Kenedy County, Texas

What hazards hit Kenedy County most?

The most frequent records are drought records: 214 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 Kenedy County had?

NOAA records 6 tornadoes in Kenedy County from 1965 to 2012, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. 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 6 tornadoes whose track touched Kenedy County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 6, the same count); 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 Kenedy County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 7, 2017 cold/wind chill (1 death and 2 injuries).

US Border Patrol reported the death of two undocumented immigrants on the King Ranch in Kenedy County, TX, during the afternoon of December 7, due to hypothermia, as indicated by medical staff who discovered the bodies. One death was to a 28 year old man who literally gave the clothes off his back to provide warmth for children. Two other migrant workers were given treatment for hypothermia and sent to regional hospitals. The sharp change of the season's first significant cold front after a record-shattering warm January through November likely contributed to the death by lack of acclimation. Just two days earlier, temperatures had been in the mid 80s; on the 7th, wind chills in the lower 30s were too much for migrants with limited clothing and shelter.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 734882)

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 Kenedy 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 Kenedy County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Kenedy County

FEMA's register lists 21 declarations that include Kenedy County: 10 major disasters, 11 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (14) and severe ice storm (2).

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 Kenedy County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1 flood or flash flood record for Kenedy County from 1996 to 1996, on 1 day, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Kenedy County ranks 2830th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $59,000 on 1 claim filed in Kenedy County; the most in one year was 1 in 2020. 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 Kenedy County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kenedy County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $6.8 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 Kenedy County

1. Hidalgo County 1,069
2. Willacy County 694
3. Kleberg County 606
4. Kenedy County 488
5. Brooks County 458

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 Kenedy CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Kenedy County's FEMA declarations (CSV)21 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis