Gray County

Population 20,919 (2025) 926 sq mi

Large wildfires have burned 307,274 acres of Gray County since 1984, 6th most of 254 counties in Texas; the largest was the East Amarillo Complex Fire in 2006.

Hazard fingerprint for Gray County Tornado: 95th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 97th percentile. Flood: 16th percentile. Hail & wind: 85th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 70th percentile. Winter: 46th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Tornado damage paths since 195093
  • Wildfire burn scars since 198415

At a glance

The record for Gray County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Acres burned since 1984

307,274

6th of 254 in Texas

15 large fires; the largest was East Amarillo Complex, 2006

Details

Tornadoes since 1950

93

14th of 254 in Texas

2.7 times the typical Texas county

Details

Flood insurance claims

3

185th of 254 in Texas

$5,051 paid since 1979

Details

Strongest tornado

F4

April 17, 1970, 130.0 mile path

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

5.0magnitude

July 23, 2026, 20.5 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

16

Most recent: Rest Area Fire, 2025

Details

Record high

111°F

June 25, 1980

Details

Record low

−10°F

Reached 2 times, most recently February 16, 2021

Details

Tornadoes

About one tornado a year since 1950, 12 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Strongest

April 17, 1970

F4, 130.0 mile path

880 yards wide; 1 killed along the whole path.

Deadliest

April 18, 1970

16 killed, F4

42 injured along the whole path.

Most recent

Friday, June 25, 2021

EF1, 2.2 mile path

5 years ago.

Tornadoes by decade Doppler radar era² 1950s: 5 5 1960s: 9 9 1970s: 8 8 1980s: 13 13 1990s: 27 27 2000s: 14 14 2010s: 14 14 2020s: 3 3 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
Recorded tornadoes per decade. The 2020s are incomplete.
Tornadoes by month J: 0 F: 2 M: 9 A: 10 M: 36 36 J: 25 J: 3 A: 1 S: 0 O: 2 N: 4 D: 1 JFMAMJJASOND
By month of occurrence, all years.

Every recorded tornado

Tornadoes in Gray County since 1950
Jun 25, 2021EF12.24000
May 7, 2021EF03.32500
Aug 16, 2020EF11.820000
Jun 18, 2019EF01.02000
May 29, 2018EF00.15000
May 10, 2017EF12.65000
Dec 12, 2015EF00.05000
Nov 16, 2015EF116.030000
Nov 16, 2015EF310.950000
Nov 16, 2015EF210.417500
Nov 16, 2015EF331.975000
Apr 16, 2015EF02.33000
Oct 9, 2014EF17.012500
Feb 3, 2012EF112.710000
Apr 22, 2010EF04.510000
Apr 22, 2010EF04.044000
Apr 22, 2010EF00.52500
May 15, 2009EF16.044000
May 15, 2009EF23.088010
May 15, 2009EF01.044000
May 5, 2007EF02.030000
Apr 21, 2007EF112.75000
Mar 28, 2007EF38.01,76000
Mar 28, 2007EF10.25000
Mar 28, 2007EF00.25000
Mar 28, 2007EF23.620000
Mar 28, 2007EF33.060020
Mar 24, 2007EF12.05000
Feb 23, 2007EF00.12500
May 24, 2003F00.25000
May 15, 2003F00.14000
May 20, 1999F00.1000
May 20, 1999F00.1000
Jun 11, 1997F14.020000
May 7, 1997F01.05000
May 7, 1997F00.22300
May 24, 1996F00.54000
May 9, 1996F00.12500
Jun 8, 1995F00.11000
Jun 8, 1995F00.11000
Jun 8, 1995F429.060000
Jun 8, 1995F01.05000
Jun 8, 1995F29.040000
Jun 8, 1995F02.010000
Jun 8, 1995F24.020000
Jun 8, 1995F12.025000
Jun 8, 1995F00.310000
Jun 8, 1995F26.04000
Jun 8, 1995F43.020070
Jun 8, 1995F00.15000
May 31, 1995F00.12300
May 30, 1995F02.020000
Oct 12, 1993F12.07300
May 23, 1991F00.12000
Jun 8, 1990F01.87000
Jun 8, 1990F01.28000
Jun 8, 1990F11.49000
Apr 24, 1990F01.48000
Jul 14, 1987F24.5150100
May 21, 1987F01.54000
Apr 26, 1985F00.13000
Jun 11, 1983F00.37000
Mar 3, 1983F00.53300
Jun 24, 1982F00.11000
May 19, 1982F22.020000
May 19, 1982F32.010000
May 19, 1982F26.01,76000
May 19, 1982F00.52000
May 19, 1982F34.088000
May 19, 1982F31.558700
May 12, 1982F00.11000
May 26, 1979F00.33000
May 17, 1977F00.52000
May 12, 1975F00.53000
Mar 27, 1975F10.31700
Mar 26, 1975F31.0220422
Apr 13, 1973F290.115000
Apr 18, 1970F465.08804216
Apr 17, 1970F4130.0880131
May 16, 1969F00.11000
Jul 17, 1968F04.53300
Jul 17, 1968F03.83300
May 6, 1968F012.310000
May 6, 1968F012.310000
May 5, 1967F10.13300
Jun 14, 1966F21.02700
Jun 2, 1961F20.52300
May 16, 1961F00.21000
Jun 23, 1958F11.01700
Jun 20, 1958F02.03300
May 15, 1957F10.11000
May 15, 1957F18.01000
Jun 6, 1951F00.11000
  1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Gray County: 2.
  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.

