Newton County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Aug 26, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Northern Newton$105 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was a mandatory evacuation for the county. Many trees and power line were blown down across the county. Homes and businesses were damaged from trees falling on them or wind. Over 60 percent of the county was without power immediately after the storm. Wind gusts ranged from 70 to 110 mph across the county.

2. Aug 26, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Southern Newton$105 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was a mandatory evacuation for the county. Many trees and power line were blown down across the county. Homes and businesses were damaged from trees falling on them or wind. Over 60 percent of the county was without power immediately after the storm. Wind gusts ranged from 70 to 110 mph across the county.

3. Mar 10, 2016Flood$86.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Prolonged heavy rain on the 9th and 10th pushed Toledo Bend Reservoir to record levels while flooded creeks and streams flowed into the Sabine River. This pushed the river level at Burkeville to a record of 53.82 feet which was 5.77 feet higher than the previous record set in 1999. At Bon Weir the new record set on the 13th was 0.71 feet higher than the previous record set in 1913. At Deweyville the new record set on the 15th was 1 foot higher than the previous record set in 1884. Along the river numerous structures were flooded or in some cases, washed away. The hardest hit town was Deweyville where nearly every structure was flooded to some degree including the schools.…

4. Sep 23, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Newton$80.0 million
   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…

5. Aug 29, 2017Flash Flood$45.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Harvey produced 20 to 40 inches of rain across a large portion of the Newton County. This resulted in near 2,000 homes being flooded. Hardest hit areas were Trout Creek, Call, and along Big Cow Creek and the Sabine River. The Sabine River reached its 3rd, 4th, and 5th highest crests at Deweyville, Bon Weir, and Burkville respectively.

6. Sep 12, 2008Tropical Storm, Newton$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ike cuased tropical storm force wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph. This resulted in widespread trees and power lines downed, some landing on homes and businesses.

7. Mar 9, 2016Flash Flood$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multi day rainfall amounts of 5 to 20 inches fell across Newton County with the most falling late on the 9th and early on the 10th. Most roads experienced flooding with many closed in the northern sections of the county, and several roadways were washed out. Several homes were also reported flooded during the event with at least one high water rescue of an elderly lady. Road damage alone was estimated at $1.5 million.

8. Nov 1, 2009Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Between November 3 and November 17, significant river flooding affected dozens of residences along the Sabine River in eastern Newton County. Although only a few homes were reportedly flooded, many residences were completely surrounded by flood waters and cut off from outside areas. Some of the worst flooding occurred in and near Deweyville in southeastern Newton County, especially the River Oaks and Indian Lakes subdivisions. A temporary earthen levee was constructed on the eastern side of Deweyville to protect the town from flooding. All schools in Deweyville were closed for two weeks due to the flooding. Numerous roads throughout eastern Newton County were underwater for…

9. Oct 9, 2020Tropical Storm, Northern Newton$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force wind gusts downed trees and power lines across the county. Rainfall totals were 2 to 5 inches.

10. Oct 9, 2020Tropical Storm, Southern Newton$2.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Tropical storm force wind gusts downed trees and power lines across the county. Rainfall totals were 2 to 5 inches.

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

109°FSep 1, 2000

All-time low

6°FDec 24, 1989

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jul 23, 2026

Coldest day

23°F3 times, most recently Jan 9, 2010

Wettest day

12.31 inApr 10, 2024

Snowiest day

5.3 inFeb 9, 1982

Hottest year

1998mean 70.7°F

Coldest year

1983mean 64.6°F

Wettest year

201892.79 in

Driest year

200531.68 in

Station Town Bluff Dam (USC00419101), 219 ft elevation, 26.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1970 to October 23, 2026; 94.1% 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 USC00419101.
• 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.