Live Oak County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Live Oak 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. Apr 2, 2009Wildfire, Live Oak$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong pacific front produced 40-50 mph winds gusts, relative humidity values of 5-10 percent, and an extremely critical fire danger threat across South Texas on April 2nd. Sparked power lines from the gusty winds started a wildfire in and near the community of Lagarto. The wildfire burned 175 acres, destroying 32 mobile homes, one single-family home, and 10 vehicles in the town of Lagarto. Two individuals received minor injuries. Several local, state and federal resources responded.

2. Feb 14, 2021Cold/Wind Chill, Live Oak$640,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing temperatures affected the area from the 13th until 18th. Long duration cold spell led to power outages and issues with water pressure. Damages to homes occurred when frozen pipes burst.

3. Mar 20, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey concluded a downburst occurred in George West with winds estimated between 60 and 80 mph. The most significant damage occurred along and east of Highway 281 between Crockett and Burleson Streets. A metal roof was blown off of two motels. Large bay doors were blown out of a maintenance facility. Several power poles were blown down along with numerous large tree limbs, fence posts and signs. The damage path was 2 and half miles wide and 1 and half miles in length.

4. Dec 25, 2012Wildfire, Live Oak$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wildfire occurred near County Road 357 and the Hideaway hills subdivision near Lake Corpus Christi. The wildfire burned 200 acres and destroyed 2 homes and 1 vehicle. The wildfire forced the evacuation of 90 residents.

5. Feb 23, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around a dozen power poles and several highway signs were blown down along Interstate 37 near Oakville. A few roofs were peeled back on buildings in Oakville. Several trees and sheds were blown down also.

6. Sep 7, 2010Tropical Storm, Live Oak$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sporadic damage to trees, power lines, and road signs across the county. One residence was damaged by a fallen tree in Swinney Switch. Power outages affected 1754 customers. Wind gusts were estimated to be near 70 mph near Lagarto and Lake Corpus Christi.

7. May 25, 2013Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding forced evacuations of homes near Tipps Park just west of Three Rivers near Texas Highway 72.

8. Jan 1, 2018Sleet, Live Oak$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A seven vehicle accident occurred near an icy overpass on Interstate 37 at Highway 59 in Live Oak County. A 21 year old man was killed in the accident.

9. Mar 26, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell moved southeast across Live Oak County into Bee County. This storm produced a 5 to 10 mile swath of damage mainly due to high winds. A couple of semi-trucks were turned over along Interstate 37. Several power poles were snapped or leaned over along with highway signs being blown over and business signs blown out. Medium to large tree branches were snapped in some areas along the path. Damage to cables on cell phone towers was also observed. The winds were estimated to be 60 to 70 mph with gusts as high as 80 mph.

10. May 10, 2012Tornado$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Storm chasers observed a brief tornado just south of Whitsett. The tornado damaged large trees and a mobile home and uprooted a hay shed. This damage was observed just east of Highway 281 about a half of a mile southeast of Whitsett.

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 6, 2000

All-time low

11°FDec 26, 1983

Warmest night

82°F4 times, most recently Jun 5, 2024

Coldest day

27°FFeb 16, 2021

Wettest day

7.94 inJul 17, 1990

Snowiest day

6.0 inDec 25, 2004

Hottest year

2025mean 75.2°F

Coldest year

2007mean 69.6°F

Wettest year

200745.60 in

Driest year

20116.23 in

Snowiest season

6.0 in2004-05

Station Choke Canyon Dam (USC00411720), 230 ft elevation, 12.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1983 to October 23, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00411720.
• 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.