Hurricanes and tropical storms

No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.

Wildfire and smoke

307,274 acres burned in 15 large fires since 1984, equal to 52% of the land.

Largest

March 12, 2006

East Amarillo Complex, 593,293 acres

178,397 acres inside Gray County.

Most recent

February 26, 2024

Grape Vine Creek Fire

33,560 acres in total.

Acres burned since 1984, cumulative 2006: 188,4202008: 2,4142009: 4,9642016: 12,8402017: 18,6992018: 31,6292021: 3,7812022: 4,7402023: 1,2402024: 38,548 307,274 acres 198519901995200020052010201520202025
Running total of acres burned inside the county (line) and each year’s acres (bars).

Every large fire

Large wildfires since 1984
Grape Vine Creek202433,56933,560
Smokehouse Creek20244,9781,047,245
Thut Hill20231,2391,241
Sand Creek20224,7404,735
North 20720213,78024,115
Mcclellan201823,06023,061
Bower City20181,2721,273
Thut Creek20187,2967,293
Lefors East201718,69968,690
Crutch201612,84045,056
Tri-County20094,9638,618
Bowers Ranch20082,4142,414
Bowers City Fire20068,9818,976
East Amarillo Complex2006178,397593,293
Unnamed20061,0411,042
  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

Smokiest year

2021: 40 days

Heavy smoke on 16 days in 2020, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

15.2 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

4 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 17 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 17 2012: 16 2013: 12 2014: 0 2015: 5 2016: 1 2017: 10 2018: 6 2019: 2 2020: 33 2021: 40 40 2022: 25 2023: 16 2024: 15 2025: 4 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the county’s population centre, 2011 to 2025.
  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.

Floods and flood insurance

3 federal flood insurance claims since 1979, with $5,051 paid.

Federal flood insurance claims by year
Claims per year since 1979. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Flood events since 1996

  • Flash Flood14
  • Flood3
  • Heavy Rain3

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.

Drought

In severe drought or worse for 130 of 1,581 months since 1895 (8%); the longest spell lasted 11 months.

130

Months in severe drought or worse since 1895

29

Months in extreme drought

8%

Share of all months, severe or worse

62

Drought reports to the Weather Service since 1996

Lowest reading

August 2026

−5.97, extreme drought

Longest severe spell

11 months

July 1954 to May 1955.

