Hopkins County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 15, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$29.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS survey team determined a combination of straight line winds and microbursts caused damage in and around the Como area of Hopkins County. Notable damage was first observed west of Como on FM 1567 where two homes sustained minor roof damage and notable tree damage was observed. Scattered tree damage continued southeast into and east of Como. An embedded microburst is believed to have caused more significant damage to metal buildings at a county-owned facility on Highway 11 and to the Como-Pickton ISD facilities. Maximum estimated winds in the area were determined to be around 95 mph at the ISD facilities. A local weather station also reported a 87 mph wind speed to the east of…

2. Feb 15, 2021Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hopkins$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme cold gripped the county for several days. Overnight lows were below 20 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the week. The period of February 15-16th was the coldest with low temperatures in the single digits and even slightly below zero degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum temperature on the 15th was only in the lower teens. Wind chill values during the 14th-16th were between 10 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time. The cold temperatures resulted in an extreme amount of damage to pipes, infrastructure, and power. The State listed 1 fatality in Hopkins County due to the winter storm but no additional information could be obtained.

3. Dec 5, 2013Winter Storm, Hopkins$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Up to 2 of freezing rain and sleet fell across the county causing significant damage to trees, tree branches, utility poles and lines due to the heavy collection of ice. A trained spotter reported 0.50 of freezing rain in Cumby. The newspaper in Sulphur Springs reported over 1.75 of sleet. Hundreds of trees, tree branches, and power lines were knocked down. Falling tree branches and ice damaged cars and roofs. Bridges, overpasses, and elevated surfaces became icy but other roads were largely not impacted by the ice. One railroad employee was injured when a tree fell on him as he was working to remove tree debris from the railroad tracks.

4. Nov 4, 2022Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   According to eyewitness and video the second tornado started in a field west of County Road 1164. It moved northeast striking a home at the intersection of CR 3389 and FM 1567. This home sustained EF2 damage when the winds took the roof and attic off the house. The tornado continued NE across open field before striking a few homes off of CR 1181. One home along 1181 sustained EF2 damage and was pushed off its support. Two more homes were damaged on the east side of 1181, and the tornado dissipated soon after. Maximum estimated winds were 120 mph.

5. Jan 20, 2010Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS storm survey found evidence of a tornado in a sub-division 2 miles east of Sulphur Springs. Around 50 homes suffered some degree of roof damage, two of which sustained more severe damage after being impaled by large tree branches. This damage was consistent with the rating of an EF-0 with wind speeds around 80 to 85 mph.

6. Mar 4, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey team found areas of enhanced wind damage northwest of Sulphur Springs in Hopkins County. Most of the observed damage was consistent with wind speeds around 90 mph. The most significant damage was observed at the Cross Spur Arena where the front of a metal structure was uplifted, causing the front of the structure to collapse. This damage was consistent with maximum wind speeds of 95 mph. Significant tree damage was also observed near the Cross Spur Arena and along County Road 4760 and County Road 4763. None of this damage was convergent and generally in an east to north direction. A few additional swaths of notable damage were found along County Road 4759 and County Road…

7. Oct 1, 2006Drought, Hopkins$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Persistent drought conditions continued across portions of north Texas. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the region was still experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. The areas which were rated exceptional drought (D4) last month had received enough rainfall to be downgraded into the D3 category this month.|Even though drought conditions were lessened by a few rain events this month, serious hydrological problems remained. For instance, as much water was used from Lake Bridgeport in one month alone as was saved through conservation efforts by north Texas over the summer. Almost every north Texas lake remained well below conservation levels. The rain events this…

8. Apr 3, 2014Tornado$425,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service damage survey crew determined a tornado produced EF1 damage in northern Hopkins County, near the city of Birthright. This tornado caused damage to several homes and businesses, including the Birthright Volunteer Fire Department building. A total of 76 houses or businesses were damaged in this tornado.

9. Mar 4, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread rural damage occurred, mainly in the eastern part of the county. 8 homes were destroyed, 13 were heavily damaged, and 27 sustained moderate damage.

10. May 25, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$325,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Amateur radio operators estimated winds between 60 and 70 mph in Sulphur Springs. Several trees were blown over, and numerous carports were damaged. Additionally, the Sulphur Springs airport had several airplanes moved or damaged as a result of the storm.

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

115°FAug 10, 1969

All-time low

−4°F2 times, most recently Feb 16, 2021

Warmest night

86°FJul 13, 1901

Coldest day

11°F2 times, most recently Feb 16, 2021

Wettest day

8.20 inAug 13, 2017

Snowiest day

9.4 inJan 16, 1964

Hottest year

1998mean 67.4°F

Coldest year

1983mean 60.9°F

Wettest year

195771.09 in

Driest year

195623.46 in

Station Sulphur Springs (USC00418743), 495 ft elevation, 2.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 23, 2026; 97.6% 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 USC00418743.
• 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.