Oldham County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 9, 2008Winter Weather, Oldham$920,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong northerly winds along with one to two inches of snow combined to cause near whiteout conditions and very treacherous driving conditions. A twenty vehicle accident on eastbound Interstate 40 near Wildorado resulted in at least seven people injured...two of whom were in critical condition.

2. Feb 17, 2026Wildfire, Oldham$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Lavender Fire ignited on February 17, 2026, approximately five miles south of Boys Ranch in Oldham County. The fire began along the U.S. Highway 385 corridor. The fire was fueled by critically dry, waist-high grass and extreme wind conditions. It exhibited rapid growth initially, pushed by strong west winds with gusts reaching 50-60 mph. The fire quickly crossed key roadways, including FM 1061 (Tascosa Road), and spread toward the Canadian River. In total, the Lavender Fire burned 18423 acres across Oldham County and into Potter County. Mandatory evacuations were issued for the Valley De Oro community and areas between Tascosa Road (FM 1061) and U.S. Highway 287 in…

3. Feb 24, 2013Blizzard, Oldham$660,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Blizzard conditions reported by the Oldham County Sheriff's Office in Vega, stranded motorist, and 8.0 inches of storm total snow.

4. Nov 21, 2013Winter Weather, Oldham$330,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 40 near Vega. Eleven vehicles involded, 20 people hospitalized, and three fatalities.

5. Jul 6, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$189,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tractor trailer overturned on Interstate 40 due to the high winds and wind damage to crops in the area. Also...two pivot sprinklers sustained major damage four or five miles east of the town of Simms Texas. One pivot sprinkler was twisted and the other was completely turned over. No injuries reported.

6. Apr 25, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tractor trailer was blown over on Interstate 40 with one person receiving injuries.

7. Jul 6, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$46,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage reported to numerous buildings with metal roofs blown off.

8. Jul 6, 2002Flash Flood$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous cars were stranded in high water in the town of Vega.

9. Mar 15, 2014Dust Storm, Oldham$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Quarter mile visibility led to multiple vehicle accidents along Farm to Market Road 1061 near Vega.

10. Jun 2, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Five inch tree limbs reported broken and shingles blown off of roofs of homes in Vega.

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

111°FJun 26, 2011

All-time low

−14°FFeb 1, 1951

Warmest night

79°FJul 9, 2011

Coldest day

2°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

5.74 inJul 7, 2010

Snowiest day

19.0 inFeb 25, 2013

Hottest year

2024mean 61.9°F

Coldest year

1979mean 55.0°F

Wettest year

196036.67 in

Driest year

20117.01 in

Snowiest season

47.9 in1982-83

Station Amarillo (USW00023047), 3,703 ft elevation, 39.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1947 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 USW00023047.
• 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.