Refugio County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 25, 2017Hurricane (Typhoon), Refugio$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread moderate structural damage with pockets of major structural damage occurred in Refugio. Most homes and businesses had roof damage, broken windows, and damaged garage doors. Two motels received significant damage to their roofs. Gas station canopies and many signs were destroyed. A few brick structures experienced moderate damage. Numerous trees and power poles were blown down. Roof damage occurred to several churches and every school building in the district except for the athletic facility. The school gymnasiums and auditorium lost portion of their roofs. Several trailer homes and storage buildings were destroyed. There was widespread tree damage with a few very large…

2. Apr 22, 2015Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind blown golf ball sized hail caused damage to many windows in businesses and homes in Austwell.

3. Apr 22, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A metal garage was blown over. Large trees were blown down along with numerous power lines through much of the community of Austwell.

4. Apr 22, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey conducted along with the Emergency Manager and County Sheriff concluded straight line winds caused damage in the tiny fishing village of Hopper's Landing. A pavilion was blown into the bay. Very large trees were blown down.

5. Mar 28, 2018Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down near the Woodsboro Farm Co-op damaging the ladder caging on one bin. The tornado moved east-southeast taking down power lines and damaging the roofs of several homes. One roof was completely removed from a mobile home. Minor tree damage was noted along the path length. Damage occurred to another mobile home near the high school before the tornado lifted.

6. Feb 14, 2021Cold/Wind Chill, Inland Refugio County$90,000
   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.

7. Jun 25, 2014Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey and local video concluded an EF0 tornado, with winds estimated at 65 MPH briefly touched down in north Refugio. It touched down near the intersection of west Heard Street and north Alamo Street. The tornado removed the roof and collapsed the north facing exterior wall of one mobile home. Minor shingle damage was observed on a couple of homes along east Houston Street. Several large trees were toppled.

8. Jun 30, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds caused the roof to lift off a trailer house, downed numerous trees, damaged many fences, and downed power lines in Refugio.

9. Apr 16, 2015Hail$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Quarter to golf ball sized hail occurred across the northwest and northern portions of the city of Refugio.

10. Apr 22, 2015Hail$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Wind blown tennis ball sized hail destroyed windows and siding in Hopper's Landing.

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°FSep 6, 2000

All-time low

16°FJan 12, 1975

Warmest night

85°FSep 1, 2020

Coldest day

30°FDec 22, 1990

Wettest day

14.40 inSep 13, 1974

Snowiest day

1.0 inDec 8, 2017

Hottest year

2012mean 74.6°F

Coldest year

1997mean 69.5°F

Wettest year

200757.70 in

Driest year

202313.35 in

Station Welder Wildlife Foundation (USC00419559), 50 ft elevation, 16.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1974 to October 22, 2026; 94.3% 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 USC00419559.
• 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.