Fort Bend County, Texas

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 48157 · population 822,581 · 862 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 499 records for Fort Bend County, Texas from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 311 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (163 records). NOAA records 58 flood or flash floods there since 1997, with 5 deaths; its 7,389 flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA) rank 69th of 2,942 U.S. counties; the deadliest named storm on its flood record is Hurricane Harvey (2017). The deadliest single record is the September 12, 2008 hurricane, filed for the forecast zone Fort Bend, which covers the county: 3 deaths, 8 injuries and $548 million in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has issued 28 declarations naming the county since 1983, 26 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Hurricane Beryl” on July 9, 2024.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
499on 311 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
1890 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$10.3Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
60strongest F3
FEMA declarations
28latest 2024

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Fort Bend County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 163 since 1955. 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.

Fort Bend County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 163 115 1955-2026 0 0 $11M 80 of 254
Hail 129 75 1961-2026 0 0 $4.9M 168 of 254
Tornadoes 60 47 1950-2023 1 77 $27M 38 of 254
Floods 58 47 1997-2021 5 0 $9.6B 91 of 254
Lightning 24 18 1996-2026 4 2 $758K 11 of 254
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 16 16 1999-2024 0 0 – 11 of 254
Drought 15 15 1996-2023 0 0 $15M 227 of 254
Heat 15 15 1999-2023 2 0 – 104 of 254
Winter storms 10 10 1997-2025 0 0 $3K 205 of 254
Hurricanes and tropical storms 5 5 1998-2021 3 11 $569M 29 of 254
Heavy rain 2 2 2013-2013 0 0 $25K 105 of 254
Extreme cold 1 1 2021-2021 3 0 $1.7M 213 of 254
High wind and dust storms 1 1 1997-1997 0 0 $28K 187 of 254

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 Fort Bend County had?

NOAA records 60 tornadoes in Fort Bend County from 1950 to 2023, the strongest rated F3, with 1 death and 77 injuries recorded in the county. That is 38th 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 62 tornadoes whose track touched Fort Bend County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 60: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Fort Bend County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1965-04-19 15:50, as SPC files itKendletonF30.2 mi1
1974-09-13 09:00, as SPC files itRichmondF33.6 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Texas.