Latest month

September 2026

−4.92, extreme drought

Months in severe drought or worse, by year 1895: 0 1896: 1 1897: 0 1898: 0 1899: 0 1900: 0 1901: 0 1902: 0 1903: 0 1904: 2 1905: 0 1906: 0 1907: 0 1908: 0 1909: 0 1910: 2 1911: 1 1912: 0 1913: 0 1914: 0 1915: 0 1916: 0 1917: 1 1918: 2 1919: 0 1920: 0 1921: 0 1922: 0 1923: 0 1924: 0 1925: 0 1926: 0 1927: 0 1928: 0 1929: 0 1930: 0 1931: 0 1932: 0 1933: 2 1934: 7 1935: 5 1936: 1 1937: 0 1938: 0 1939: 0 1940: 5 1941: 0 1942: 0 1943: 0 1944: 0 1945: 0 1946: 0 1947: 0 1948: 0 1949: 0 1950: 0 1951: 0 1952: 3 1953: 6 1954: 9 9 1955: 5 1956: 8 1957: 0 1958: 0 1959: 0 1960: 0 1961: 0 1962: 0 1963: 8 1964: 6 1965: 0 1966: 0 1967: 5 1968: 0 1969: 0 1970: 0 1971: 3 1972: 0 1973: 0 1974: 2 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 1 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 0 1989: 0 1990: 0 1991: 1 1992: 0 1993: 0 1994: 0 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 0 2001: 0 2002: 0 2003: 0 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 4 2007: 0 2008: 0 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 7 2012: 8 2013: 1 2014: 1 2015: 0 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 4 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 0 2022: 8 2023: 4 2024: 0 2025: 0 18951905191519251935194519551965197519851995200520152025
Months each year with a Palmer index of −3 or lower, 1895 to 2025. Twelve means the whole year.
  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.

Earthquakes

4 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.0 in 2026.

4

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

24

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

4

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

1

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

July 23, 2026

Magnitude 5.0

38 km SSE of Spearman, Texas; 20.5 miles away, 3.5 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

July 23, 2026

Magnitude 5.0

38 km SSE of Spearman, Texas; 20.5 miles away.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 0 1978: 0 1979: 1 1980: 1 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 0 1988: 0 1989: 0 1990: 0 1991: 0 1992: 0 1993: 0 1994: 0 1995: 0 1996: 1 1997: 2 1998: 0 1999: 0 2000: 6 6 2001: 0 2002: 0 2003: 1 2004: 0 2005: 0 2006: 2 2007: 1 2008: 2 2009: 0 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 1 2013: 0 2014: 0 2015: 1 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 1 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 2 2022: 0 2023: 1 2024: 0 2025: 0 19731978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Per year, 1973 to 2025.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
Jul 23, 20265.020.53.538 km SSE of Spearman, Texas
Apr 14, 20214.316.74.834 km NNE of Skellytown, Texas
Jun 19, 19364.4Inside3.114 km SSE of Lefors, Texas
Jul 30, 19254.919.3—Near Panhandle, Texas
  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.

Severe weather and other events

1,181 events in the National Weather Service record, 1,000 of them since 1996.

340

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

79

Hail, 2 inches or larger

243

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

63

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

20

Cold events since 1996

Largest hail

June 13, 2023

4.50 inches

Strongest measured or estimated gust

August 6, 1989

102 mph

More event types since 1996

Other Storm Events types since 1996
Lightning110Jun 1, 2000
Dust storms and dust devils100Mar 18, 2014
Dense fog and smoke800Dec 13, 2014

Costliest events since 1996

  1. Mar 12, 2006Wildfire, Gray$19.9 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, Gray$660,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Blizzard conditions reported by the National Weather Service COOP Observer in Pampa and 16.0 inches storm total snow.

  3. May 15, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$575,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe thunderstorms raked across the eastern Texas panhandle during the early morning hours producing very damaging winds along with some hail. The hardest hit locations were the town of McLean in southeastern Gray county and around Canadian in Hemphill county.

  4. Dec 22, 2007Winter Weather, Gray$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Two inches of snow and strong winds combined to produce white out conditions near Pampa. This contributed to a twenty-seven car accident at the intersection of U.S. Highway 60 and Texas State Highway 152. Thirteen people were injured and transported to the hospital...and one person was killed.

  5. Jun 21, 2004Hail$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several homes had damage to roofs and cars had windows broken.

