Severe Weather in Texas: 2016

Severe weather in Texas can be categorized by two factors: loss of life and the cost of damage estimating over $1 million. The following events were included because they caused an extensive amount of destruction and in some cases, fatalities were also a result of the severe weather.

March 9-10, 2016: Flood. East Texas. Multiple days of heavy rain fell across the Sabine River Valley causing massive flooding in the basin. Over 1500 homes received flood damage, and $2.4 billion was estimated in damage and costs in Texas and Louisiana.

March 17, 2016: Hail. North Central Texas.  A region of intense warm advection led to thunderstorm development over western counties of North Texas. Damaging hail up to the size of tennis balls caused an estimated $600 million in damage.

March 23, 2016: Hail. North Central Texas. Severe thunderstorms developed along a dry line as it surged east to the Interstate 35 corridor. Damaging winds, hail, and one tornado were produced, creating around $2.3 billion in overall damage.

April 11-12, 2016: Hail. South Central Texas. 4.25 inch hail from severe thunderstorms damaged an estimated 136,000 vehicles and 125,000 homes. Combined damage costs were estimated at $3.5 billion, making this the costliest hail storm ever in the state of Texas.

April 17, 2016: Flood. Southeast Texas. Ten to 15 inches of rain in less than 12 hours produced devastating flooding in western Houston in an event that became known as the "Tax Day Flood".  There were eight deaths and $2.7 billion in property damage.

May 21-26, 2016: Widespread Severe Weather. Five inch hail and tornadoes were reported in the Panhandle. Rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches were observed there and in Southeast Texas. There were four deaths and a combined $1.2 billion in damages.