and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning (indirect injuries). Wind gusts ranged from 55 to 90 mph across…

6. Sep 12, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), Jefferson$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ike caused category 1 wind damage across Jefferson County. Many trees and power lines were downed, some landing on homes and businesses.

7. Oct 9, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Jefferson$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As Hurricane Delta moved into Cameron Parish to the west of Sabine Pass winds reached hurricane force along the coast. At Sabine Pass winds became sustained at 70 knots with a gust to 87 knots. Winds were slightly lower inland with a sustained wind of 57 knots and a gust of 78 knots recorded at the Jack Brooks Airport. Rainfall totals ranged from 5 to 6.5 inches across the county. The tide reached 3.12 feet MHHW at Sabine Pass.

8. Sep 13, 2007Hurricane (Typhoon), Jefferson$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Humberto made landfall around 1 am in rural southwestern Jefferson County, in McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge. The minimum pressure was estimated to be around 985 mb. While maximum winds were estimated to be 80 knots or 90 mph, hurricane-force winds were confined to a 15 mile wide area. Cities that saw the highest winds of 60 to 80 mph include Port Arthur, Sabine Pass, and Nederland. Damage was primarily trees blown down, roof damage, and power lines downed. At least 12 injuries were reported, due to snake bites, cuts and bruises, and a few broken bones. Power outages occurred to over 100,000 customers. Most urban locations had power back up within a few days, but some…

9. Aug 18, 2009Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 Tornado touched down just west of the Kohls Department Store in the Parkdale Mall area. The tornado struck the Kohls, tearing off part of its roof and collapsing the front entrance. Damage to the store forced it to close for several weeks. The tornado continued to the northeast and crossed a Walmart parking lot, flipping over four vehicles and damaging dozens of others. Further to the northeast, the tornado struck Parkdale Mall, damaging the roofs of several department stores. The tornado lifted in the east parking lot of Parkdale Mall before reaching Highway 69. |Numerous photographs and videos of the tornado were taken.

10. Jun 7, 2001Flash Flood$10.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Around ten inches of rain fell in less than six hours, resulting in widespread flooding across northern Jefferson County, including the metropolitan area of Beaumont. Many people awoke to see flood waters in their homes, vehicles, and businesses. Nearly 900 homes were damaged, but only 10 were classified as destroyed. Roads and bridges also received some damage from the flood waters.

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

111°FAug 27, 2023

All-time low

11°FJan 22, 2025

Warmest night

84°FJun 23, 2019

Coldest day

26°FFeb 1, 1951

Wettest day

26.03 inAug 29, 2017

Snowiest day

4.5 inJan 21, 2025

Hottest year

2023mean 72.7°F

Coldest year

1976mean 66.5°F

Wettest year

2017104.30 in

Driest year

201130.47 in

Station Port Arthur Se Tx Regional Airport (USW00012917), 13 ft elevation, 4.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1947 to October 25, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00012917.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.