Sabine County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Feb 10, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were uprooted across the area including several that fell across homes and automobiles. Nearly all secondary and Farm to Market roads were closed. Over 300 million board feet of timber was destroyed accounting for 6 million dollars in private timber loss while 10 million dollars damage occurred to homes and property.

2. Feb 16, 2021Winter Storm, Sabine$3.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the heels of the first winter storm and historically cold temperatures observed earlier in the week across all of the Southern Plains and much of the Lower Mississippi Valley, a second significant winter storm developed across much of these areas from February 16th-18th, with areas of snow, sleet, and freezing rain (some heavy) falling across much of East Texas. Strong forcing and moisture associated with the next upper level trough to move atop the extensive arctic air mass in place resulted in widespread snow and sleet totals of one to three inches, with isolated higher amounts up to five to seven inches over Eastern Cass County. Strong overrunning of warmer air atop the…

3. Mar 30, 2008Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway 87 was flooded north of Hemphill, Texas. Many roads across the northern part of the county were flooded. Many roads and bridges also washed out. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded throughout the county as well.

4. Feb 21, 2013Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The National Weather Service conducted a storm survey across Sabine County Texas and determined that an EF1 tornado touched down north of Pineland, Texas. The tornado first touched down along Charlie Forse Road...snapping large branches along the road. The tornado then crossed FM. 1 at Strickland Crossing West...snapping and uprooting numerous trees and rolling a mobile home on its side. Other trees fell onto several homes as the tornado continued east along Strickland Crossing West...where a 74 year old female was killed as a result of severe head injuries when a tree fell onto her while she was sleeping in her mobile home. The tornado continued northeast crossing Plainview…

5. Sep 13, 2008Hurricane (Typhoon), Sabine$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane force winds resulted in widespread trees and power lines downed throughout the county. Power outages were widespread as well with numerous residents without power during the height of the storm and well after the storm.

6. May 11, 2012High Wind, Sabine$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds in association with a wake low caused sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts estimated to be as high as 60 mph across portions of lower Toledo Bend Reservoir. These winds caused extensive damage to the Holly Park Resort approximately 5 miles north of Milam Texas. Several boats were severely damaged while in their boat stalls. Winds also removed sheet metal from the boat stalls. Several trees were downed onshore which also damaged some boats in the vicinity of the park.

7. Jul 8, 2024Tornado$85,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum winds near 110 mph touched down along the western sections of Toledo Bend Reservoir near Holly Park Marina off of Carters Ferry Road. The tornado initially touched down as a waterspout on Toledo Bend, before moving ashore just south of Holly Park Marina, where it tossed and overturned a couple of RV's at an RV park. The tornado also threw a few boats, destroyed a boat dock, and a small fish cleaning station while also snapping a number of large hardwood trees. The tornado then moved back out over the open water before coming back ashore south of Nine Mile Road. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along East Hamilton Road as well as…

8. Jan 29, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed including one tree on top of a house. A 28 foot traver trailer was also overturned.

9. Dec 20, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two homes were damaged by fallen trees. Several power lines were downed as well.

10. Feb 16, 2008Tornado$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down in an open field near the Yellowpine Community. It travelled northeast destroying a large hay barn. Several trees and power lines were also snapped off. Tin roofing material was noted in the trees roughly 100 feet north of the barn across the road. Debris also damaged a trailer home on the east side of SR. 87 and the skirting was blown off.

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 5, 2000

All-time low

7°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

81°F4 times, most recently Sep 1, 2020

Coldest day

24°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Wettest day

14.00 inSep 24, 2005

Snowiest day

2.0 inJan 24, 2014

Hottest year

2023mean 70.6°F

Coldest year

1993mean 63.2°F

Wettest year

197386.70 in

Driest year

202333.36 in

Station Sam Rayburn Dam (USC00417936), 189 ft elevation, 24.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1968 to October 12, 2026; 85.3% 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 USC00417936.
• 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.