Rockwall County, Texas Tropical Cyclone History

No active tropical cyclones are within 500 miles of Rockwall County, Texas as of Thursday, 10 September 2026. Official forecasts at nhc.noaa.gov.

Since 1871, 10 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Rockwall County, Texas — about one every 15.5 years. Of those, 0 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Grace (2003), which passed 10 miles away on 1 September 2003.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

15.5

Avg. years between

Years since the last

Storm tracks within 50 miles

TS / TDCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5

Each line is one storm track, coloured by the strongest category it reached while within 50 miles. The dashed ring marks that 50-mile radius; hairlines are one-degree graticule. Source: NOAA NHC HURDAT2.

Key facts

Most recentGrace (2003) — 10 mi away, 1 September 2003
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1871) — 36 kt (41 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordClaudette (1979) — 5.7 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles5 of 10
Peak monthJune — 5 storms (50% of all)
Most active year1871 — 1 storms
Most active decade1960s — 2 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1871–2003

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Rockwall County, Texas, June is the most active month, with 5 of the 10 recorded storms (50%). Activity concentrates in June, July and September, together 90% of all storms. The 1960s was the most active decade on record, with 2 storms. 0 of the 10 storms were major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger) while within 50 miles.

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
0	0	0	0	0	5	2	1	2	0	0	0

Activity by decade

19002000

Tropical cyclones passing within 50 miles, by decade, 1870s to 2000s. Decades with no storms are shown as empty columns. Comparing two equal 38-year windows inside the aircraft-reconnaissance era: 4 storms in 1950–1987 against 2 in 1988–2025.

1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s
1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	2	1	0	1	1

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Grace (2003)	1 Sep 2003	9.6 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Frances (1998)	13 Sep 1998	33.5 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Claudette (1979)	27 Jul 1979	5.7 mi	TS / TD	19 kt
Candy (1968)	24 Jun 1968	47.1 mi	TS / TD	27 kt
Unnamed Storm (1960)	26 Jun 1960	7.4 mi	TS / TD	22 kt
Debra (1959)	26 Jul 1959	48.4 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1942)	22 Aug 1942	36.2 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1921)	23 Jun 1921	16.8 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	28 Jun 1902	10.1 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1871)	5 Jun 1871	30.5 mi	TS / TD	33 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

No system on record passed within 50 miles of Rockwall County, Texas after losing tropical characteristics, so every storm listed above was still a tropical or subtropical cyclone at its closest approach.

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1871–2025. Tracks are recorded every six hours and are interpolated to one-hour steps before distances are measured, so closest-approach figures are not distorted by the sampling interval. Distances are measured to the county's Census internal point, not to its nearest boundary, so a storm listed at 55 miles may still have crossed the coastline — see Methodology. Records before about 1900 are sparser and less precise than modern ones, and storms that stayed at sea were less likely to be recorded at all.

How Rockwall County, Texas compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Rockwall County, Texas ranks #1,297 — more exposed than 41.3% of them. Within Texas it ranks #138 of 223, against a state average of 15.7 storms per county.

Notable storms

TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1871) passed 31 miles away on 5 June 1871 as a tropical storm, reaching 36 kt (41 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1902) passed 10 miles away on 28 June 1902 as a tropical storm, reaching 35 kt (40 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1921) passed 17 miles away on 23 June 1921 as a tropical depression, reaching 30 kt (35 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Candy (1968) passed 47 miles away on 24 June 1968 as a tropical depression, reaching 26 kt (30 mph) while within 50 miles.

9 of the 10 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 15.5 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 10 storms spread over the 155 years from 1871 to 2025. 0 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while decades have gone by with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 31 years, between 1871 and 1902. It has been 22 years since the last one; 1 of the 9 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

Has a hurricane ever hit Rockwall County, Texas?

No. No tropical cyclone on record has passed within 50 miles of Rockwall County, Texas while at hurricane strength. 10 tropical cyclones have passed within that distance since 1871, all of them as tropical storms or depressions. The strongest was Unnamed Storm (1871).

When was the last tropical cyclone in Rockwall County, Texas?

Grace (2003), on 1 September 2003, passing 10 miles away — 23 years ago. No storm on record has passed within 50 miles of Rockwall County, Texas at hurricane strength.

What was the strongest storm to affect Rockwall County, Texas?

Unnamed Storm (1871), which reached 36 kt (41 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 31 miles.

How often does a tropical storm reach Rockwall County, Texas?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 15.5 years — 10 storms over the 155 years from 1871 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

Rockwall County, Texas borders or sits close to 4 other counties with a published storm record. Collin County, Texas has 12 on record.

Collin County, Texas12 storms within 50 mi Dallas County, Texas12 storms within 50 mi Hunt County, Texas10 storms within 50 mi Kaufman County, Texas10 storms within 50 mi