Every tornado record filed for Fort Bend County (60)
Every tornado recorded in Fort Bend County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2023-01-24 Long Pt, Fort Bend County EF0 14.63 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2022-03-22 Kendleton, Fort Bend County EF0 0.82 mi x 30 yd 0 4 $101K
2017-08-26 Katy, Fort Bend County EF1 0.32 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $963K
2017-08-26 Hobby, Fort Bend County EF1 5.78 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $2.4M
2017-08-26 Clodine, Fort Bend County EF0 0.11 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $36K
2017-08-25 Sugarland Jct, Fort Bend County EF1 1.46 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $602K
2017-08-25 Juliff, Fort Bend County EF1 0.67 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $602K
2017-02-14 Crabb, Fort Bend County EF0 0.6 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $602K
2017-02-14 Crabb, Fort Bend County EF2 0.68 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $1.2M
2017-02-14 Smada, Fort Bend County EF0 0.76 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $181K
2017-02-14 Stafford, Fort Bend County EF0 0.4 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $241K
2012-01-09 Clodine, Fort Bend County EF1 0.52 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $643K
2012-01-09 Fulshear, Fort Bend County EF0 0.12 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $6K
2006-10-16 Four Corners, Fort Bend County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2006-05-10 Needville, Fort Bend County F0 0.2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K
2006-04-21 Pleak, Fort Bend County F1 1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $73K
2005-12-14 Katy, Fort Bend County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2004-11-23 Sugarland, Fort Bend County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2003-11-17 Stafford, Fort Bend County F2 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $481K
2003-11-17 Sugarland, Fort Bend County F2 1.5 mi x 200 yd 0 60 $802K
2003-10-09 Fresno, Fort Bend County F0 1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2003-10-09 Sugarland, Fort Bend County F0 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $40K
2003-06-03 Sugarland, Fort Bend County F0 1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $22K
2002-09-07 Needville, Fort Bend County F1 0.2 mi x 0 yd 0 3 $164K
2002-03-30 Guy, Fort Bend County F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $33K
2002-03-30 Beasley, Fort Bend County F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $246K
1999-05-30 Fairchilds, Fort Bend County F1 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $177K
1998-10-06 Needville, Fort Bend County F0 10 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $27K
1998-06-05 Rosenberg, Fort Bend County F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $63K
1998-02-16 Sugarland, Fort Bend County F1 1.2 mi x 200 yd 0 4 $6.7M
1997-10-23 Sugarland, Fort Bend County F1 3 mi x 440 yd 0 0 $2.0M
1997-03-12 Needville, Fort Bend County F0 0.2 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $18K
1997-01-27 Arcola, Fort Bend County F0 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $9K
1993-05-30 Fort Bend County F0 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
1993-04-07 Missouri City, Fort Bend County F1 0.25 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $102K
1993-04-07 Rosenberg, Fort Bend County F1 0.25 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $102K
1993-02-25 Fort Bend County F0 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
1992-11-21 Fort Bend County F1 1 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $250K step
1992-11-21 Fort Bend County F1 1 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1992-02-24 Fort Bend County F0 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $25K step
1992-02-22 Fort Bend County F0 0.7 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $3K step
1991-10-02 Fort Bend County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1991-06-06 Fort Bend County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $3K step
1991-06-06 Fort Bend County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $25K step
1991-01-14 Fort Bend County F0 0.7 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $3K step
1985-11-11 Fort Bend County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $25K step
1981-05-09 Fort Bend County F2 3.3 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $25K step
1981-05-04 Fort Bend County F0 0.6 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1978-04-22 Fort Bend County F1 17.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1976-09-02 Fort Bend County 0 0 –
1976-05-26 Fort Bend County 0 0 –
1975-07-12 Fort Bend County F0 0 0 –
1974-09-13 Fort Bend County F3 3.6 mi x 73 yd 0 2 –
1973-06-11 Fort Bend County F1 0 0 –
1972-05-12 Fort Bend County F1 1.9 mi x 50 yd 0 1 $250K step
1972-03-20 Fort Bend County F1 18.9 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1970-02-01 Fort Bend County F0 1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1967-09-20 Fort Bend County 0 0 $3K step
1965-04-19 Fort Bend County F3 0.2 mi x 150 yd 1 3 $25K step
1950-05-14 Fort Bend County F1 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $3K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Fort Bend County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 2, 2026 lightning ($25,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Fort Bend County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-02 LightningKaty, Fort Bend County 0 0 $25K
2026-05-09 HailClodine, Fort Bend County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-30 HailDewalt, Fort Bend County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-30 HailSmada, Fort Bend County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-30 HailSugarland, Fort Bend County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-02-14 Thunderstorm WindSugarland, Fort Bend County 58 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-02-14 Thunderstorm WindSugarland, Fort Bend County 52 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-02-14 Thunderstorm WindSugarland, Fort Bend County 56 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2025-08-21 Thunderstorm WindLong Pt, Fort Bend County 57 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-01-20 Winter StormFort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend 0 0 –
2024-03-16 HailNeedville, Fort Bend County 2.75 in hail 0 0 –
2024-03-16 HailNeedville, Fort Bend County 2.50 in hail 0 0 $47K

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

Records with deaths or injuries in Fort Bend County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2008-09-12 Hurricane (Typhoon)Fort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend Pockets of damage with eastern part of county hardest hit. An estimated 200 roofs sustained damage. Three indirect fatalities due to carbon monoxide poisoning of a family using a generator with inadequate ventilation. 3 8 $548M
2021-02-15 Cold/Wind ChillFort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend Very cold air and gusty winds overspread SE Texas behind an Arctic front with wind chill indices from near zero to single digits 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. 3 0 $1.7M
2017-08-26 Flash FloodKendleton, Fort Bend County There were numerous road closures around the Rosenberg and Richmond areas. Some of these roads included Highway 90 at Highway 36 and Lane Drive, Lane Drive at Mustang Road and I-69 at FM 762 and Reading Road. Major record level flooding of both the Brazos and San Bernard Rivers caused significant home flooding from ... 3 0 $9.6B
1965-04-19 TornadoFort Bend County F3 0.2 mi x 150 yd 1 3 $25K step
2003-07-23 LightningSugarland, Fort Bend County Three males struck after taking shelter under a large tree. One twenty-one year old died, two others (twenty-three and twenty-seven years old) were injured. Group was installing a chain-link fence. 1 2 –
2023-07-14 HeatFort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend There was a heat related fatality when a six year old male was left in a vehicle. 1 0 –
2023-06-16 Excessive HeatFort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend Period of extremely hot weather. Long period of at least advisory levels. On June 16, a male construction worker died from hyperthermia while pouring concrete in the afternoon at a construction site. The heat index at nearby KSGR was 115 degrees at 4:00 PM CDT. In StormData periods of warning levels are recorded. 1 0 –
2015-05-25 Flash FloodClodine, Fort Bend County Flash flooding occurred across the central and eastern part of the county. There were vehicles flooded with numerous impassable roadways in and around the Sugar Land and Rosenberg areas. There was one drowning fatality. 1 0 $1.2M

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Fort Bend County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2017-08-26 Flash FloodKendleton, Fort Bend County 3 0 $9.6B
2008-09-12 Hurricane (Typhoon)Fort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend 3 8 $548M
2001-06-07 Tropical StormFort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend 0 0 $13M
2002-09-05 Tropical StormFort Bend County · forecast zone Fort Bend 0 3 $7.4M
1998-02-16 TornadoSugarland, Fort Bend County F1 1.2 mi x 200 yd 0 4 $6.7M
2000-05-02 Thunderstorm WindOrchard, Fort Bend County 0 0 $3.4M
2001-04-16 HailMissouri City, Fort Bend County 2.75 in hail 0 0 $3.3M
2017-08-26 TornadoHobby, Fort Bend County EF1 5.78 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $2.4M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: November 21, 1992 (tornado, Fort Bend County).

