How Many Storms Caused Significant Houston Flooding Since Ike?
9/13/2026 – Today is the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Ike, whose eye passed directly over Kingwood.
It got me wondering. How many storms have caused significant flooding somewhere in the seven-county Houston/Galveston Region since 2008? Short answer – 24, including 14 tropical and 10 non-tropical. For details and implications, read on.
Caveats on Search
ChatGPT helped. It reviewed a dozen websites, including the National Weather Service, NOAA, FEMA, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), and news sites such as ReduceFlooding, ABC13, Click2Houston, Houston Chronicle, and Rice University’s Baker Institute.
The tropical category had a clear threshold, but non-tropical events were more judgment-dependent. If you included every storm known to have flooded at least a few homes, the count would rise. But 10 is defensible if the threshold is “significant flood damage.”
Tropical Events Affecting Houston Region Since 2008
Of the 14 tropical events, five were especially consequential: Ike, Harvey, Imelda, Nicholas, and Beryl. See the entire list below.
| Year | Dates | Storm | Classification | Principal Houston Area Affected |
| 2008 | Aug. 5 | Edouard | Tropical Storm | Landfall near McFaddin Wildlife Refuge; wind and rain across the Houston–Galveston region |
| 2008 | Sept. 12–13 | Ike | Hurricane, Category 2 | Landfall near Galveston; destructive wind, surge, widespread flooding |
| 2015 | June 16–17 | Bill | Tropical Storm | Coastal flooding, storm surge, rainfall; minor flooding in portions of Harris and Galveston |
| 2017 | June 21–22 | Cindy | Tropical Storm | Minor coastal flooding on Galveston and Bolivar Peninsula; rain in eastern portions of region |
| 2017 | Aug. 25–30 | Harvey | Hurricane, Category 4 at initial Texas landfall | Catastrophic rainfall and river, bayou and reservoir flooding throughout metropolitan Houston |
| 2019 | Sept. 17–19 | Imelda | Tropical Storm | Extreme rainfall, flooding, especially NE Harris, SE Montgomery, Liberty and Chambers counties |
| 2020 | June 6–8 | Cristobal | Tropical Storm | Elevated tides, high surf and coastal flooding along Upper Texas Coast |
| 2020 | July 24–26 | Hanna | Hurricane, Category 1 | Outer rainbands, gusty winds, high surf and coastal effects |
| 2020 | Aug. 26–27 | Laura | Hurricane, Category 4 | Wind, surge, coastal effects, principally in Chambers and far eastern Liberty counties |
| 2020 | Sept. 20–23 | Beta | Tropical Storm | Prolonged rainfall, street and coastal flooding, particularly south and southeast of Houston |
| 2021 | Sept. 13–14 | Nicholas | Hurricane, Category 1 | Landfall near Sargent; strong winds, heavy rain, coastal flooding, wide power outages |
| 2024 | June 18–20 | Alberto | Tropical Storm | High surf, elevated tides and coastal flooding along Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula |
| 2024 | 46211 | Beryl | Hurricane, Category 1 | Direct passage across metro area; damaging winds, flooding, tornadoes, extensive power outages |
| 2024 | Sept. 10–11 | Francine | Hurricane, Category 2 at Louisiana landfall | High surf, elevated tides and relatively minor coastal effects on the Upper Texas Coast |
Non-Tropical Events Affecting Houston Region Since 2008
Significant non-tropical events included:
| Year | Date(s) | Event | Principal Area and Effects |
| 2009 | April 27–28 | West Houston flood | Extreme short-duration rainfall; hundreds of homes flooded along Brays Bayou, Buffalo Bayou and Langham Creek; serious road flooding |
| 2012 | January 9 | January severe-storm flood | Intense rain flooded homes and roads around Mission Bend, southwest Houston, Pearland and portions of Brazoria County; accompanied by tornadoes |
| 2012 | July 9–10 | North Harris County flood | Slow-moving thunderstorms flooded more than 70 structures and numerous roads, especially in northern Harris County |
| 2015 | May 13–14 | Clear Lake/Pre-Memorial Day flood | Homes and roads flooded in Clear Lake, Pasadena, Friendswood and southeastern Harris County; at least one death |
| 2015 | May 25–26 | Memorial Day Flood | Approximately 6,000 homes flooded in Harris County; severe flooding along Brays, Buffalo and White Oak bayous; seven flood-related deaths |
| 2015 | October 30–31 | Halloween Flood | Several hundred homes damaged or flooded across the Houston region; major road flooding and fatalities |
| 2016 | April 17–18 | Tax Day Flood | More than 7,000 homes and roughly 2,700 apartment units flooded; extreme rainfall in western and northwestern Harris County; nine deaths |
| 2016 | May 26–June 3 | Memorial Day/Brazos River Flood | Major river flooding in Fort Bend, Brazoria, Waller and Montgomery counties; hundreds of homes affected, evacuations and fatalities |
| 2019 | May 7–9 | Kingwood–Elm Grove flood | Approximately 200 homes flooded in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest; widespread street and drainage flooding elsewhere |
| 2024 | April 28–May 5 | San Jacinto–Trinity River flood | Repeated thunderstorms produced major flooding along the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto; hundreds rescued, homes inundated and communities evacuated |
Key Conclusions
The central takeaway: Houston’s flooding is not solely a hurricane problem. It is a a heavy rainfall and drainage problem that hurricanes sometimes magnify.
A few other conclusions stand out:
- Non-tropical storms matter as much as named storms. They occur approximately every other year.
- Houston can flood in almost any month — not just during hurricane season. Flood preparedness and drainage maintenance must be year-round activities.
- Ordinary-looking thunderstorms can become extraordinary disasters. Memorial Day and Tax Day floods demonstrate that a stalled line of thunderstorms can flood thousands of structures.
- Floods cluster rather than arrive at orderly intervals. The phrase “100-year flood” does not mean residents receive 99 safe years between events.
- Rainfall intensity, location and timing often matter more than the regional total. San Jacinto headwaters can cause devastating local damage while much of the metropolitan area remains relatively unaffected.
- Different mechanisms produce different floods: street flooding, bayou/river overflow, reservoir flooding, storm surge and runoff from adjacent development. No single project or agency can address all of them.
- Homes can flood even when relatively little rain falls directly over them. Rainfall in Montgomery, Liberty, Waller or other upstream counties can arrive later as riverine flooding.
- Development decisions can convert a localized storm into a neighborhood disaster as the May 2019 Elm Grove flood illustrates.
- The absence of a recent catastrophic floods does not demonstrate that the system has been fixed. Since Harvey, Houston has still experienced Imelda, Beta, Nicholas, the May 2019 flood, the 2024 San Jacinto flood and Beryl.
- Each type of flooding exploits a different weakness in a fragmented regional system.
What the Region Needs
The region needs coordinated watershed governance, conservative development standards, adequate detention, drainage maintenance, updated rainfall assumptions, floodplain preservation, warning systems and projects designed around cumulative river basin behavior.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/13/2026
3302 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 18 years since Ike
