Storm risk in Cameron County, Texas

FEMA rates Cameron County Relatively High for natural-hazard risk overall, 86th of 3,144 rated counties. For a roof the three that matter are hail (Relatively High), strong wind (Relatively High) and tornado (Relatively Moderate). NOAA logged 34 hail reports here from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. Planning-level county ratings.

Cameron County: FEMA National Risk Index scores for overall risk, hail, strong wind and tornado, each on a scale of 0 to 100Overall riskOverall risk: score 97.3, Relatively High, 86th of 3,144 rated counties97Relatively High, 86th of 3,144HailHail: score 96.6, Relatively High, 107th of 3,126 rated counties97Relatively High, 107th of 3,126Strong windStrong wind: score 87.6, Relatively High, 390th of 3,121 rated counties88Relatively High, 390th of 3,121TornadoTornado: score 85.2, Relatively Moderate, 468th of 3,144 rated counties85Relatively Moderate, 468th of 3,144

Each dot is the county’s score from 0 to 100 against all rated U.S. counties; the bar colour is FEMA’s rating band.

Hazard by hazard

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in TXExpected yearly loss
OverallRelatively High 97.3869 of 254$111,074,384buildings
HailRelatively High 96.610726 of 254$2,071,465buildings
Strong windRelatively High 87.639030 of 254$430,973buildings
TornadoRelatively Moderate 85.246857 of 254$3,188,482all exposure

Rank 1 is the highest score. Expected annual loss is a county total in dollars per year, not a figure per home; the overall, hail and wind rows count buildings only, the tornado row all exposure.

Cameron County in plain numbers

  • FEMA's overall rating for Cameron County is Relatively High, score 97.3 of 100, 86th of 3,144 rated counties.
  • Hail: Relatively High (score 96.6), 107th nationwide and 26th of 254 counties in Texas.
  • Expected yearly hail loss to buildings: $2,071,465 for the whole county, about $33.80 per $1 million of building value.
  • NRI's hail record averages 0.3 hail events a year in the county.
  • Strong wind: Relatively High (score 87.6), 390th nationwide; expected yearly loss to buildings $430,973, about $7.03 per $1 million of building value.
  • Tornado: Relatively Moderate (score 85.2), 468th nationwide; total expected yearly loss $3,188,482.
  • Buildings in the county are valued at 61.3 billion dollars in the index; population 420,083.
  • Social vulnerability is rated Very High and community resilience Very Low.
  • NOAA logged 34 hail reports in Cameron County from 2014 to June 2026; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 9 days and the largest stone was 3.01 inches.
  • 2 of our cities are in the county: Brownsville, Harlingen.
  • 16 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have more than half of their land area in Cameron County.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Brownsville is $6,510 to $14,415.
  • NOAA lists 8 tornado tracks in the county since 2014.

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s storm reports show where inside it the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Cameron County

1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail2 in hail2 in hail2 in hail2.5 in hail2.5 in hail2.75 in hail3.01 in hail Brownsville
  • 181 to 1.74 in
  • 91.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 22.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 3.01 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

29 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Cities and ZIP areas in Cameron County

2 cities in this county are on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 16 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Brownsville 78520 (100%), 78561 (0%), 78598 (0%) Roofers
Harlingen 78550 (100%), 78552 (100%) Roofers

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Cameron County?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cameron County Relatively High overall. By peril: hail Relatively High, strong wind Relatively High, tornado Relatively Moderate. The highest-scoring of the three for this county is hail (score 96.6).

How many hail reports has NOAA logged in Cameron County?

34 reports between 2014 and June 2026 in NOAA's Storm Events Database. A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is a county total, not a figure per home, and it is built for comparing counties, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties at planning level. It cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

How does Cameron County compare with the rest of Texas?

For hail it ranks 26th of 254 rated counties in the state; for strong wind 30th of 254; for tornado 57th of 254.

Other Texas counties

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020). This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Planning-level information, not an inspection and not insurance advice.