Rockwall County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 11, 2016Hail$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A trained spotter reported grapefruit sized hail at Eastshore Road near Rockwall, TX.

2. Apr 3, 2012Hail$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball to baseball sized hail was reported in Heath.

3. Apr 3, 2012Tornado$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-3 tornado began in eastern Rockwall County and traveled northeast into Hunt County before lifting. The tornado touched down to the southwest of the intersection of FM 548 and Bent Rd in Rockwall County. The tornado quickly moved into a subdivision and severely damaged or destroyed several homes. The worst of the damage in this subdivision occurred along Laci Ln. Trees and shrubs northeast of these houses by a half mile or so were completely debarked and had no vegetation remaining. The tornado continued northeast and produced damage to homes along Country Manor Rd. There was one house that had a large portion of its roof/top story completely removed. A couple of small barns…

4. Apr 11, 2016Hail$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A social media report indicated 3-inch diameter hail in Rockwall, TX.

5. Oct 20, 2019Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornadic wind damage was observed in Rockwall, generally parallel with and north of US 66, from the eastern shore of Lake Ray Hubbard into northeastern Rockwall. The most intense damage was observed close to the lake, along Sunset Hill Drive where several homes sustained significant roof damage. As the path continued farther east across SH 205, damage consisted of downed trees and fences and missing shingles on roofs. Based on eyewitness accounts and video footage, a tornado, with maximum rated wind speeds of 90 mph, or EF-1 intensity was confirmed. The tornado is believed to have developed over Lake Ray Hubbard with a path length of almost 2 miles.

6. Apr 11, 2016Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Amateur radio reported two-inch diameter hail in Royce City, TX.

7. Apr 3, 2012Hail$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail up to the size of tea cups fell in eastern Rockwall County. This large hail was falling from the tornadic supercell that also produced the EF-2 tornado south of Royse City.

8. Mar 17, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Video shows docks and boats detached from the Sapphire Bay marina and floating.

9. Jun 11, 2023Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A social media report indicated hail up to baseball size in Royse City.

10. Dec 26, 2015Tornado$800,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Garland / Rowlett tornado continued across a small tract of land in western Rockwall County. The tornado continued doing significant damage in the City of Rowlett, before moving onto Lake Ray Hubbard and dissipating over the lake.

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°F3 times, most recently Jul 22, 2018

All-time low

0°FJan 23, 1940

Warmest night

89°FJul 22, 2026

Coldest day

13°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

6.90 inMar 19, 2006

Snowiest day

7.8 inFeb 11, 2010

Hottest year

2017mean 70.1°F

Coldest year

1940mean 63.7°F

Wettest year

201568.02 in

Driest year

196317.52 in

Snowiest season

14.1 in1977-78

Station Dallas FAA Airport (USW00013960), 484 ft elevation, 24.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 26, 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 USW00013960.
• 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.