Carson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Carson County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 12, 2006Wildfire, Carson$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The wildfire known as the Borger wildfire started four miles southeast of Borger on the Burnett (6666) Ranch property. This wildfire was caused by downed power lines due to the strong gradient southwesterly winds. The wildfire burned four hundred and seventy-nine thousand five hundred and forty-nine acres. Twenty eight structures were lost and seven people were killed. This fire burned into southeast Hutchinson County...northwest Gray County...through central Roberts County and finally into western Hemphill County. The second wildfire known as the Interstate 40 wildfire burned four hundred and twenty-seven thousand six hundred and ninety-six acres. This wildfire started four miles…

2. Feb 24, 2013Blizzard, Carson$660,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Blizzard conditions reported by a trained spotter in Panhandle and 14.0 inches storm total snow.

3. Jun 19, 2008Hail$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An off-duty National Weather Service employee reported that numerous homes in eastern Carson County received considerable roof and window damage to homes...barns and other structures.

4. May 29, 2001Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado destroyed an office building associated with a grain elevator...unroofed and severely damaged a nearby home...and tossed a pickup truck and suburban about fifty and one hundred yards respectively. Several cattle and one horse were reported killed or injured from the tornado. As many as fifty power poles and transmission lines were brought down from the storm. The tornado path and width were estimated and an official damage survey was made on the tornado.

5. Mar 7, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms moved through the central and eastern Texas panhandle during the afternoon and evening producing damaging winds and large hail.

6. Jun 2, 1999Lightning$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surface low over southeastern Colorado with a warm front extending southeastward across the northern sections of the Texas panhandle and a dryline extending southward from the surface low across eastern New Mexico set the stage for severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail and an isolated tornado throughout the evening hours.

7. Jul 11, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Carson County Sheriff's Office reported tree and roof damage.

8. Jun 13, 2011Wildfire, Carson$85,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Texas Forest Service reported that the Russ Wildfire Complex consisted of two separate wildfires and was located in Carson County about six miles south of Panhandle Texas around 1439 CST. The first wildfire consumed a measured one hundred and forty acres while the second wildfire consumed an estimated four hundred and ten acres. The total acreage burned for the wildfire complex was five hundred and fifty acres. Although no injuries were reported, the wildfire destroyed one abandoned farm house and one outbuilding was damaged. The wildfire complex was contained around 1900 CST.

9. Apr 21, 2007Tornado$72,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado formed nine miles east northeast of Claude at 2035 CST and entered Carson county at 2037 CST one and a half miles southwest of Groom. The tornado tracked north and traveled about another ten miles before dissipating at 2110 CST ten miles east of Panhandle. In Carson county...the tornado plowed through a storage area for tractors and other farm equipment. Tractors...turbines...vehicles...cotton presser box cars similar to railroad cars were moved and thrown about in the tornado for considerable distances. Power poles were also damaged. No injuries were reported.

10. Apr 30, 2001Hail$70,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe thunderstorms developed over southwestern Roberts county. The storms moved southwest and then south across Carson and northern Armstrong counties producing large...damaging hail and an isolated tornado during the evening hours.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

111°FJun 26, 2011

All-time low

−14°FFeb 1, 1951

Warmest night

79°FJul 9, 2011

Coldest day

2°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

5.74 inJul 7, 2010

Snowiest day

19.0 inFeb 25, 2013

Hottest year

2024mean 61.9°F

Coldest year

1979mean 55.0°F

Wettest year

196036.67 in

Driest year

20117.01 in

Snowiest season

47.9 in1982-83

Station Amarillo (USW00023047), 3,703 ft elevation, 23.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1947 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00023047.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.