Jeff Davis County

Every recorded tornado

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

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 20, 2021Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding near Fort Davis. Highway 118 between Fort Davis and Alpine was washed out with water over the road. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

2. Sep 12, 2014Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across Jeff Davis County and produced flash flooding at the Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch. A major flash flood came down from Goat Cave Creek and it was described as larger than anything experienced in the last 30 years. The flash flood damaged the pool shower house, pushed rocks and boulders into the pool, and washed out the pool slab. Large trees between the Old Folks Home and the pool were washed out, and there was water damage to the Ranger's house, Buffalo Hall, and the Dining Hall. Two jeeps, Kawasaki Mules, and four ATV's were submerged. The shop area was flooded leaving large amounts of silt and rocks. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

3. Oct 6, 2004Hail$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm at the south end of the developing squall line produced large hail over Valentine. Golfball size hail covered the ground and broke numerous windows.

4. Jun 17, 2019Hail$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Jeff Davis County and produced two inch hail in Fort Davis. The hail caused broken windows, skylights, and window panes. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

5. May 17, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds from a collapsing thunderstorm damaged the hospital exhibit building at the Fort Davis National Historic Site. A sixty foot section of the porch along with columns and a 12-foot overhang for the porch were all thrown on top of the roof of the structure.

6. Aug 25, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds downed powerlines in Valentine.

7. Feb 10, 2009High Wind, Presidio Valley$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A gust of high wind blew a tractor trailer over on SH 17. Both lanes were blocked between Marfa and Fort Davis.

8. Sep 1, 2006Flash Flood$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Texas Highway 118 between Davis Mountains State Park and McDonald Observatory was closed briefly after heavy rains triggered a slide of several large rocks that landed on the road.

9. Jul 29, 1999Tornado$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A landspout tornado formed on a developing thunderstorm in the Davis Mountains in the Limpia Crossing Subdivision west of Fort Davis. A similar landspout formed the previous day very near to this location. A hay barn was destroyed, utility lines were downed, and insulation was strewn a couple of miles away from its starting point. The debris from the hay barn was scattered in many directions.

10. Sep 26, 2004Flash Flood$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Very dangerous flash flooding conditions developed rapidly on the morning of the 26th across Jeff Davis County. At 07:55 CST the Fort Davis Fire Department reported two persons stranded by flood waters in Short Canyon, thirteen miles north-northeast of Fort Davis. The fire department also reported that work was underway to rescue two additional stranded campers in Madera Canyon, ten miles west-southwest of the McDonald Observatory. Rescue crews were able to bring the campers in Madera Canyon to safety shortly before noon CST. Additional flash flooding was reported along Olympia Creek, where water up to six feet in depth inundated Texas Highway 118 for 200 yards between Fort Davis…

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

107°F2 times, most recently Jun 27, 1998

All-time low

0°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1985

Warmest night

79°FJun 29, 1902

Coldest day

18°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

5.30 inAug 29, 1932

Snowiest day

9.3 inDec 1, 2009

Hottest year

2024mean 65.2°F

Coldest year

1905mean 58.5°F

Wettest year

200433.23 in

Driest year

20115.59 in

Snowiest season

22.0 in1918-19

Station Fort Davis (USC00413262), 4,864 ft elevation, 6.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1902 to September 30, 2026; 94.7% 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 USC00413262.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.