Upton County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Jun 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Spotters reported approximately 100 power poles blown down by severe thunderstorm winds in and around Midkiff.

2. Mar 22, 2000Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding occurred across much of the county with the heaviest band of rain in excess of 6 inches stretching from the Crane County line north of McCamey to northeastern Upton County near Midkiff. Most highways and roads in these parts of the county were closed, with one bridge on State Highway 329 sustaining heavy damage to its surface.

3. May 27, 2005Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement officials reported flash flooding along State Highway 349 north of Rankin. Flowing flood waters inundated the highway seven miles north of the city. By 19:56 CST residents in Rankin reported that heavy rainfall and flash flooding resulted in high water that entered several homes. A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer reported that up to five inches of rain had fallen during the past forty-eight hours.

4. May 28, 2024Dust Storm, Upton$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A multiple-vehicle accident was reported in the northbound lane of Highway 349. Visibility was observed as near zero. It remains unknown if there were any injuries from this accident. Property damage cost is an estimation.

5. May 30, 2024Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado was reported to have begun as a large tornado very near the Midland/Upton County line by multiple observers. This tornado began to move towards the west, growing in size and increasing in intensity as it caused EF-3 damage to vegetation and heavy oil equipment. Ground scouring was noted along this portion of the damage path. The tornado may have been nearly stationary for a short time before moving back to the west, continuing to cause damage to vegetation, power poles, and oil equipment. During this portion of the path, the tornado would cross from Midland County into Upton County, a short distance from FM 1788. Eventually, the tornado began to dissipate as it…

6. Mar 12, 2025Dust Storm, Upton$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Upton County Sheriff reported a road closure due to an accident near Midkiff between State Highway 349 and State Highway 137. This was due to near-zero visibility due to blowing dust. Wind gusts up to 40 mph were observed in the area during this time. No information on injuries was received. The property damage cost is an estimation.

7. Oct 22, 2015Flash Flood$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across Upton County and produced flash flooding in Rankin. A manufactured home and an RV were caught in high water near the 300 block of South Main Street in Rankin. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

8. Jun 3, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging thunderstorm winds swept over portions of Upton County during the early morning hours of the 3rd. A storage shed that was located at an oil field near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 1492 and Texas Highway 329 was destroyed. Debris from the shed was blown into an electrical transformer and caused additional damage including power outages.

9. Jul 8, 2010Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A local gas station reported flooding across McCamey, TX. The water was high enough to move into both the middle school and elementary school.

10. May 13, 1996Hail$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Downburst winds from a collapsing thunderstorm in northern Pecos County blew the roof off a car wash that landed on two mobile homes and two vehicles, causing extensive damage to one of the homes.

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.

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.
• 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.