Lubbock County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lubbock County: 26.
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.

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.

River crests

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.

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 5, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$400 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An official NWS storm damage survey, along with trained spotters, police department officials, the Automated Surface Observing System, and equipment at the NWS, confirmed severe wind gusts ahead of a squall line moving through Lubbock. Gusts up to 72 mph were recorded as the line caused considerable damage and downed numerous trees, snapped almost 100 power poles, blew out several windows, and inflicted substantial damage to roofs, windows, vehicles, and structures. At the Motor Inns of America hotel in north Lubbock, downburst winds completely stripped a large section of the roof from the building forcing residents to evacuate. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries…

2. Jul 1, 2011Drought, Lubbock$250 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Exceptional (D4) drought continued across the entire area through the month of July. However, there was a brief reprieve into Extreme (D3) across portions of the southeastern Texas panhandle for the second half of the month due to abundant rainfall during the first half of the month. The remainder of the area received little to no beneficial rainfall during July.||The drought of 2011 clearly stands out as among the most extreme in this region in the past 100 years. Portions of Briscoe and Hall Counties experienced a heavy rain event on July 11. Otherwise, no area saw significant rainfall through the entire month. Annual rainfall totals at Lubbock and Childress were 1.13 inches and…

3. Jun 1, 2011Drought, Lubbock$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Exceptional (D4) drought conditions continued to persist across the entire South Plains, Rolling Plains, and southern Texas Panhandle regions. June, on average, is among the wettest periods of the year for the Southern Plains. However, June 2011 saw deepening rainfall deficits with a spring thunderstorm season failing to develop. Zero percent of normal rainfall was observed over a large part of the region. Only a few stations have recorded over two inches of rainfall on the year with Paducah the only site recording over three inches of rainfall. No measurable rainfall fell at Lubbock International Airport which is only the second time in 100 years of record that has occurred. Most…

4. May 8, 2015Hail$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell storm erupted near Ropesville in extreme instability and went on to produce a significant hail swath across south-central and southeast Lubbock County where giant hail to softball size occurred in Slaton. Damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, and wheat crops was common from two miles east of Woodrow to Ransom Canyon. In addition to the hail, strong rear flank downdraft winds picked up gravel in Slaton and blew out dozens of windows in cars and buildings. Combined damage estimates would likely reach $300M.

5. May 20, 2020Hail$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm developed along an outflow boundary in Lynn County and rapidly grew into a severe supercell thunderstorm as it moved northward toward the city of Lubbock. This storm quickly began to rotate anticyclonically as it moved into the southern portion of Lubbock County. As the storm entered the southern portion of the city of Lubbock numerous reports were initially received of hail up to baseball size. The largest hail stone reported was three inches in diameter. The storm continued to move northward through the central part of the city producing hail up to tennis ball size. The swath of giant hail ended around Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport at 1819 CST. While…

6. Sep 1, 2011Drought, Lubbock$95.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Exceptional (D4) drought continued to persist across the entire area through the month of September. September usually sees an uptick in the rainfall because of the weakening summer ridge pattern and occasional interaction with decaying tropical weather systems. However, the entire area continued to see little rainfall. The exceptional drought is expected to continue through the winter months with little to no relief.||The most widespread rainfall event of the year occurred from the 14th through the 16th when a swath of one to two inches of rain fell from Denver City through Brownfield, Lubbock and Crosbyton. The rainfall deficit climbed even further despite this widespread…

7. Oct 1, 2011Drought, Lubbock$95.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Exceptional (D4) drought continued across much of the South Plains, Rolling Plains and southern Texas Panhandle during the month of October. However, significant rainfall reduced areas to Severe (D3) drought over the southern Texas Panhandle and northern Rolling Plains. ||Little rainfall was observed for the first half of the month. It was not until a widespread rainfall event on the 27th when conditions significantly improved. Liquid equivalent precipitation amounted to an inch to one and a half inches on the 27th. Somewhat less precipitation was noted over the South Plains and southern Rolling Plains during this rainfall event. Year long deficits at Lubbock stood at 13.43 inches…

8. Aug 1, 2011Drought, Lubbock$95.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe (D3) drought conditions seen in Childress, Hall, Briscoe, Floyd, and Motley counties at the beginning of the month had returned to Exceptional (D4) drought conditions by the end of August. The exceptional drought was expected to continue well into the fall season with little to no relief.||Most areas saw little to no rain through the month. However, portions of the central and southern South Plains saw beneficial rainfall on August 11 with one to four inches recorded associated with slow moving thunderstorms. Much of the region had precipitation values between 10 and 25 percent of normal for the year. The southwest South Plains had annual precipitation totals of less than…

9. May 1, 2011Drought, Lubbock$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Abnormally dry conditions that began over west Texas during the fall of 2010 persisted through May further adding to agricultural losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. At the beginning of May, Severe (D2) drought in Briscoe and Swisher counties further intensified to Extreme (D3). The remainder of the South Plains, Rolling Plains, and southern Texas Panhandle saw additional amplification of Extreme (D3) and Exceptional (D4) drought.||Moisture typically increases through May but May, 2011 saw continued insignificant rainfall for the region. Most locations received only 10 to 25 percent of normal annual rainfall. Some locations over the southwestern South Plains received…

10. Jun 23, 2023Hail$50.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A large swath of giant hail occurred over an extensive portion of the city of Lubbock causing widespread damage to roofs and vehicles. The largest hailstone observed was 4.50 inches in diameter.

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

114°FJun 27, 1994

All-time low

−16°FJan 13, 1963

Warmest night

86°FJul 14, 2020

Coldest day

8°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

7.46 inSep 11, 2008

Snowiest day

12.1 inFeb 20, 1961

Hottest year

2024mean 64.8°F

Coldest year

1968mean 57.3°F

Wettest year

200433.25 in

Driest year

20115.86 in

Snowiest season

41.2 in1982-83

Station Lubbock (USW00023042), 3,378 ft elevation, 8.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1947 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00023042.
• 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.