Cottle County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Cottle County: 1.
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.

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

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 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.

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. May 30, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Destructive straight-line winds spread south-southwest in the rear flank downdraft of a supercell creating scattered to widespread damage in and around the city of Paducah. These winds caused a swath of damage to trees, power lines, homes, vehicles, and other buildings from about 4NE Paducah southwest to the south side of the city. An NWS storm survey indicated winds up to 100 mph partially swept away a multi-car garage and overturned one car in the process. Three other vehicles inside suffered various degrees of damage. Sheet metal from the garage was found to be blown southwest nearly 300 yards from its origin. On the north side of Paducah, a portion of a large warehouse…

2. Nov 27, 2015Ice Storm, Cottle$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Following a sharp cold front which ignited a few strong thunderstorms during the late afternoon hours on Thanksgiving Day, brisk northerly winds and freezing temperatures overspread the region and remained in place for nearly 48 hours. Atop this shallow layer of cold air, anomalously moist air from the Gulf of Mexico combined with a strong subtropical upper jet to produce periodic rounds of mostly freezing rain from Thanksgiving night through the morning hours on the 28th. A few periods of sleet and even very light snow accompanied this multi-day storm; however, all significant impacts were the direct result of icing from freezing rain. As the brunt of the freezing rain fell on…

3. Apr 22, 2010Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large and rain wrapped tornado tracked from southwest of Cee Vee to just west of U.S. Highway 62/83 east-northeast of Cee Vee between 18:46 and 19:20 CST. A storm spotter observed the tornado as it passed southeast of Cee Vee at approximately 19:05 CST, and described it visually as a large wedge-shaped vortex. A post-storm ground and aerial survey conducted by local emergency management officials and National Weather Service meteorologists concluded that the tornado resulted in significant EF-3 damage.||A number light weight objects and structures, including well-houses, horse stables, utility poles, empty semi-truck trailers, and a partially filled petroleum tank were heavily…

4. Aug 26, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The line of previously severe storms over western Cottle County weakened as they approached Paducah. However, another severe storm quickly developed over southeastern Cottle County and propagated northwestward. This resulted in a cell merger just south of Paducah. A series of damaging downbursts followed the merger, and resulted in approximately $220,000 worth of damage in the Paducah vicinity.Damaging winds estimated to exceed 80 mph initially impacted the Paducah Country Club just southeast of the city at 16:47 CST. These winds peeled tin roofs off of several light-weight structures, and snapped eleven medium voltage utility poles. Tree and utility damage continued northwestward…

5. Sep 20, 2001Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe multi-cell thunderstorm developed over southern Hall County. The storm drifted east-southeast at 15 mph and produced nickel size hail in Cee Vee in northwestern Cottle County. As the storm moved into central Cottle County, it quickly intensified and started moving to the south as it took aim on Paducah. A few miles north of town it began to show the radar characteristics of a high-precipitation supercell and its strength peaked just as it moved over the town. Copious amounts of hail, mostly golfball to tennis ball size but some as large as grapefruits (4 inch diameter stones), were wind-driven through windows and into the sides of homes and businesses resulting in damage…

6. Apr 29, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Local officials reported that large hail was accompanied by damaging thunderstorm winds estimated up to 75 mph along a swath of U.S. 62/70 from west of Paducah to near the city. The Paducah Fire Department initially estimated 75 mph winds and hail west of Paducah at 18:39 CST. A KVII-TV schoolnet site in Paducah recorded a peak gust of 59 mph at 18:46 CST. Winds estimated up to 75 mph, however, were again reported by the Cottle County Emergency Manager in Paducah at 18:51 CST. Damage to trees and utilities was reportedly widespread, including the loss of a historic tree at a church. A few light weight structures, such as barns and car ports, were additionally damaged. The roof…

7. Apr 2, 2009High Wind, Cottle$115,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A very dynamic upper air storm system dug southward over the plains of eastern New Mexico and then ejected eastward over the South Plains of west Texas during the late hours of the 1st and early morning hours of the 2nd. This system produced a variety of weather hazards over the South Plains, with widespread high winds being the primary impact.||Severe gusts up to 67 mph were measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet at many locations across the South Plains, both in advance of a strong cold frontal passage and in the post frontal air. These winds caused minor structural damage to a building in O'Donnell (Lynn County). A tree was blown onto a house in Plainview…

8. May 1, 1996Drought, Cottle$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The drought continued through most of the month of May, causing significant crop damage. Some areas received several inches of rain during the severe weather of the 25th and 26th, but this was not nearly enough to break this long term drought.

9. Jun 10, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm severely impacted the area near and south of Paducah. The Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site 10 miles southwest of Paducah measured a wind gust to 80 mph. A schoolnet site in Paducah measured a wind gust to 64 mph 11 minutes later. There were also multiple reports of thunderstorm wind damage especially at Paducah High School. The Paducah fire department reported utility poles downed 10 miles south of Paducah. Minor structural damage was reported at Paducah High School including severe damage to the press box at the football field. Additionally, the garage door was blown in at the High School agricultural building with accompanying tree damage in the area.

10. Jun 1, 1996Drought, Cottle$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Despite periodic thunderstorms this month, the long drought continued across the extreme southern Texas Panhandle, the South Plains, and the Low Rolling Plains. The very dry weather adversely impacted the early cotton crop that dominates this area.

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

117°F2 times, most recently Jun 26, 2011

All-time low

−5°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Warmest night

88°FJul 16, 2001

Coldest day

10°FDec 22, 1990

Wettest day

5.32 inOct 20, 1983

Snowiest day

11.0 inDec 2, 1971

Hottest year

2012mean 65.6°F

Coldest year

1987mean 59.1°F

Wettest year

199539.08 in

Driest year

195610.44 in

Snowiest season

27.4 in1967-68

Station Childress Municipal Airport (USW00023007), 1,949 ft elevation, 27.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00023007.
• 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.