  6. Feb 26, 2024Wildfire, Gray$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    During the morning of Monday, February 26th, a decayed power pole broke at ground level and caused the three-wire power line atop it to fall and make contact with fine grassy fuels, igniting what would become the Smokehouse Creek Fire. At approximately 2:20 pm on February 26, 2024, Texas A&M Forest Service received a request for assistance for a wildfire in Hutchinson County. The fire ignited one mile north of Stinnett, Texas and east of Highway 207, with initial fire behavior reported as extremely active in tall grasses due to high winds and low relative humidity. Winds gusting over 40- 50 mph pushed the fire east from Highway 207 approximately 30 miles to Highway 70 north of…

  7. Feb 3, 2012Tornado$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    This is the first segment of a tornado which formed ten miles south southwest of Miami just north of Texas State Highway 152 and traveled northeastward for about eight miles before exiting Gray county about five and a half miles north northeast of Laketon at 0055CST. While in Gray county, the tornado was rated an EF1. The tornado had a maximum width of one hundred yards. At he beginning of the tornado track in Gray county, there was a horse barn damaged as well as a center pivot irrigation system overturned. Then two miles from about where the tornado touched down to the northeast, also in Gray county, two single power poles were snapped at the base. There were no reports of…

  8. Mar 19, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$130,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An official National Weather Service storm survey revealed that a narrow area of damaging thunderstorm wind gusts moved through Pampa, Texas between Banks Street and West Brown Street. The path of damage was twenty-five yards wide and five hundred yards long. The winds picked up and destroyed a ten by ten aluminum shed which caused debris for four hundred yards. An abandoned wood frame house on Banks Street had its side wall collapse. There were three containers that were overturned by the winds. Also, a park sign in a municipal park was damaged and a business on West Brown Street had the front wall of the establishment blown onto West Brown Street. There was also damage to a…

  9. Mar 28, 2007Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado formed three miles south southwest of Jericho in northwest Donley county at 1839 CST and entered Gray county about one and a half miles west northwest of Jericho at 1848 CST. The tornado then continued moving north northwest for another three miles before dissipating just south of Farm to Market Road 2477 and just east of State Highway 70 four miles northwest of Jericho or about eleven miles southwest of Lefors at 1854 CST.|As highlighted in the Donley County portion of this tornado track...the most significant damage from this tornado occurred to three semi trucks that were caught and badly damaged in the tornado on Interstate 40 on the Donley County and Gray County…

  10. Jun 25, 2021Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado touched down in an open field initially. It destroyed a barn and snapped tree limbs along its path as it moved east-southeast across ranchland. A small RV camper that was in the barn was rolled onto its side and was a total loss as well.

  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.

Weather records

From Pampa #2, 2.5 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1964.

All-time high
111°FJun 25, 1980
All-time low
−10°F2 times, most recently Feb 16, 2021
Warmest night
79°F3 times, most recently Aug 14, 2026
Coldest day
1°FDec 23, 1990
Wettest day
3.70 inSep 26, 2017
Snowiest day
20.0 inMar 24, 1987
Hottest year
2024mean 61.7°F
Coldest year
1993mean 54.7°F
Wettest year
201540.76 in
Driest year
201113.07 in
Snowiest season
51.9 in1982-83
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Pampa #2 32°F 50° 23° 0.7 Jan 53° 25° 0.6 Feb 63° 34° 1.5 Mar 71° 42° 2.2 Apr 80° 52° 3.0 May 89° 62° 3.3 Jun 93° 67° 2.5 Jul 92° 66° 3.1 Aug 85° 59° 2.0 Sep 73° 46° 2.3 Oct 61° 34° 1.2 Nov 52° 25° 0.9 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Days reaching 95°F per year 1976: 27 1977: 27 1978: 42 1979: 26 1980: 56 1981: 16 1982: 22 1983: 39 1984: 23 1985: 32 1986: 18 1987: 13 1988: 18 1989: 12 1990: 37 1991: 11 1992: 12 1993: 8 1994: 41 1995: 20 1996: 28 1997: 20 1998: 60 1999: 17 2000: 56 2001: 49 2002: 20 2003: 37 2004: 20 2005: 27 2006: 50 2007: 16 2008: 30 2009: 35 2010: 38 2011: 86 86 2012: 70 2013: 32 2014: 32 2015: 22 2016: 33 2017: 32 2018: 38 2019: 44 2020: 40 2021: 26 2022: 53 2023: 42 2024: 65 2025: 23 19761986199620062016
Days reaching 95°F each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 38.0.
Snowfall by winter 1976: 13.9 in 1977: 22.0 in 1978: 26.6 in 1979: 7.5 in 1980: 12.7 in 1981: 12.6 in 1982: 51.9 in 51.9 1983: 21.1 in 1984: 13.0 in 1985: 15.4 in 1986: 40.8 in 1987: 50.1 in 1988: 5.3 in 1989: 15.2 in 1990: 4.8 in 1991: 5.5 in 1992: 42.0 in 1993: 13.7 in 1994: 11.4 in 1995: 11.8 in 1996: 19.2 in 1997: 21.7 in 1998: 9.5 in 1999: 18.2 in 2000: 28.6 in 2001: 10.1 in 2002: 22.6 in 2003: 5.1 in 2004: 18.6 in 2005: 3.6 in 2006: 29.1 in 2007: 8.0 in 2008: 18.2 in 2009: 22.9 in 2010: 18.9 in 2011: 11.0 in 2012: 29.5 in 2013: 13.9 in 2014: 17.3 in 2015: 14.0 in 2016: 7.8 in 2017: 0.2 in 2018: 6.5 in 2019: 12.7 in 2020: 27.9 in 2021: 9.1 in 2022: 4.9 in 2023: 3.5 in 2024: 16.6 in 2025: 5.0 in 19761986199620062016
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

