Willacy County, Texas
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1957 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
22
Tornado reports
44
Hail reports
41
Floods since 1996
427
All events
3
Deaths
$232.5M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Willacy County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 22 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
The Cameron County Office of Emergency Management reported a trailer home struck by lightning with the entire building consumed by the flames after the pre-dawn strike. Two residents inside were killed by the ensuing fire.
Hurricane Hanna moved across the western Gulf of Mexico and made landfall on the mid-Kenedy County coastline at around 5 PM Central Time Saturday, July 25th, carrying sustained 90 mph winds with gusts over 100 mph in a small portion of the inner eye wall. While there aren't many …
Reports of high flowing water blocking passage along SR-186 just west of Port Mansfield were received during the evening of July 25th, when feeder bands into the eastern semicircle of then-Tropical Storm Hanna dropped an additional 4 to 8 inches of rainfall into central and easte…
Measured and estimated rainfall between 8 and 12 or more inches that fell predominantly from early evening June 24th through a bit after midnight on June 25th produced widespread flash flooding across western Willacy County. Hardest hit locations were Sebastian, Lyford, Raymondvi…
A strong cloud to ground lightning bolt struck and set ablaze a wind turbine and tower at the Willacy County Los Vientos wind farm during the initial severe thunderstorm that impacted the county during the early evening of June 24, 2019. Another strike destroyed a small grain sil…
The same clusters of thunderstorms that dropped between 12 and an estimated 18 inches in the Weslaco/Mercedes area early on June 20th dropped an estimated 5 to 10 inches on central through northeastern Willacy County (primary population areas), including a number of farm fields (…
Hazardous, high water on roadways, in homes, and across cropland continued across nearly all of eastern Willacy County.
The heavy rainfall on October 24th led to much of eastern Willacy County being under several feet of water. Water rescues were underway prior to the heaviest rains and continued through the afternoon. Though homes are few and far between (mainly farm houses or workers homes), the…
Runoff from storms in Hidalgo County was moving so swiftly that it caused the collapse of a weir in Willacy County. Estimates for repair of the structure are around $2 million.
After ripping Harlingen's Valley International Airport with 72.5 mph wind gusts just prior to midnight CST (6 miles south of the Cameron/Willacy county line, the inner core of Hermine waned for a few moments before reintensifying in southern Willacy County, ultimately slamming th…
The approach of Hurricane Dolly to the barrier shoreline of South Padre Island early on the morning of July 23rd brought sustained tropical storm force winds inland to the east side of Willacy County away from the immediate coast, at approximately 10 AM CDT on the 23rd. Prior rai…
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
One of the hottest feels-like days in modern history occurred on June 18th across inland Willacy County, as searing heat combined with remnant high humidity from early week's rain to produce extreme heat of 116F or higher for 6 hours. Peak values exceeded 120 for a few hours in t…
Heat Heat
The combination of hot temperatures near of just above 100 degrees and high humidity, a remnant of rainfall associated with tropical moisture as Tropical Storm Arthur began to form, created heat index values estimated to be between 111 and 114, with a peak of 115, in inland Willa…
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) Drought persisted across the western two-thirds of inland Willacy County through May 25th. Two locally heavy rain events on the 20th and 21st would bring an end to D2, replaced by Moderate (D1) conditions to close out the month.
Drought Drought
Central and western Willacy County remained under Severe (D2) Drought conditions during the April 21-30 timeframe.
Drought Drought
All of Willacy County was in Severe (D2) Drought during the April 14-20 timeframe, thanks to recent beneficial rainfall.
Drought Drought
D3 (Extreme Drought) conditions were present across much of Willacy County from April 7-13 thanks to recent beneficial rains. Finally, D2 (Severe Drought) conditions were present over central Willacy County from April 7-13 thanks to recent beneficial rains.
Drought Drought
D4 (Exceptional Drought) conditions persisted from April 1 to April 6 across extreme western Willacy County. D3 (Extreme Drought) conditions persisted across eastern and western Willacy County. D2 (Severe Drought) conditions persisted across central Willacy County.
