Hail, Trinity
- When
- May 2, 8:35 PM CST
- Where
- Trinity County, Sebastopol
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.900, -95.270
Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 2 to 15, 1997
6 hail, 4 flash flood, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $60,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 11
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The radar
The Houston radar (KHGX), 160 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:36 UTC.
Event by event
6 hail, 4 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Polk
- When
- May 2, 9:00 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, Leggett
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.820, -94.870
Flash Flood, Matagorda
- When
- May 9, 2:59 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
- Where
- Matagorda County, County
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 28.786, -96.004 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Street flooding from 3-5" rains
Flash Flood, Jackson
- When
- May 9, 3:00 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson County, County
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 28.954, -96.578 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Creek flooding from 2-5" rains
Hail, Wharton
- When
- May 15, 2:38 PM CST
- Where
- Wharton County, Pierce
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 29.230, -96.200
Hail, San Jacinto
- When
- May 15, 4:25 PM CST
- Where
- San Jacinto County, Oakhurst
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.730, -95.330
Hail, Polk
- When
- May 15, 4:54 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 7 mi S of Corrigan
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 30.900, -94.820
Hail, Houston
- When
- May 15, 5:05 PM CST
- Where
- Houston County, 5 mi E of Crockett
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 31.320, -95.370
Tornado, Trinity
- When
- May 15, 5:37 PM CST to 5:39 PM CST
- Where
- Trinity County, 9 mi E of Groveton
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 31.070, -95.000
Weak tornado downed trees 9 miles east of Groveton
Flash Flood, Houston
- When
- May 15, 6:40 PM CST to 8:55 PM CST
- Where
- Houston County, County
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 31.318, -95.423 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Street flooding between Grapeland and Crockett
Flash Flood, Trinity
- When
- May 15, 7:45 PM CST to 8:55 PM CST
- Where
- Trinity County, County
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 31.089, -95.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Severe street flooding in Applesprings and Corrigan with 6-7" rain in 2 hours
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Mississippi, May 2 to 3, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, May 2, 1997
- Tornado in Georgia, May 2, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, May 2, 1997
- Hail and High Wind in Arkansas, May 2, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, May 2, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Louisiana, May 2, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, May 2, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Mississippi, May 2, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, May 2, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, May 2, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, May 2, 1997
More
Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 1997Warnings in Texas, May 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5599186, 5599187, 5599189, 5599188, 5599190, 5599191, 5599193, 5599192, 5599194, 5599195, 5599196.