Waller County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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 25, 2017Tropical Storm, Waller$350 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow moving Tropical Storm Harvey brought heavy rains and flooding to portions of Waller County. Moderate to major lowland flooding occurred along rivers and numerous creeks and tributaries. This includes the Brazos at San Felipe, and the San Bernard at East Bernard.

2. Sep 12, 2008Tropical Storm, Waller$11.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ike produced tropical storm force winds over the county. Moderate damage occurred in the northeast part of county with minimal damage elsewhere.

3. Apr 18, 2016Flash Flood$6.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding closed Highway 290 at the Harris and Waller County line. FM 362, FM 359 and FM 527 were all flooded.

4. May 16, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were downed by strong winds in the Prairie View area as the derecho moved through. Damage totals include other wind damage across the county.

5. Aug 1, 1998Drought, Waller$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Drought conditions continue from July. After months of extremely dry and hot weather across SE Texas, relief came late in the month with welcomed rainfall and slightly cooler temperatures. Over 20 people across the region lost their lives due to the extreme heat and property and crop damage averaged $8.3 million per county since May. Locations across the region were finally catching up with rainfall toward the end of the month as the drought was coming to an end. NOTE: CROP AND PROPERTY DAMAGE LISTED HERE ARE FOR THE PERIOD MAY-AUGUST 1998.

6. Aug 26, 2017Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down near Trailer World RV and Boat Storage facility then crossed Interstate 10. It did minor damage to Bucees car wash area then ripped large air conditioning units off top of Pepperl-Fuchs building. Finally in damaged awnings near Builders First building before lifting. Tornado crossed from Fort Bend into Waller County. This entry documents Waller County segment.

7. Feb 15, 2021Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Waller$328,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Bitter cold air and wind overspread SE Texas behind and Arctic front on Valentines Day with wind chill indices below zero for much the period from Sunday night to Tuesday morning. Increased power demand, wind and ice led to widespread power outages. Bursting pipes caused many to be without water as well.

8. Jul 12, 2012Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several parts of FM 362 impassable due to high water.

9. Aug 26, 2017Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado appeared to touch down at an RV and boat storage facility then cross Interstate 10. It then damaged Pepperl Fuchs facility on north side of Interstate. Tornado crossed from Fort Bend into Waller County.

10. May 16, 2024Tornado$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A large metal barn was destroyed. Trailers were rolled. Metal debris was strewn 1000 yards to the southeast. Trees were felled in multiple directions ranging from south to northwest.

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°F4 times, most recently Aug 27, 2023

All-time low

7°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

84°FSep 1, 2020

Coldest day

25°FFeb 15, 2021

Wettest day

16.07 inAug 27, 2017

Snowiest day

2.0 inJan 11, 1973

Hottest year

2024mean 73.1°F

Coldest year

1976mean 65.8°F

Wettest year

201779.69 in

Driest year

198822.93 in

Snowiest season

4.8 in1972-73

Station Houston Intercontinental Airport (USW00012960), 90 ft elevation, 35.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1969 to October 25, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00012960.
• 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.