Drought Drought
The March 31, 2026 Drought Monitor brought a small sliver of Exceptional (D4, highest level) Drought into western Inland Willacy, with Extreme (D3) and Severe (D2) remaining in similar areas farther east compared with prior weeks. Unknown as of this writing were impacts on Willac…
Tornado EFU Tornado
KRGV Channel 5 news shared a video of a landspout tornado near East FM 1018, in the Lyford area. Location estimated from distance from where the video was taken.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) Drought covered all but a small portion of southeast inland Willacy County, and Extreme (D3) Drought arrived across the western quarter of the area on March 3rd. Extreme Drought would gradually move eastward, eventually covering the entire western half of the county b…
Drought Drought
Through March 2, western Inland Willacy County remained at Severe (D2) conditions, with D1 (Moderate) conditions elsewhere.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) Drought conditions edged into northwest Willacy County on February 17th, and would expand slightly to include all of far western Willacy on the 24th. A very tiny sliver of Extreme (D3) conditions nudged along the county line with Hidalgo and Kenedy County by the 24th.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Extreme Cold Warning Criteria (Wind chills at or below 20F) was reached at Harlingen/Valley International Airport for 6.25 hours from 3:00-10:00am CST Monday January 26th. By proxy with other locations in northeast Hidalgo County and southeast Kenedy County, it is assumed wind ch…
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
Observations from the Texas AgriScience Center (corner of southwest Willacy and Hidalgo County) and a mesonet site on the Yturria Ranch near the Willacy/Kenedy line indicated nearly 10 hours of freezing (32F or lower) temperatures in inland Willacy, with a hard freeze (27F or low…
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
The mesonet site at Texas Agriscience Center, along the southwest Willacy/northeast Hidalgo County line, recorded at or below 30F degrees (Cold Weather Advisory Criteria) for 10 hours from 1 am through 11am CST on Sunday January 25th. This value, combined with proxy observations …
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
The locus of observations on the Yturria ranch (northern Willacy, near the Kenedy line), northern Cameron (near the Willacy line), and the Texas AgriScience Center (northeast Hidalgo, near the southwest Willacy border) gave a proxy duration of freezing temperatures (32F degrees o…
Flood Flood
Torrential rains fell in just a few hours across Port Mansfield between 9 AM and 1230 PM CST (10 AM and 130 PM CDT), with the cooperative observer (Harbormaster) reporting 6.83 during this time. While the town's generally decent drainage prevented a significant flood, there was m…
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Torrential rainfall with estimated totals ranging from 6 to 12 inches affected southern/southwestern Willacy County during the mid to late evening of March 27, with several water rescues reported in Sebastian along the Cameron County line. Additional flooding with water depths on…
Flood Flood
The Texas Department of Transportation continued to report flooding along the frontage road near Sebastian well into March 28th, with additional flooding noted by emergency management/law enforcement along Farm-to-Market and County roads in the southern portion of the county. Flo…
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) Drought expanded into western Willacy County on March 18th, courtesy of very dry conditions (afternoon humidity averaging around 20 percent from the 10th-17th), persistent breezes, periodic hot temperatures, and increasing evaporation. The drought area would expand in…
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Edinburg AWOS recorded about 46.5 hours of wind chills at or below 30F degrees from 11:35pm on February 19th to 12:15pm on February 20th, from 11:15pm on February 20th to 11:15pm on February 21st, and from 1:15am to 10:35am on February 22. A minimum wind chill temperature between…
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Harlingen ASOS recorded 33 hours of wind chills at or below 30F degrees from 11:30pm on January 20 to 9:45am on January 22, 2025. This includes 7 hours of wind chills at or below 20F degrees from 3:52am to 11:05 am on January 21, and 9.5 hours of the same from 10:30pm on January …
Heat Heat
Harlingen/Valley International Airport recorded max heat indices between 111-116F for 3 hours, from 1:53-4:53 PM CDT on June 6, 2024. The Texas AgriScience Center Mesonet site (a few miles west of the Willacy/Hidalgo County line) recorded a little less than an hour of 111-113F he…
