Cameron County, Texas

What hazards hit Cameron County most?

The most frequent records are drought records: 251 since 1996. The rank column places the county among Texas's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Cameron County had?

NOAA records 68 tornadoes in Cameron County from 1953 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 1 death and 11 injuries recorded in the county. That is 26th of 254 Texas counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 68 tornadoes whose track touched Cameron County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 68, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Texas.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Cameron County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 9, 2026 thunderstorm wind (3 injuries and $500,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Just after 1000 AM CDT May 9, 2026, a strong microburst descended in central Cameron County from a small but potent line of thunderstorms and produced damage along a west-northwest to east-southeast oriented line starting from Harlingen, TX through Laureles, TX. Overall damage was observed to traffic lights, several homes, powerlines, poles, fences, crops, and trees. At least a dozen homes had various degrees of damage. The worst damage was to a poorly constructed single wide type structure in Green Valley Farms, where two persons were injured, including an elderly woman who sought shelter underneath the structure and had broken ribs. Another trailer-style residence on Country Boy Road, east of Green Valley Farms, had its roof ripped off, and debris fell onto a teenaged resident's head, requiring hospitalization. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1337659)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Cameron County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Cameron County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Cameron County

FEMA's register lists 34 declarations that include Cameron County: 22 major disasters, 12 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (16) and flood (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Cameron County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 149 flood or flash flood records for Cameron County from 1996 to 2026, on 82 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Cameron County ranks 71st of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $185 million on 7,061 claims filed in Cameron County; the most in one year was 1,599 in 2008. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Cameron County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cameron County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $165 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Cameron County

1. Cameron County 1,120
2. Hidalgo County 1,069
3. Willacy County 694

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in TexasEvery Texas tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Drought in TexasThe state's drought records, by county, year and month
• The Texas recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Cameron CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Cameron County's FEMA declarations (CSV)34 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis