Historical record — not a forecast
Houston
Houston, TX has had 41 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1915, Category 4 Hurricane).
Location 01
Houston
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The historical record
Storm history
41 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Houston since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.
By storm category
- Tropical Depression
- 13
- Tropical Storm
- 18
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 7
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 2
- Category 4 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1870s
- 3
- 1880s
- 1
- 1890s
- 3
- 1900s
- 1
- 1910s
- 1
- 1920s
- 1
- 1930s
- 1
- 1940s
- 8
- 1950s
- 1
- 1960s
- 1
- 1970s
- 6
- 1980s
- 6
- 1990s
- 1
- 2000s
- 4
- 2010s
- 1
- 2020s
- 2
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1915, Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt) passed within 53.5 km in 1915
- Most recent
- Nicholas (2021, Tropical Storm, 50 kt) passed within 51.5 km in 2021
- Coordinates
- 29.78574, -95.38881
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1915) — Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt, passed within 53.5 km on 1915-08-17
- Unnamed storm (1900) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 49.4 km on 1900-09-09
- Ike (2008) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 60.0 km on 2008-09-13
- Alicia (1983) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 14.4 km on 1983-08-18
- Debra (1959) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 36.6 km on 1959-07-25
- Unnamed storm (1943) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 24.0 km on 1943-07-28
- Unnamed storm (1891) — Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 63.6 km on 1891-07-06
- Unnamed storm (1947) — Category 1 Hurricane, 65 kt, passed within 23.3 km on 1947-08-25
Historical return intervals
These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.
- Tropical storm strength or greater
- on average every 6.2 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 17.5 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 175.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Houston?
Since 1851, 41 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Houston, TX, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Houston?
an unnamed storm (1915, Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt) passed within 53.5 km in 1915, reaching Category 4 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Houston?
No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.
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