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Edinburg International Airport recorded max heat indices between 111-117F for 7 hours, from 10:55 AM-5:55 PM CDT on June 5, 2024. Heat indices reached Excessive Heat Warning criteria with values between 116-117F over 4 hours, from 12:55-5:15 PM CDT. Harlingen/Valley International…
Heat Heat
Edinburg International Airport (KMFE) recorded max heat indices between 111-112F for 3 hours, from 1:55-4:55 PM CDT on June 4, 2024. Kleberg County Airport (KIKG) in Kingsville recorded peak heat indices between 111-117F for 6 hours (from 12:55-6:55 PM). Excessive Heat Warning cr…
Heat Heat
Kleberg County Airport (KIKG) in Kingsville recorded peak heat indices between 111-113F for 2 hours (from 2:55-4:55 PM). Edinburg International Airport (KMFE) recorded max heat indices between 111-112F for 2 hours, from 1:55-3:55 PM CDT on June 3, 2024. Harlingen/Valley recorded …
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 110-120F for 5 hours, from 11:52 AM-4:52 PM CDT on May 28, 2024. Values reached excessive heat criteria (116F or higher) from approximately 1230 until 345 PM. By proxy, it can be inferred that souther…
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 113-120F for 4 hours, from 12:52-4:52 PM CDT on May 27, 2024. Excessive heat criteria with values between 116-120F for a couple of hours, from 1:30-3:30 PM CDT. By proxy, and using a reference of the …
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 113-119F for 6 hours, from 11:52 AM-5:52 PM CDT on May 26, 2024. Heat indices reached Excessive Heat Warning criteria with values between 116-119F for 4 hours, from 12:52-4:52 PM CDT. By proxy, Valley…
Heat Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 111-115F for from around 1230 until 330 PM CDT. By proxy, it is inferred that at least southern Willacy County experienced similar conditions to northern Cameron (near Harlingen).
Heat Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 112-115F for 3 hours, from 12:52-3:52 PM CDT on May 24, 2024. The Texas Mesonet station at Sarita recorded heat indices between 111 and 114 from 1230 until 530 PM CDT. By proxy between these locations…
Heat Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 111-114F for nearly four hours from 130 to 515 PM CDT on May 22, 2024. By proxy, and data from northern Kenedy (1 hour of 111 to 112 heat index during this window), it can be inferred that inland Will…
Heat Heat
By proxy, between locations in northern Kenedy and in northern Cameron County, Willacy County is assumed to have observed heat index values between 111 and 114F between 1 and 430 PM CDT.
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded heat indices between 117-125F for 4 hours, from 1:52-5:52 PM CDT (1252 to 452 CST). The value of 125F was a May record, and rivaled all-time hourly records. Between the hours of 11:52 AM to 6:52 PM CDT (7 hours), heat indices…
Heat Heat
Harlingen Valley International Airport (KHRL) recorded max heat indices between 111-118F for 3.5 hours, from 2:52-6:20 PM CDT on May 8, 2024. The Sarita Mesonet station in Kenedy County recorded peak heat index values between 111 and 115F between 2 and 430 PM CST. By proxy, Willa…
Hail Hail
There were several videos and pictures sent to the local news media of nickel size hail.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A Willacy County Emergency Manager reported a power pole and lines down at 1425 N 490 in Raymondville.
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
A couple of sites in Cameron County including Harlingen and Russell Farms recorded temperatures at or below freezing for roughly 8-10 hours (between 10:25 PM on the 16th and 7 AM on the 17th). A Hard Freeze (temperatures below 28 degrees for 2 or more hours) occurred at Harlingen…
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 16 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | 20 | 0 |
| 2023 | 41 | 1 |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| 2021 | 20 | 0 |
| 2020 | 16 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | 8 | 1 |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015 | 12 | 2 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013 | 23 | 0 |
| 2012 | 41 | 2 |
| 2011 | 31 | 0 |
| 2010 | 10 | 1 |
| 2009 | 19 | 1 |
| 2008 | 15 | 1 |
| 2007 | 8 | 1 |
| 2005 | 3 | 1 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 8 | 0 |
| 2002 | 18 | 1 |
| 2001 | 14 | 2 |
| 2000 | 12 | 0 |
| 1999 | 5 | 1 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 |
| 1997 | 4 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983 | 2 | 0 |
| 1982 | 5 | 0 |
| 1981 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | 3 | 0 |
| 1978 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | 4 | 2 |
| 1969 | 5 | 0 |
| 1968 | 4 | 1 |
| 1966 | 2 | 0 |
| 1962 | 1 | 1 |
| 1959 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957 | 1 | 1 |
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See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Willacy County, measured to its path.
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