San Saba County, Texas

What hazards hit San Saba County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 162 since 1967. 62% of its hail reports since 1967 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 San Saba County had?

NOAA records 17 tornadoes in San Saba County from 1956 to 2009, the strongest rated F2, 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 16 tornadoes whose track touched San Saba County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 17: 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 San Saba County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 9, 2004 flash flood ($1.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Heavy rains on the morning and early afternoon of the 9th produced rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour for several hours. Total rainfall amounts of upwards of 10 inches were reported over a 6 mile wide area from southwest San Saba county across the city of San Saba, then on into the northeastern portions of the county. The city of San Saba received the most damage with homes and businesses becoming inundated with water. Also several streets were scoured due to the fast movement of the water. The heavy rains also caused minor flooding on the San Saba river at San Saba and the Colorado river near San Saba.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 5407489)

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 San Saba 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).

Drought in the 2010s: 37 records against 11 in the decade before, 37 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the San Saba County days with a record above.

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

What time of year?

62% of its hail reports since 1967 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 San Saba County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include San Saba County: 12 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (7) 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 San Saba County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 33 flood or flash flood records for San Saba County from 1996 to 2026, on 30 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), San Saba County ranks 1944th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.3 million on 28 claims filed in San Saba County; the most in one year was 10 in 2025. 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 San Saba County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates San Saba County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $3.3 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 San Saba County

1. Brown County 809
2. Burnet County 655
3. McCulloch County 614
4. Llano County 542
5. Lampasas County 430
6. Mills County 389
7. San Saba County 377
8. Mason 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
• Hail in TexasThe state's hail reports, 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 San Saba CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download San Saba County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis