High Surf in Texas
Every high surf event the National Weather Service has filed in Texas, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
The most significant on the map
The most significant high surf episodes in Texas.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 13
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- 9
- Damage
- None recorded
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Storm Surge and High Surf in Texas, September 12 to 14, 2008Hurricane Ike made landfall early during the morning on September 13th near Galveston Texas. Across South Texas, Ike produced a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet across barrier islands and inland bays and waterways, and a storm tide of 3 to 6 feet.
- High Surf in Texas, October 9, 2020Large swells associated with Hurricane Delta over the northwest Gulf of Mexico reached the Middle Texas coast. A family was standing at the end of the Packery Channel North Jetty when a wave washed them over the railing and into the waters.
- High Surf in Texas, August 26, 2020A man was killed and another beachgoer was injured from swells from Hurricane Laura after being slammed into the jetties in Corpus Christi.
- High Surf in Texas, September 3, 2011High offshore winds associated with Tropical Storm Lee knocked a beach goer off a flotation device. The man was unable to get back to shore and drowned.
- High Surf in Texas, March 19 to 21, 2016Strong winds, building wave heights, and a robust northeasterly swell in the wake of a cold front led to periods of dangerous high surf along the lower Texas coast. One drowning occurred off the coast of South Padre Island during the overnight hours of March 19th into March 20th.
- High Wind and High Surf in Texas, March 17 to 18, 2008A vigorous upper level cyclone moving northeast from northern Mexico through the heart of Texas on the 17th and 18th induced an equally strong surface cyclone over the middle Rio Grande Valley of southwest Texas and extreme northern Mexico.
- High Surf in Texas, July 14 to 15, 2003Heavy surf combined with tidal levels 1 to 2 feet above normal produced coastal flooding over Cameron, Kenedy, and Willacy counties. The heavy surf and above normal tides were the result of Hurricane Claudette in the Gulf of Mexico.
- High Surf in Texas, September 22 to 24, 2005High surf associated with tidal overflow from Hurricane Rita was reported along coastal sections of Cameron and Willacy counties.
- High Surf in Texas, October 4 to 5, 2005Swells that developed over the Gulf of Mexico in association with a tight surface pressure gradient between Tropical Storm Stan and high pressure located over the eastern United States, arrived on the coastlines of South Padre Island.
More
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.