Loving County

Every recorded tornado

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

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 26, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Destructive winds estimated to be 80 mph affected portions of Loving County. Twenty-six power poles were blown down along a five mile stretch of Highway 302 west of the Loving and Winkler County line. This resulted in widespread power outages. Three oil field workers were injured when their trailers were destroyed by the winds.

2. Jun 24, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$480,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Loving County and produced wind damage. There were 30 power poles that were broken and blown down seven miles north of Mentone. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

3. Apr 30, 1999Tornado$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Reeves County tornado crossed the Pecos River and headed north across open country. Soon after it crossed the river, the tornado hit some oil field supplies and caused some damage. The only oil pumpjack in the path was overturned. Engineers at a pumpjack manufacturer estimated winds in the range of 110-130 mph to knock over this large piece of equipment. Vegetation mainly consisted of brush less than 4 feet tall with disturbances ranging from snapped or flattened to bent more than 45 degrees. The small foliage on these plants was generally still present, but wind-torn.

4. Jul 16, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$12,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm in Claudette's outer convective band resulted in damaging winds near Mentone. A porch was blown off of a mobile home, and a power pole was blown down.

5. Jun 14, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds blew the roof off of a large barn northeast of Mentone.

6. Aug 12, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rural resident of northwestern Loving County reported severe thunderstorm winds that broke large tree limbs and displaced large appliances, including a retired clothes dryer, that were stored outside.

7. Oct 7, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$2,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Downbursting winds knocked down two utility poles in Mentone.

8. Sep 20, 2014Flash Flood$2,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain moved across Loving County and produced flash flooding in Mentone. Eight to ten men were stranded on oil field equipment due to high water in town. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

9. Sep 19, 2014Flash Flood$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across Loving County and produced flash flooding in Mentone and along the Pecos River. State Highway 302 was reported to be closed in Loving County. The Pecos River was reported to be flooded 16 inches deep over State Highway 302 a half a mile on either side of the river near Mentone. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

10. Sep 20, 2014Flash Flood$500
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain fell across Loving County and produced flash flooding near Mentone. There was water flowing eight inches over State Highway 302. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

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

117°FJun 27, 1994

All-time low

−14°FJan 11, 1962

Warmest night

88°FJun 24, 2023

Coldest day

11°FFeb 15, 2021

Wettest day

5.64 inOct 11, 1940

Snowiest day

8.0 inJan 1, 1983

Hottest year

2006mean 69.9°F

Coldest year

1940mean 62.2°F

Wettest year

194126.81 in

Driest year

19561.76 in

Snowiest season

12.0 in1982-83

Station Wink FAA Airport (USW00023040), 2,816 ft elevation, 23.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 14, 2026; 95.4% 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 USW00023040.
• 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.