Hutchinson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

River crests

The National Weather Service sets flood stages for 1 gauge here but lists no crests for it.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 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. May 11, 2014Wildfire, Hutchinson$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Double Diamond Wildfire began around 1520CST in Hutchinson county about two miles northwest of Fritch near the Harbor Bay area of Lake Meredith National Recreational Area. The wildfire consumed an estimated two thousand five hundred and eighty-three acres and was caused by a child playing with matches in an abandoned shed. A total of three hundred and sixty-eight structures were damaged or lost including two hundred and twenty-five homes that were destroyed along with one hundred and forty-three other structures. Also, a total of one hundred and forty-seven vehicles were destroyed. There was one report of a fatality from a heart attack that was indirectly related to the…

2. Feb 26, 2024Wildfire, Hutchinson$10.0 million
   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…

3. Jan 14, 2017Ice Storm, Hutchinson$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The number of residents affected were 6482. There were 117 business that also reported economic injuries. Damages and economic impact also resulted from: debris cleanup (downed trees, etc), numerous downed power lines and broken power poles, and damaged to roads and bridges.

4. Jul 27, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and powerlines were reported down in the city of Borger. Major structural damage reported to buildings. No injuries were reported.

5. Feb 24, 2013Blizzard, Hutchinson$660,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Blizzard conditions reported by the National Weather Service COOP Observer in Sanford and 17.0 inches storm total snow.

6. Jun 27, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two thunderstorms merged northwest of Borger (Hutchinson County) around the 9 PM CST hour before collapsing upon it's own updraft. This produced an estimated 94 mph microburst in Borger (Hutchinson County) which blew the roof completely off of a build in town. This microburst also bent a metal flag pole to a 45 degree angle off of the vertical, and 3 utility poles in a 10 square block in northwest Borger. The microburst wind continued to move across the town producing widespread wind damage.

7. Jun 27, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two thunderstorms merged northwest of Borger (Hutchinson County) around the 9 PM CST hour before collapsing upon it's own updraft. This produced an estimated 94 mph microburst in Borger (Hutchinson County) which bent traffic signs, metal power lines, and blew down tree limbs 2 miles north side of Borger (Hutchinson County). The microburst wind continued to move across the town producing widespread wind damage.

8. Sep 22, 2004Flash Flood$240,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five homes in the towns of Borger and Bunavista had to be evacuated due to rapidly rising water with another four to six homes threatened by the flash flooding. The flash flooding also closed down several streets including Texas Highway 136.

9. Feb 27, 2011Wildfire, Hutchinson$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The So Close Wildfire began about six miles south southwest of Borger Texas in Hutchinson County around 1214 CST. The wildfire was caused by trains and consumed an estimated twenty-one thousand and five hundred acres. There were about fifty to one hundred homes which were threatened but saved. There were approximately twenty other structures which were lost. Also, there were five injuries reported and four near misses. The wildfire was contained around 0600 CST on February 28.

10. Sep 7, 2006Flash Flood$140,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Vehicles reported washed down the streets with flood damage in downtown Borger. Nine houses were reported flooded along with seventeen vehicles moved by the flood waters on Austin Street. The Wesleyan Church was also reported flooded on McGee Street with two feet of water.

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°FJul 11, 2020

All-time low

−7°FFeb 15, 2021

Warmest night

84°FAug 9, 2006

Coldest day

6°FJan 24, 2026

Wettest day

4.98 inSep 22, 2004

Hottest year

2024mean 64.6°F

Coldest year

2002mean 59.4°F

Wettest year

201543.14 in

Driest year

20118.40 in

Station Borger Hutchinson County Airport (USW00003024), 3,041 ft elevation, 3.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1997 to October 26, 2026; 97.3% 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 USW00003024.
• 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.