Jim Wells County, Texas

What hazards hit Jim Wells County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 154 since 1960. 64% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 fell in April and May. 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 Jim Wells County had?

NOAA records 44 tornadoes in Jim Wells County from 1956 to 2023, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. That is 99th 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 47 tornadoes whose track touched Jim Wells County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 44: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

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 Jim Wells County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 8, 2025 thunderstorm wind (4 injuries).

Multiple leaned power poles and 2 semi trucks blown over. Numerous injuries across the area, mostly to individuals inside vehicles that either flipped or got into accidents.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1249002)

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

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: 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 Jim Wells 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?

64% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Jim Wells County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Jim Wells County: 19 major disasters, 12 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (15) 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 Jim Wells County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 79 flood or flash flood records for Jim Wells County from 1997 to 2026, on 51 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Jim Wells County ranks 976th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.6 million on 187 claims filed in Jim Wells County; the most in one year was 37 in 2015. 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 Jim Wells County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jim Wells County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $38.2 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 Jim Wells County

1. Nueces County 1,408
2. Jim Wells County 627
3. San Patricio County 619
4. Kleberg County 606
5. Brooks County 458
6. Live Oak County 444
7. Duval County 373

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in TexasThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 Jim Wells CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Jim Wells County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis