Texas

====Storms====
{{see also|List of Texas hurricanes}}
[[Thunderstorm]]s strike Texas often, especially the eastern and northern portions of the state. [[Tornado Alley]] covers the northern section of Texas. The state experiences the most [[tornado]]es in the United States, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle.<ref name="Annual average number of tornadoes">[https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif NOOA.gov] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423020857/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif |date=April 23, 2017}} National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.</ref> Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in April, May, and June.<ref name="TexasWeather">{{cite Handbook of Texas|id=yzw01|title=Weather |first=George W. |last=Bomar |date=June 15, 2010}}</ref>

Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane in 1875 killed about 400 people in [[Indianola, Texas|Indianola]], followed by [[1886 Indianola hurricane|another hurricane]] in 1886 that destroyed the town. These events allowed [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]] to take over as the chief port city. The [[1900 Galveston hurricane]] subsequently devastated that city, killing about 8,000 people or possibly as many as 12,000 in the deadliest [[natural disaster]] in U.S. history.<ref name="deadhurr">{{cite web |last1=Blake |first1=Eric S. |last2=Rappaport |first2=Edward N. |last3=Landsea |first3=Christopher W. |title=The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2006 |publisher=National Weather Service: National Hurricane Center |date=April 15, 2007 |url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217022106/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf |archive-date= Dec 17, 2023 }}</ref> In 2017, [[Hurricane Harvey]] made landfall in [[Rockport, Texas|Rockport]] as a Category&nbsp;4 Hurricane, causing significant damage there. Its unprecedented amounts of rain over the [[Greater Houston]] area resulted in widespread and catastrophic flooding that inundated hundreds of thousands of homes. Harvey ultimately became the costliest hurricane worldwide, causing an estimated $198.6&nbsp;billion in damage, surpassing the cost of [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref name="198billion">{{cite report|first1=Michael |last1=Hicks |first2=Mark |last2=Burton|publisher=Ball State University|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=November 1, 2017|title=Hurricane Harvey: Preliminary Estimates of Commercial and Public Sector Damages on the Houston Metropolitan Area|url=https://projects.cberdata.org/reports/HurricaneHarvey2017.pdf}}</ref>

Other devastating Texas hurricanes include the [[1915 Galveston hurricane]], [[Hurricane Audrey]] in 1957, [[Hurricane Carla]] in 1961, [[Hurricane Beulah]] in 1967, [[Hurricane Alicia]] in 1983, [[Hurricane Rita]] in 2005, and [[Hurricane Ike]] in 2008. [[Tropical cyclone|Tropical storms]] have also caused their share of damage: [[Tropical Storm Allison (1989)|Allison]] in 1989 and again [[Tropical Storm Allison|during 2001]], [[Tropical Storm Claudette (1979)|Claudette]] in 1979, and [[Tropical Storm Imelda|Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019.]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Levin|first=Matt|date=June 15, 2015|title=Here's how tropical storms have impacted Texas in the past 35 years|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Here-s-how-tropical-storms-have-impacted-Texas-in-6328173.php|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Chron|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=June 4, 2020|title=Tropical Storm Allison blew through Houston 19 years ago|url=https://abc13.com/timely-tropical-storm-allison-houston-hurricane/2075243|access-date=December 28, 2020|newspaper=Abc13 Houston}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Levin|first=Matt|date=May 29, 2015|title=Tropical Storm Claudette: The 'Mother Lode' of floods|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/article/Remembering-Tropical-Storm-Claudette-The-Mother-6295177.php|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Chron|language=en-US}}</ref>

There is no substantial physical barrier between Texas and the [[Polar regions of Earth|polar region]]. Although it is unusual, it is possible for arctic or polar [[air mass]]es to penetrate Texas,<ref>{{cite news|title=Casualty|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47088684|date=February 1, 2019|access-date=February 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Polar vortex: What is it and how does it happen? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-47065461/polar-vortex-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-happen |date=January 30, 2019|website=[[BBC News]] video|access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref> as occurred during the [[February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm]].<ref name="UI">{{cite web |author1=Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |title=Continental Polar Air Masses |url=http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/arms/artc.rxml |access-date=February 21, 2021}}</ref><ref name="WP021621">{{cite news |author1=Tom Niziol |title=The lethal atmospheric setup behind a deadly Arctic outbreak: How ingredients came together for an onslaught of bone-chilling temperatures and a barrage of storms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/02/16/setup-arctic-outbreak-niziol/ |access-date=February 21, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 16, 2021}}</ref> Usually, prevailing winds in North America will push polar air masses to the southeast before they reach Texas. Because such intrusions are rare, and, perhaps, unexpected, they may result in crises such as the [[2021 Texas power crisis]].