Upshur County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Mar 21, 2022Tornado$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-2 tornado touched down off of FM 2685 and Pomegranate Road where it began to sporadically uproot hardwood and softwood trees. The tornado began to intensify and develop a widespread damage swath of uprooted and snapped trees as it approached Highway 271 several miles south of Gilmer. Prior to reaching Highway 271, the tornado ripped the roof off of a single family home and tore down a wall of the home. As the tornado continued on, it reached its maximum width of 700 yards or 0.4 miles as it crossed Highway 700. The tornado intensified further as it crossed Azalea Road and Highway 154. Just before reaching this road, the tornado hit a two-story single family home, removing…

2. Sep 13, 2011Wildfire, Upshur$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds, low humidity and drought conditions across Northeast Texas were all the ingredients needed for a critical wildfire threat across the region. A wildfire began on September 13th near the Rhonesboro community west of Gilmer, Texas. This fire consumed 350 acres of timberland and grassland and consumed 15 structures including 12 homes. Numerous evacuations were made with shelters having to be set up in Gilmer, Texas. The fire started on FM. 1002 and near Hwy. 154. More than 10 fire departments were called in to help battle the wildfire with total containment declared on September 15th.

3. Jan 6, 1998Hail$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three automobile dealerships suffered considerable hail damage to their entire inventories of over 300 vehicles. The hail fell continuously for over 20 minutes. A 24 year veteran in insurance claims said that the hail episode was the second worse he had ever seen in north Texas.

4. Oct 13, 2014Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An National Weather Storm Survey team determined that the damage in Upshur County, Texas was consistent with that of a tornado. An EF-1 tornado touched down just south of FM 852 near the Bison Road and FM 852 intersection. The tornado moved east, crossing FM. 852 and passing along Armadillo Road north of Lake Gilmer and then crossing Cherokee Trace, reaching Hwy. 271 near Antelope Road before lifting. The tornado caused damage to numerous trees by snapping and/or uprooting them along the path. Some homes sustained significant damage along the path due to fallen trees. Several barns had substantial damage along the path as well. One house suffered significant injuries while a…

5. Jan 6, 1998Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Grapefruit to softball size hail went through the roofs of houses and mobile homes. Two to three inch hail drifts remained along Hwy 300 between Longview and Gilmer 17 hours after it fell.

6. Sep 13, 2008Tropical Storm, Upshur$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Tropical Storm Ike resulted in numerous trees and power lines downed across all of the county. Widespread power outages were reported across the county as well during the height of the storm which continued after the storm had passed. Upwards of 31 power poles were broken across the county. A new restaurant in Diana, Texas was crushed by a fallen tree. Another tree crushed a large shed in the Big Sandy area. A home was stuck by a tree along Hwy. 155 south in Big Sandy but no injuries were reported.

7. Sep 4, 2011Wildfire, Upshur$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong sustained winds and wind gusts, in association with Tropical Storm Lee which made landfall across the south central and southeast Louisiana gulf coast, were felt across all of Northeast Texas on September 4th. These winds, along with very low humidity values and exceptional drought conditions across Northeast Texas, resulted in critical wildfire threat being met across the region. A wildfire, which became known as the Diana Fire, began 4 miles west of Diana, Texas on September 4th. The fire consumed 2324 acres of timberland and grassland until it was contained on September 17th. A total of 692 homes were evacuated with 3 homes consumed and 5 outbuildings. There was one…

8. Sep 5, 2011Wildfire, Upshur$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong sustained winds and wind gusts, in association with Tropical Storm Lee which made landfall across the south central and southeast Louisiana gulf coast, were felt across all of Northeast Texas on September 4th and 5th. These winds, along with very low humidity values and exceptional drought conditions across Northeast Texas, resulted in critical wildfire threat being met across the region. A wildfire began in Upshur County 8 miles north northwest of Gilmer, Texas. This fire was called the Toad Road Fire. It began on September 5th and was not contained until September 8th. The fire consumed 388 acres of timberland and grassland off Llama Road and Lizard Road. The fire spread…

9. Jan 6, 1998Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Baseball size hail broke numerous windows at the Union Grove School and damaged the roof.

10. Sep 14, 2009Flash Flood$225,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Excessive heavy rainfall fell across the county...resulting in several roadways under water. Water was also reported to be entering homes in Gilmer, Texas and a shed was washed from a yard and ended up in the roadway. A motorists had to be rescued from her vehicle when it stalled out on Bob-O-Link Road.

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

113°FAug 10, 1936

All-time low

−4°FJan 18, 1930

Warmest night

83°F10 times, most recently Jul 6, 2019

Coldest day

15°FJan 11, 1962

Wettest day

8.70 inMar 29, 1989

Snowiest day

12.0 inDec 22, 1929

Hottest year

1911mean 69.1°F

Coldest year

1968mean 63.6°F

Wettest year

195772.87 in

Driest year

201025.14 in

Snowiest season

26.0 in1929-30

Station Longview (USC00415341), 330 ft elevation, 19.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1902 to October 23, 2026; 92.3% 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 USC00415341.
• 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.