Bell County, TX Environment & Hazard Risk

• HailRelatively High$9.36M/yr expected annual loss, about 4.2 events a year
• TornadoRelatively High$32.36M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• LightningVery High$2.78M/yr expected annual loss, about 49 events a year
• Winter weatherRelatively High$829K/yr expected annual loss, about 3.2 events a year
• Cold waveRelatively High$12.49M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• Heat waveRelatively Moderate$5.99M/yr expected annual loss, about 15 events a year
• WildfireRelatively Moderate$1.41M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 769 years
• HurricaneRelatively Low$1.78M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 24 years
• Strong windRelatively Moderate$1.27M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.8 events a year
• Ice stormRelatively Moderate$321K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• DroughtRelatively Low$339K/yr expected annual loss, about 51 events a year
• LandslideVery Low$774/yr expected annual loss, about once every 5 years
• EarthquakeVery Low$148K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2,012 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

837 of 113,982 (0.7%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

1,245

Insured in high-risk zones

360 (29%)

Flood claims since 1978

499

Claims paid since 1978

$14.45M

• Hail301
• Thunderstorm Wind198
• Flash Flood171 · 11 deaths
• Drought113
• Heat42 · 2 deaths
• Tornado30
• Flood26
• Excessive Heat16 · 1 death
• Winter Weather16 · 2 deaths
• Lightning13 · 2 deaths

• Hail4.5" hail04/20/1996

  Temple, Bell County

  $200M damage

  What happened

  A large supercell thunderstorm moved across the area producing widespread hail to softball size. Substantial damage was done at the airport and across the northern half of the city. Cooperate buildings sustained major hail damage, windows were broken, and many roofs were damaged.

• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill02/15/2021

  Bell

  $50M damage

  What happened

  Extreme cold gripped the county for several days. Overnight lows were near or below 20 degrees Fahrenheit almost all week. The period of February 15-16th was the coldest with low temperatures in the single digits to slightly below degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum temperature on the 15th was only around 20 degrees. Wind chill values during the 14th-16th were between 0 to -15 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time. The cold temperatures resulted in an extreme amount of damage to pipes, infrastructure, and power.

• Flash Flood05/25/2007

  Killeen, Bell County

  4 deaths, $110K damage

  What happened

  Several roads were flooded in Killeen and Harker Heights. The Killeen Police Department urged residents to stay off flooded roadways. Mobile home parks were flooded, and one permanent residence near Nolan Creek had four feet of water inside. A mobile home was washed into Nolan Creek and caught fire when the gas line hit a bridge. At least two cars were swept away into the creek. A man who was near a culvert when the rain began also drowned.

• TornadoEF2, 2.78 mi path, 420 yd wide05/23/2024

  (Tpl)temple Muni Arp, Bell County

  30 injured, $5M damage

  What happened

  An EF-2 tornado formed near TX-317 between FM 2483 and W Adams Ave where at least a dozen power poles were significantly damaged. The tornado continued to move east/southeast across the Terrace at Lake Pointe subdivision damaging many homes, especially roofs and windows. Significant roof and tree damage was found in the neighborhood south of Tarver Elementary School. At least, four homes lost most of the roof, some outside walls, and sustained significant damage to the windows. Several trees were snapped or uprooted across the neighborhood. Then, the tornado crossed Tanglehead Dr. towards W. Adams Ave damaging many businesses, including stand-alone restaurants, shops, banks, and strip malls. A few of the businesses in this area lost most of their roof (DI 9, DODs 5 &7). Several cars sustained moderate to significant damage and cars were flipped. Most of the power poles were damaged or snapped along W. Adams Ave. The tornado continued to move southeast, crossing Old Waco Rd, damaging other homes and businesses (DI 2, DOD 6). Additional tree damage was found as the tornado tracked across an open field south of W. Adams Ave and west of S Kegley Rd. Maximum estimated winds were 120...

• TornadoEF3, 13.01 mi path, 770 yd wide04/12/2022

  Youngsport, Bell County

  23 injured

  What happened

  This tornado began in northern Williamson County and additional information about the beginning of this tornado track can be found from the NWS Austin/San Antonio office.||Video evidence taken on the ground during the tornadic event, and areal footage of the damage track show the parent circulation produced at least 3 small, brief tornadoes while the storm circulation was near and east of the county line. Scattered damage points and small paths are making it difficult to determine which areas may have been impacted by each of these smaller tornadoes before the parent tornado formed. Therefore, in the area just east of the Williamson/Bell County line, the damage extent of the tornadic track has been widened to include all the known damage points (all EF-0s or EF-1s). In this case, since it is too difficult to discern the smaller tracks, and because they all formed from the same parent circulation within a short amount of time of each other, they will all be considered one tornado. The maximum width listed will remain the maximum width of the parent tornado (the EF-3 tornado).||The tornado, which began in northern Williamson County, entered extreme southern Bell County north of...

• Flash Flood12/21/1997

  Killeen, Bell County

  2 deaths, 1 injured

  What happened

  A car was washed off a road. Two people in the car drown in flood waters and the third was treated for hypothermia due to prolonged exposure to the cold water temperatures.

• Heat07/28/2026

  Bell

• Excessive Heat07/22/2026

  Bell

• Heat07/20/2026

  Bell

• Flash Flood07/14/2026

  Holland, Bell County

  $5,000 damage

• Flash Flood07/14/2026

  Hood AFB, Bell County

  $10K damage

• Flash Flood07/14/2026

  Gould, Bell County

  $20K damage

• Heat06/18/2026

  Bell

• Flash Flood06/15/2026

  Troy, Bell County

• Tropical Storm Candy (1968)06/22/1968 · Landfall: TX · 995 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
• Hurricane Carla (1961)09/03/1961 · Landfall: TX · 927 mbTropical storm58 mph nearby
• Unnamed storm (1932)08/12/1932 · Landfall: TX · 935 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
• Unnamed storm (1902)06/21/1902 · Landfall: TXTropical storm46 mph nearby
• Unnamed storm (1897)09/10/1897 · Landfall: FL, LATropical storm58 mph nearby

• City of KilleenServes 161,027 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• City of TempleServes 94,935 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• City of Harker HeightsServes 35,957 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• US Army South Fort CavazosServes 35,669 · Purchased surface water · FederalNo health violations
• City of BeltonServes 23,054 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Salado WscServes 11,460 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• 439 WscServes 7,836 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+2 monitoring or reporting
• Bell County Wcid 3Serves 7,836 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+6 monitoring or reporting