HOUSTON – Severe storms are often associated with springtime, but the fact is, the winter season in southeast Texas also brings the risk of damaging winds and tornadoes.
There have been notable outbreaks, such as Jan. 25, 2012, 6 tornadoes touched down across SE Texas impacted communities from Brenham to Pearland. Another jaw dropping outbreak was the week of Christmas in 2024, a total of 11 tornadoes were confirmed.
As for February, in 2013, an EF-0 tornado touched down in Polk County, injuring a man. Fast-forward to February 2026 , a EF-0 tornado were confirmed touching down twice in Liberty County ripping up structures.
The pattern behind winter tornadoes:
Tornadoes are common in the winter months in SE Texas because the jet stream is more favorable for bringing cold-air storm systems. The cold air clashes with warm, moist air masses coming off the Gulf of Mexico, leading to severe storms.
Check out the bar graph from the National Weather Service- While there are peaks in April, May, October, and November, tornadoes have still been recorded every month. So it is important to understand tornado alerts and know what to do if one hits your community.