Ward County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Mar 22, 2000Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell storm moving to the northeast spawned a weak tornado that moved straight north through the heart of Wickett. With the weak nature of the tornado and lack of targets outside of the city, the exact starting and ending points of the tornado could not be determined.Damage included one abandoned mobile home that was overturned and destroyed, several carports and other low-grade roofs dislodged, and utility poles/lines downed. With little structural damage to any substantial dwellings, this tornado was rated in the high end of the F0 category. Vectors into the center of the damage converged at a 90 degree angle.This mesocyclone quickly occluded after exiting Wickett, with…

2. Jun 26, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Ward County and produced wind damage south of Monahans. The damage swath included metal roofs/carports lifted or bent, downed tree branches between one to three inches in diameter, and several damaged travel trailers. The damage was generally oriented in an easterly direction. After re-analysis of radar data, the damage was determined to be the result of a microburst that occurred at approximately 9:15 pm CDT. The survey team estimated the peak wind speeds to be between 75 to 85 mph. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

3. Jun 25, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$95,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Members of the public posted pictures of several powerlines blown down onto State Hwy 115 on social media. The time of occurrence is estimated from radar. The maximum gust and the cost of damages is also estimated.

4. Sep 30, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong to severe thunderstorms over Pecos County spawned a left moving (anticyclonic) severe storm that rapidly propagated over the town of Grandfalls. Quarter to golfball size hail was reported in addition to damaging winds. Five power poles were snapped along State Route 11 just southeast of town. In town, an abandon mobile home was rolled by the winds and destroyed while the roof of another mobile home in the southwest portions of the community was blown onto a nearby pickup truck. Several trees were uprooted and a historic church also sustained serious roof damage.A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service concluded that the severe winds that produced the damage…

5. Mar 13, 2020Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm developed over western Reeves County and moved northeast into Ward County. It produced a bowl-shaped tornado just north of Barstow. The tornado developed about a mile northwest of Barstow at the intersection of County Road 140 and 145 and only lasted for about a minute. Power flashes were reported along with damage to northern portions of Barstow. The tornado snapped a utility pole before moving and hitting an RV park. Damage at the park included flipping a trailer on its side, damaging a pickup truck, and causing light damage to three other trailers. Wind speeds were estimated at 100 mph from the damage observed by the NWS survey team which helped classify the…

6. Jun 9, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds resulted in several roofs being blown off of businesses in Monahans, including the Boys and Girls Club. In addition, a new radio antenna tower which was installed by the city just nine months prior to the storm was blown down and destroyed.

7. Sep 13, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Local media reported that a large transmitter tower was blown down near Monahans by severe thunderstorm winds.

8. May 24, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A report was received from the public of a small camper trailer destroyed due to strong winds south of I-20 in Monahans. Additionally, a semi-trailer was flipped, and damage to a personal vehicle and home was also reported due to both hail and damaging winds. The time of occurrence was estimated by radar. The wind speed was estimated to be around 80 mph based on the damage, and the cost of property damage was also estimated.

9. May 26, 2005Lightning$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike sparked an early morning residential fire in Barstow. No injuries were reported.

10. Sep 26, 2004Flash Flood$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Multiple reports from Monahans indicated that heavy rainfall produced flash flooding that quickly inundated city streets and threatened several residences. Local law enforcement officials reported that city streets remained barricaded at 19:00 CST. Flood waters in the city receded by late evening. No major damage was reported.

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

117°FJun 27, 1994

All-time low

−14°FJan 11, 1962

Warmest night

88°FJun 24, 2023

Coldest day

11°FFeb 15, 2021

Wettest day

5.64 inOct 11, 1940

Snowiest day

8.0 inJan 1, 1983

Hottest year

2006mean 69.9°F

Coldest year

1940mean 62.2°F

Wettest year

194126.81 in

Driest year

19561.76 in

Snowiest season

12.0 in1982-83

Station Wink FAA Airport (USW00023040), 2,816 ft elevation, 22.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 14, 2026; 95.4% 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 USW00023040.
• 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.