Martin County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Sep 8, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The storm which produced the tornado quickly evolved from a classic supercell structure to a high precipition supercell as the occlusion process occured. This transition resulted in a broad swath of very strong and damaging southwest to west winds which crossed Highway 349. The most intense damage occurred along the stretch of Highway 349 from the intersection with 176 to about 6 miles south of that intersection. This damage correlated with a strong low level divergent pattern in radar velocity products, indicative of an intense downburst in the forward flank downdraft of the storm. These winds blew down numerous power poles (up to twenty-five) from the intersection of Highways…

2. Jun 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple reports of 70 mph thunderstorm winds. Damage reported in Stanton included large trees uprooted, roofs lost on three structures, and a large barn was damaged.

3. Sep 13, 2025Flash Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A report was received from the public of flash flooding with cars stranded on State Hwy 176 east of Grady. Pictures of the flooding were shared on social media. The time of occurrence is partially estimated by radar. The cost of damages is also estimated.

4. Jun 25, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved over Martin County and produced strong winds ten miles northeast of Tarzan on a farm. Two old wooden barns were destroyed, and a 20 by 20 foot portable metal building was overturned. There was an estimate of about ten power poles down, and large tree limbs were broke. The cost of damage is a rough estimate.

5. Mar 22, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm outflow winds damaged farm equipment.

6. Apr 16, 2009Tornado$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado first did damage to 7 power poles about 4.5 miles southwest of Tarzan; this was confirmed by contacting the utility company in the area the following day. The estimated time of damage according to radar at this location was around 2020 CST. At 2032 CST, the tornado then tracked east northeastward and impacted a COOP observer's farm about 3 miles southeast of Tarzan, TX damaging multiple pieces of farm equipment, storage tanks and removing 3 roofs from multiple structures. It then continued on its same path snapping 3 power poles about a mile west of Lenorah, TX. The estimated time of damage according to radar was sometime around 2036 CST. This was the last known…

7. Jun 3, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple powerlines were blown down along Farm to Market Road 2002.

8. May 15, 2020Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across Martin County and produced flash flooding in Stanton. There were four stalled cars. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

9. May 20, 2026Flash Flood$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Delayed report - an NWS Employee found evidence of flash flooding along portions of TX 176 west of Tarzan and of low-water crossings along FM 829. Flooded road signs were still in place and one stalled car was seen. The time of occurrence is estimated from radar. The cost of damages is also estimated.

10. Apr 23, 2008Hail$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Baseball sized hail fell at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 26 and Farm to Market Road 2002.

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°FJun 27, 1994

All-time low

−11°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1985

Warmest night

85°FJul 14, 2020

Coldest day

12°FFeb 1, 1985

Wettest day

5.32 inAug 24, 1934

Snowiest day

10.6 inJan 9, 2012

Hottest year

2025mean 67.6°F

Coldest year

1932mean 61.0°F

Wettest year

198632.13 in

Driest year

19514.60 in

Snowiest season

19.5 in2011-12

Station Midland Odessa (USW00023023), 2,962 ft elevation, 26.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1930 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00023023.
• 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.