Glasscock County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 22, 2000Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Glasscock County was probably the most affected county in the region by the flooding. Almost the entire county received in excess of 2 inches of rain with the northwest half (about 400 square miles) of the county getting inundated with around 6 inches of rain. Much of this rainfall collected in Mustang Draw that flowed northward into Howard County where the vehicle fatalities occurred. Highway 137 in the northwest part of the county was closed for many days before flood waters receded. The high, swift flows took out fence lines over much of the area.

2. Oct 8, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging winds, estimated to be near 80 mph and measured at 73 mph by a local resident, first snapped power poles near State Highway 137 over extreme northwestern Reagan County Texas around 1740 CST. As the storm progressed north northeastward, a residence along State Highway 137 (just south of the county line) also sustained damage to its property near 1745 CST. Numerous tree branches, some 8 to 12 inches in diameter, were snapped. Two windows on the southwest corner of the home were also broken by the strong winds, and a windmill near the back of the home was bent in half. From 1810 to 1820 CST, the storm continued north northeastward and snapped/downed multiple power poles. The…

3. May 22, 2016Tornado$107,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Glasscock County and produced a tornado near Garden City. This tornado developed around 8:56 pm CDT, just over 1.5 miles north northwest of Garden City. This tornado produced a combination of EF-1 and EF-2 damage at two residences. A single-wide manufactured home at Home #1 was rolled and destroyed. This was indicative of damage produced by a tornado of EF-2 intensity. As the tornado moved southwestward and impacted Home #2, a combination of EF-1 and EF-2 damage was noted. Tree damage was indicative of EF-1, while the metal barn appears to have sustained lower-end EF-2 damage. It is noted however that the barn construction made it more susceptible to…

4. Apr 12, 2015Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Glasscock County and lightning struck and caused a tank battery fire near Garden City. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate. There were no injuries reported.

5. May 24, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm produced wind damage in Garden City as well as across portions of Glasscock County. This damage included multiple downed power poles, uprooted trees, shingles and roof damage, and numerous cases of wind-driven hail damage. Given that damage was all found oriented in a similar direction across the surveyed area, the damage was determined to be caused by strong downdraft winds. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

6. May 24, 2022Tornado$83,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm produced a tornado near State Highway 158 in Glasscock County. This tornado crossed State Highway 158 and lasted about fifteen minutes before dissipating after crossing County Road 130. Power poles were snapped and completely blown over in the opposite direction along Highway 158. A narrow swath of power poles were snapped along County Road 110 and a lone power pole was snapped off County Road 130. Video evidence from Highway 158 shows this tornado was multi-vortex with three to four ground circulations evident. The tornado likely touched down multiple times along the path. The path length and location are estimated by radar and power pole damage locations. The path…

7. Jun 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law officials reported approximately twenty power poles blown down by severe thunderstorm winds.

8. Oct 8, 2009Hail$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Texas Tech Mesonet extension agent reported tennis ball size hail and extensive hail damage to sorghum and cotton crops near the area. Public reports indicated over 4500 acres of cotton were destroyed by the hail. In addition, 1000 acres of sorghum were destroyed. Several homes also sustained roof damage from the large hail.

9. Mar 28, 2017Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado formed along Farm to Market Road 2401. The tornado was narrow, 50 to 75 yards wide, and moved almost parallel and just south of FM 2401 during a 1.8 mile stretch before weakening somewhere near Highway 137. A small barn or outbuilding was destroyed by the tornado at approximately 7:28 pm. One wall of the structure remained. This type of damage is indicative of EF-1 damage with winds of approximately 100 to 110 mph. Pieces of the metal roof were blown northeastward across FM 2401 into an open field. Two silos/storage tanks were also displaced from their original locations. There was a stretch of 32 power poles that were snapped off within a few feet of the ground which is…

10. May 22, 2016Tornado$45,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A thunderstorm moved across Glasscock County and produced a tornado near Garden City. This tornado developed just west of Ranch Road 33, four miles north northwest of Garden City around 8:42 pm CDT. The tornado moved southward, knocking over a 640 type pump jack located approximately two and a quarter miles north of Garden City. This type of occurrence is associated with wind speeds in the 140-160 mph range. Thus, the tornado has been rated as briefly reaching EF-3 intensity. Broken tree limbs were observed by the assessment team two miles north of Garden City, just west of Ranch Road 33. This damage indicator suggested the tornado had weakened to EF-1 intensity at that point.…

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

118°FJun 19, 2026

All-time low

−9°FFeb 2, 1985

Warmest night

85°FSep 24, 2023

Coldest day

12°FJan 16, 2024

Wettest day

4.40 in2 times, most recently Sep 13, 1996

Snowiest day

8.0 in3 times, most recently Nov 28, 2001

Hottest year

2024mean 66.5°F

Coldest year

1976mean 60.4°F

Wettest year

198644.85 in

Driest year

19527.81 in

Snowiest season

14.5 in2001-02

Station Cope Rch (USC00411974), 2,480 ft elevation, 25.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1964 to October 23, 2026; 94.8% 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 USC00411974.
• 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.