Texas Hurricane Tracker
The Texas coast runs 367 miles from Sabine Pass to the Rio Grande, and every stretch of it has taken a major hurricane. The upper coast around Galveston Bay is hit most often and has the worst surge geography. Hurricane Ike in 2008 pushed 15 to 20 feet of water over Bolivar Peninsula and flooded Galveston from the bay side.
The defining Texas disaster is not surge, though. It is rain. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 made landfall at Rockport as a Category 4, stalled, and dropped more than 60 inches near Nederland and 40-plus across Houston, flooding an estimated 300,000 structures in a metro that was 100 miles from the landfall point. Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 was only a Category 1 at Matagorda and still knocked out power to 2.7 million CenterPoint customers in Houston, some for more than a week in July heat. Hurricane Rita in 2005 taught the state the opposite lesson: more than 100 people died in the evacuation itself, in gridlock on I-45 and US-290, which is why Texas now runs contraflow and tells inland residents to shelter in place. The Coastal Bend, including Corpus Christi and Rockport, and the Rio Grande Valley, hit by Hanna in 2020 and Dolly in 2008, see fewer storms but have less infrastructure and longer recovery.
Radar
Composite radar, Texas coast.
Wind
ECMWF wind forecast, Texas coast.
Know Your Evacuation Zone
Texas does not use a statewide A-to-E zone system. In the Houston-Galveston region, evacuation zones are assigned by ZIP code, grouped as Coastal, A, B, and C, and orders are issued by county judges with coastal zones first. Elsewhere on the coast, counties issue orders by area or by county line. Inland residents outside the zones are asked to shelter in place so that coastal residents can get out.
County Emergency Management
The most populous coastal counties. Your county office posts local evacuation orders, shelter openings, and re-entry information.
Metro pages
Houston and Galveston
Coming soon
Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend
Coming soon
Rio Grande Valley
Coming soon
Beaumont and Port Arthur
Coming soon
Texas-specific prep
Standard homeowners policies in the 14 coastal counties and parts of Harris County exclude wind. Wind coverage comes through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, TWIA, and it must be in place before a storm is in the Gulf. TWIA stops binding new policies once a hurricane is named and in the Gulf, so you cannot buy it at the last minute.
Flood damage from storm surge or heavy rain is not covered by standard homeowners or wind policies. You need a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy, which has a 30-day waiting period. Most homes flooded during Harvey were outside mapped flood zones, so do not assume you are safe because you are not in a high-risk area.
The Texas Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday runs the last full weekend of April each year. It covers portable generators under $3,000, batteries, fuel containers, coolers, and similar items. Check comptroller.texas.gov for the exact 2026 dates.
When an evacuation is ordered, Texas runs contraflow on I-45, I-10, US-290, I-37, and US-59, meaning inland lanes are reversed to move traffic away from the coast. Leave early or not at all. The lesson of Rita is that sitting in gridlock for 12 to 20 hours is itself dangerous, especially with children, elders, or pets, and running out of gas on the highway is a common and serious problem.
After a coastal evacuation, Galveston and other barrier-island communities use a re-entry placard system. Residents and businesses need a placard to get back across the causeway before the general public. Check with your city for how to get one before the season starts.
After Beryl, generator carbon monoxide poisoning was a leading cause of death. Never run a generator indoors, in a garage, or near an open window, and install a battery-operated carbon monoxide alarm. Track CenterPoint outages on the utility outage map, and assume power can be out for a week or more in a major storm.
Frequently asked questions
Does Texas have hurricane evacuation zones?
Not a statewide letter system. In the Houston-Galveston region, evacuation zones are assigned by ZIP code, grouped as Coastal, A, B, and C, and orders are issued by county judges with coastal zones first. Elsewhere on the coast, counties issue orders by area or by county line. Inland residents outside the ordered zones are asked to shelter in place so coastal residents can get out.
When is the Texas hurricane supplies tax-free weekend?
The Texas Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday runs the last full weekend of April each year. It covers portable generators under $3,000, batteries, fuel containers, coolers, and similar items. Check comptroller.texas.gov for the exact 2026 dates.
What is TWIA and do I need it?
TWIA is the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the state windstorm insurer of last resort. Standard homeowners policies in the 14 coastal counties and parts of Harris County exclude wind, so you need a separate TWIA policy for wind coverage. It must be in place before a storm enters the Gulf, because TWIA stops binding new policies once a hurricane is named and in the Gulf.
Which part of the Texas coast gets hit the most?
The upper coast from Galveston to Sabine Pass historically sees the most landfalls and has the worst surge geography. But Harvey, Beryl, and Hanna show the whole coast is exposed, from the Coastal Bend to the Rio Grande Valley.
How far inland do Texas hurricanes reach?
Far. Harvey's flooding reached more than 100 miles inland and Beryl's wind outages covered most of metro Houston. For inland residents the real risks are rain flooding and power loss, not wind, so plan for days without electricity even if you are well away from the coast.
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