Ector County

Every recorded tornado

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

Claims by ZIP code

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. Jun 14, 2017Hail$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of baseball and softball sized hail were reported by the public in Odessa. This hail broke windows on cars and homes. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

2. Jun 14, 2017Hail$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of baseball and softball sized hail were reported by the public in Odessa. This hail broke windows on cars and homes. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

3. May 26, 1999Hail$85.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This convection fired along an outflow boundary moving to the southwest in northern Crane County. The initial cell immediately split with the left-split storm moving north toward Odessa, while the right-split storm moved to the ESE into Upton County where it dissipated.The left-split storm developed a mesoanticyclone as it neared Odessa. As the heart of the updraft moved northward along West Loop 338, baseball size hail was reported near the West County Road/University Blvd. intersection. The storm continued to the north where golfball size hail chased over 1000 people for cover attending a graduation practice. In downtown Odessa one-inch hail stacked up to ankle deep.The storm…

4. Sep 27, 2004Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small linear convective complex developed over western Ector County during the early evening hours. The complex persisted and remained nearly stationary for almost two hours. Very intense rainfall fell over Monahans Draw near West Odessa.The first reports of flash flooding indicated that high water rendered Farm to Market Road 866, Texas Highway 302, and Interstate 20 impassable. Up to six feet of water was reported crossing low lying areas of Farm to Market Road 866 just north of the Interstate 20 junction. Several vehicles became stalled in high water flowing across the interstate, resulting in high water rescues of stranded motorists.By late evening the swollen Monahans Draw,…

5. Sep 28, 2012Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain developed and moved over Ector County and produced widespread flooding in the City of Odessa. There were numerous reports of stalled vehicles and about 120 water rescues among Midland and Odessa. The cost of damage for the flooding in Odessa is estimated to be around one and a half million dollars which is a very rough estimate. There were no injuries reported.

6. Jun 14, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Ector County and produced wind damage in Odessa. There were many reports of trees being uprooted and blown over as well as sheds destroyed and damage to roofs. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

7. Jun 14, 2017Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of baseball sized hail were reported by the public in Odessa. This hail broke windows on cars and homes. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

8. Mar 18, 2012Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms moved into Ector County around 11:20 PM CDT March 18th and progressed eastward. At 12:28 AM CDT March 19th, a tornado touched down in the Gardendale community and remained on the ground for two minutes. This tornado produced damage along County Road 30 (Goldenrod Drive) primarily between Chinaberry Avenue and Alfalfa Avenue. As the tornado developed, it moved just south of an RV Park located near the intersection of County Road 30 and China Berry Ave. This resulted in a large camper being toppled by severe northwest winds flowing into the tornado. One minor injury was noted at this location. As the tornado intensified and progressed northeastward,…

9. Jun 14, 2017Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Ector County and produced two inch hail in Odessa. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

10. Jun 14, 2017Hail$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A thunderstorm moved across Ector County and produced softball sized hail in Odessa. The hail busted windows in cars, homes, and businesses as well as left dents on cars and damaged the siding on homes. 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, 12.9 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.