Crane County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Crane 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 storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 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.

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 22, 2000Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flooding near Crane and points south closed highways and caused damage. The Crane Country Club sustained damage to the golf course as well as the building and equipment. The damage was so extensive that the county nearly decided to permanently shut down it operations. All roads in and out of Crane were closed overnight with U.S. Highway 385 sustaining some damage.

2. May 6, 2015Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Crane County and produced baseball sized hail in Crane. A damage survey was conducted the next day. Many vehicles had hail damage ranging from broken windshields to numerous dents. The majority of the damage was to vehicles, however there was damage noted at several homes. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

3. Jun 3, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds downed at least four utility poles along Farm to Market Road 1601 north of Texas Highway 329 in east-central Crane County. Damaging winds spread east toward Crane, where several large trees were blown down.

4. Jun 23, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm produced very strong winds and caused damage across the city of Crane. There were numerous reports of roof damage, carport damage, broken windows, and tree damage. An electric meter was knocked off a house and a water line was broken by a falling tree.

5. May 28, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds downed power lines in Crane.

6. May 6, 2008Hail$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Quarter to golfball sized hail fell in Crane.

7. May 6, 2008Hail$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of strong west winds behind the dryline and moist southeast surface flow resulted in strong storms throughout the area. Initial thunderstorm development occurred along this boundary, which was located from Carlsbad, southward through Fort Stockton. Additional upper level atmospheric support was provided by a passing upper level disturbance. The strength of thunderstorms was increased by having a moderately unstable and high wind shear environment.

8. May 6, 2015Hail$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Crane County and produced golf ball sized hail south of Crane on Highway 385. There were reports of broken windows and some damage to cars. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

9. Aug 12, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Crane County Sheriff's Office and the public reported 60 mph winds that blew down power lines.

10. Jul 22, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$7,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A thunderstorm moved across Crane County and produced wind damage in the City of Crane. There were downed powerlines at W. 6th Street and Katherine Street. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

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

116°FJun 27, 1994

All-time low

−11°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1985

Warmest night

85°FJul 14, 2020

Coldest day

12°FFeb 1, 1985

Wettest day

5.32 inAug 24, 1934

Snowiest day

10.6 inJan 9, 2012

Hottest year

2025mean 67.6°F

Coldest year

1932mean 61.0°F

Wettest year

198632.13 in

Driest year

19514.60 in

Snowiest season

19.5 in2011-12

Station Midland Odessa (USW00023023), 2,962 ft elevation, 38.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1930 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 USW00023023.
• 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.