Another year came and went in the blink of an eye. 2025 was memorable for many reasons, including heavy rainfall, a worsening drought, beautiful Northern Lights displays and even more snow.
Here are the top 5 weather events of the year, as determined by KSAT’s Weather Authority.
HONORABLE MENTION: AQUIFER REACHES LOWEST POINT SINCE 1990
At the start of 2025, the Edwards Aquifer entered the year at one of its lowest water levels on record, more than 40 feet below normal at the main index gauge (J‑17 well in Bexar County). On April 15, the J-17 Well recorded a daily reading of 625.4’, making it the lowest since the 1990 summer.
By late May, the decline had deepened enough to trigger Stage 5 drought restrictions to permit groundwater pumpers. Although modest rainfall later in May and early June edged the water level up somewhat, the aquifer remains far below its historical average.
5. KERRVILLE HAILSTORM
On March 23, what had been a quiet day in Kerrville turned into chaos as a powerful storm swept into the city. On the north side of town, giant hail pounded cars, stripped trees, and left behind an eerie fog.
Several stores had broken windows because the hailstones reached the size of baseballs.
4. JANUARY SNOWFALL
Snow in South Texas?
Yes! While it wasn’t much, the Alamo City saw a tenth of an inch of snow on Jan. 21.
This event ended up marking the first measurable snowfall in San Antonio since February 2021. By the afternoon, temperatures reached 41 degrees with plenty of sunshine, allowing the snow to melt. Areas from Floresville to Gonzales received more than one inch of snow.
3. WILDFIRES
- SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY
On March 4, warm, windy, and unusually dry conditions set the stage for a pair of wildfires in South Bexar County — the Calaveras Fire and the Duke Fire — as low humidity, dormant winter grasses, and gusty southerly winds primed the landscape for rapid fire spread.
The Calaveras Fire ignited near I-37 and Southton Road, prompting mandatory evacuations of roughly 182 homes. The Duke Fire burned 244 acres near the county line, destroying six structures.
- CRABAPPLE
Just 10 days later, the Crabapple fire in Gillespie County started. It burned 9,858 acres north of Fredericksburg, a large fire even by Texas standards.
Compared to San Antonio’s size, it encompassed roughly from St. Mary’s University through downtown to the Frost Bank Center.
Caused by a vehicle, dry, breezy weather combined with the terrain of the Hill Country created a rapidly expanding fire. Despite the arrival of additional state and regional firefighting resources, full containment didn’t occur until March 21. Fortunately, there was no loss of life. However, 30 structures were burned.
2. BEITEL CREEK FLOOD
Before dawn on June 12, San Antonio experienced one of its most devastating weather events when slow-moving thunderstorms unleashed catastrophic flash flooding along Beitel Creek.
In just one hour, nearly four inches of rain fell at San Antonio International Airport — the highest hourly total ever recorded locally — pushing the day’s total to over six inches by sunrise.
This rare, high-efficiency rainfall shattered records and overwhelmed drainage systems. The result was a wave of water that would sweep away 15 cars near Perrin-Beitel Road, killing 13 drivers.
1. HILL COUNTRY FLOODS
Catastrophic flooding struck the Texas Hill Country over the July 4 holiday, resulting in tragic loss. The remnants of Tropical Storm Barry drifted through the area, leaving behind a bullseye of rainfall over Kerr County.
It was a “worst-case scenario” event, with the heavy rain centered directly over the north and south forks of the Guadalupe River in the dark of night.
Storms “trained” over the same areas for hours, dumping more than 10 inches of rain in Kerr County in a matter of hours. Over the weekend, many were camping or staying along the river, while summer camps were in full session.
The Guadalupe River, which crested at 37.5 feet near Hunt, reached almost 20 feet above the major flood stage. Sadly, there was a devastating human toll, with more than 130 lives lost, making this one of the deadliest floods in Texas history.
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