Texas rip currents and high surf

Every recorded rip current or surf record since 1996 · 12 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 172 rip current and surf records in Texas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 7.2 a year since 2000. The deadliest was Hurricane Alex (July 4, 2010): 4 deaths across 3 records. Texas ranks 9th of 34 states and territories by count and 19th of 34 per square mile.

Rip currents and high surf in Texas, 1996 to 2026

Surf records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death

Records: 1721996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 7.2average
Deaths: 7823 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $120Kas filed
Busiest year: 202522 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are rip current and surf records common in Texas?

Texas averages about 7.2 rip current and surf records a year since 2000, 9th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2025 (22). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Texas records 6.6 rip current and surf records since 1996, 19th of 34 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Texas have the most rip current and surf records?

Per square mile, Jefferson County leads Texas: 79 days with a rip current or surf record since 1996, 90.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Jefferson County has the most surf records (80 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

Jefferson County 90.1 (80)
Galveston County 68.5 (26)
Cameron County 26.9 (24)
Nueces County 26.2 (23)
Willacy County 20.3 (13)
Aransas County 11.9 (3)
Brazoria County 4.4 (6)
Matagorda County 1.8 (2)
Kenedy County 1.4 (2)
Kleberg County 1.1 (1)
Zapata County 1.0 (1)
Starr County 0.8 (1)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the surf season in Texas?

Texas's rip current and surf records by month. The busiest month is January (36 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 36 · Feb 13 · Mar 17 · Apr 10 · May 25 · Jun 12 · Jul 13 · Aug 7 · Sep 11 · Oct 10 · Nov 4 · Dec 14 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest rip current and surf records in Texas?

Texas: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
2010-07-04	Hurricane Alex · Rip CurrentCameron County and Willacy County · forecast zone Coastal Cameron One named storm filed by several offices: 3 records in 3 episodes, 2010-07-04 to 2010-07-28; the totals are the storm's. Two young men became caught in a moderate longshore swell or rip current near Public Beach Access Point #2 on South Padre Island on July 4th. One of the men drowned, and the other was rescued but in critical condition and unconscious at the time. The second man would perish four days later after life support was ...	4	–
2011-04-27	Rip CurrentCameron County · forecast zone Cameron Three young men from northern Mexico were swept to their deaths in dangerous rip currents near the Isla Blanca jetties on South Padre Island. The men took advantage of the warming surf temperatures to venture into the water, only to drown due to the strength of the current and a combination of lack of swimming ability ...	3	–
2015-06-14	Rip CurrentAransas County · forecast zone Aransas A 14 year old boy and a 10 year boy were playing in shallow water during the mid-afternoon around Beach Access Road 3 on Mustang Island. The pair were washed out from the shore by strong rip currents. CPR was administered to both boys. They were transported to a local hospital where both of them passed away.	2	–
2008-06-01	Rip CurrentCameron County and Willacy County · forecast zone Coastal Cameron The United States Coast Guard and South Padre Island officials reported the deaths of two men in unrelated drowning incidents on June 1. One man drowned near County Beach Access # 5 when overcome by a large wave and was unable to make it back to shore. A second man drowned nearby while swimming offshore and being ...	2	–
2021-06-30	Rip CurrentNueces County · forecast zone Nueces County Islands Around 10:45 AM LST. Wednesday, June 30th, crews responded to the Port Aransas beach for a call for two swimmers in distress near mile marker nine. Officials said a young man and his father were swimming when they both began to have trouble in the water. The father was rescued near mile marker 12 but later passed away ...	2	–
2021-06-26	Rip CurrentGalveston County · forecast zone Bolivar Peninsula A 16 year old male drowned near Gilchrist Beach after being caught in a rip current. A 32 year old male drowned after entering the water and attempting a rescue.	2	–
2020-09-05	Rip CurrentGalveston County · forecast zone Galveston Island And Bolivar Peninsula One storm episode: 2 records, 2020-09-05 to 2020-09-06; the totals are the episode's. Two swimmers drowned when swimming off Galveston beaches over Labor Day weekend.	2	–
2019-05-26	Rip CurrentBrazoria County · forecast zone Coastal Brazoria One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Rip currents led to two fatalities along beaches in Matagorda and Brazoria Counties.	2	–
2018-10-14	Rip CurrentGalveston County · forecast zone Galveston Island And Bolivar Peninsula An 11 year-old boy got caught in a rip current and drown near 17th Street at the Seawall. His 16 year-old boy went to attempt a rescue but also drown.	2	–
2017-07-01	Rip CurrentKleberg County · forecast zone Kleberg One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2017-07-01 to 2017-07-04; the totals are the episode's. Rip currents were prevalent along the Middle Texas coast from the weekend into Independence Day. Two women drowned in rip currents, one near Malaquite Beach and the other near Bob Hall Pier.	2	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest rip current and surf records in Texas

Texas: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2017-03-25	SneakerwaveAransas County · forecast zone Aransas		0	1	$120K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are rip current and surf records becoming more frequent in Texas?

Texas's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Rip currents and high surf: Texas and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Texas	United States	Texas's share
1996-99	0	1,021	0
2000s	15	4,386	0.3%
2010s	71	5,810	1.2%
2020-26	86	2,346	3.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent rip current and surf records in Texas

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-03-16	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-03-12	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-02-23	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-02-22	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-02-02	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-02-01	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-01-31	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-01-30	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-01-29	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-01-28	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-01-27	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–
2026-01-26	Astronomical Low TideJefferson County · forecast zone Lower Jefferson County	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for rip current and surf records in Texas

FEMA has declared 2 disasters in Texas for rip current and surf, counting its incident type and declarations that name the hazard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 2 were major disasters, the latest on September 26, 2002.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2002-09-26	DR-1434	Tropical Storm Fay	11
2001-06-09	DR-1379	Tx-Tropical Storm Allison-06-06-2001	31

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.