December 2

Earliest: October 8, 1970

Median last snow

March 15

Latest: May 3, 2005

0 of 61 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Pampa #2 (USC00416776), 3,150 ft elevation, 2.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1964 to October 23, 2026; 99.5% 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.

Federal disaster declarations

16 since 1953. The most recent: Rest Area Fire, March 14, 2025.

Federal disaster declarations
Mar 14, 2025FireRest Area FireFire managementFM-5555-TX
Feb 19, 2021Severe Ice StormSevere Winter StormsMajor disasterDR-4586-TX
Feb 14, 2021Severe Ice StormSevere Winter StormEmergencyEM-3554-TX
Mar 25, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4485-TX
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3458-TX
Apr 18, 2018FireMcclellan FireFire managementFM-5235-TX
Mar 14, 2008FireWildfiresEmergencyEM-3284-TX
Jan 11, 2006FireExtreme Wildfire ThreatMajor disasterDR-1624-TX
Sep 24, 2005HurricaneHurricane RitaMajor disasterDR-1606-TX
Sep 21, 2005HurricaneHurricane RitaEmergencyEM-3261-TX
Sep 2, 2005HurricaneHurricane Katrina EvacuationEmergencyEM-3216-TX
Jan 8, 2001Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Ice StormMajor disasterDR-1356-TX
Sep 1, 1999FireExtreme Fire HazardsEmergencyEM-3142-TX
Aug 26, 1998Severe StormTropical Storm CharleyMajor disasterDR-1239-TX
Apr 1, 1975TornadoTornadoesMajor disasterDR-462-TX
May 13, 1970TornadoTornadoes, Windstorms & FloodingMajor disasterDR-286-TX

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.

How this compares

Where Gray County stands among 254 counties in Texas and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 19509314 / 25473 / 3,143
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger121 / 2549 / 3,143
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 1984307,2756 / 254143 / 3,143
Flood insurance claims3185 / 2542,656 / 3,143
Flood insurance paid$5,051207 / 2542,764 / 3,143
Disaster declarations16185 / 2542,158 / 3,143
Flood events since 199620217 / 2542,509 / 3,143
Hail and wind events since 199675913 / 254147 / 3,143
Winter storm events since 19966328 / 2541,651 / 3,143
Reported damage since 1996$24.4 million109 / 2541,328 / 3,143
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 1895130238 / 2541,459 / 3,143
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years15.212 / 2541,571 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900465 / 254793 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973441 / 254505 / 3,143

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Armstrong County490120,9070
Carson County960183,9163
Collingsworth County44062,6354
Donley County62079,7507
Hemphill County540590,5700
Roberts County440774,4050
Wheeler County590178,4631

Sources and vintage

Every number on this page comes from these public records.

  • 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 USC00416776.
  • 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.