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 Fort Bend 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).

Fort Bend County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind1361437423921
Hail051533412618
Tornadoes12931913112
Floods––––1114285
Lightning––––11292
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds––––11041

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 Fort Bend County. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 24 · Feb 42 · Mar 43 · Apr 71 · May 88 · Jun 68 · Jul 22 · Aug 60 · Sep 27 · Oct 27 · Nov 18 · Dec 9 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for Fort Bend County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Fort Bend County: 17 major disasters, 10 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (12) and flood (5).

Declarations including Fort Bend County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2024-07-09DR-4798HurricaneHurricane Beryl
2021-02-19DR-4586Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-14EM-3554Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-08-24EM-3540HurricaneTropical Storms Marco and Laura
2020-07-26EM-3530HurricaneHurricane Hanna
2020-03-25DR-4485BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3458BiologicalCovid-19
2017-08-25DR-4332HurricaneHurricane Harvey
2016-06-11DR-4272FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2016-04-25DR-4269FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2015-05-29DR-4223Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding
2008-09-13DR-1791HurricaneHurricane Ike
2008-09-10EM-3294HurricaneHurricane Ike
2008-08-29EM-3290HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2007-08-18EM-3277HurricaneHurricane Dean
2006-05-26FM-2639FireLake Olympia Fire
2006-01-11DR-1624FireExtreme Wildfire Threat
2005-09-24DR-1606HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-21EM-3261HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-02EM-3216HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
2002-11-05DR-1439Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
2001-06-09DR-1379Coastal StormTx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001
1999-09-01EM-3142FireExtreme Fire Hazards
1998-10-21DR-1257FloodTx-Flooding 10/18/98
1998-08-26DR-1239Severe StormTropical Storm Charley
1994-10-18DR-1041FloodSevere Thunderstorms and Flooding
1991-12-26DR-930FloodSevere Thunderstorms
1983-08-19DR-689HurricaneHurricane Alicia

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 Fort Bend County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 58 flood or flash flood records for Fort Bend County from 1997 to 2021, on 47 days, with 5 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Fort Bend County ranks 69th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

Named storms on Fort Bend County's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Harvey2017-08-2613
Hurricane Ike2008-09-1213
Tropical Storm Allison2001-06-0710

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $451 million on 7,389 claims filed in Fort Bend County; the most in one year was 3,977 in 2017. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 2 · 1979: 74 · 1980: 11 · 1981: 45 · 1982: 11 · 1983: 136 · 1984: 11 · 1985: 38 · 1986: 2 · 1987: 10 · 1988: 1 · 1989: 57 · 1991: 87 · 1992: 52 · 1993: 11 · 1994: 206 · 1995: 11 · 1996: 4 · 1997: 52 · 1998: 88 · 1999: 21 · 2000: 11 · 2001: 197 · 2002: 45 · 2003: 47 · 2004: 22 · 2005: 21 · 2006: 36 · 2007: 31 · 2008: 273 · 2009: 57 · 2010: 28 · 2011: 5 · 2012: 139 · 2013: 30 · 2014: 19 · 2015: 332 · 2016: 631 · 2017: 3,977 · 2018: 21 · 2019: 245 · 2020: 39 · 2021: 77 · 2022: 16 · 2023: 7 · 2024: 141 · 2025: 8 · 2026: 4; the other years: 0.

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 Fort Bend County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fort Bend County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $346 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.

National Risk Index ratings for Fort Bend County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
LightningVery High$6.7M74 a year (modeled)
TornadoVery High$59Mabout once a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively High$17M14 modeled event-days a year
Riverine FloodingRelatively High$169M1.7 a year (modeled)
HurricaneRelatively High$71Monce in about 6 years (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively High$15Monce in about 2 years (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively High$3.3M1.4 a year (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively High$1.6Mabout once a year (modeled)

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

Counties that share a border with Fort Bend County

  1. Harris County 2,111
  2. Brazoria County 654
  3. Fort Bend County 499
  4. Wharton County 374
  5. Austin County 270
  6. Waller County 204

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

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