Wichita County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Wichita County: 51.
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. Aug 18, 2008Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding occurred over northern Wichita county. At Wichita Falls, numerous homes were flooded with residents having to be evacuated by boat. A 3.5 mile stretch of railroad track from Wichita Falls to Burkburnett was washed out in several spots, making it impassable. At Burkburnett, the Reilly Ranch Loop was closed just south of Morgan Road and Highway 368, as well Highway 240. Interstate 44 was closed from Wichita Falls to the Red River due to as much as two feet of water flowing over top of it. Significant residential flooding was also reported along Business Highway 287 at Iowa Park. In total over the affected areas, at least 118 homes were flooded, 19 of which were…

2. Jun 9, 1998Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail larger than golf balls, combined with severe thunderstorm winds up to 79 mph, caused extensive damage and 2 injuries at Sheppard Air Force Base. The 2 injuries occurred when some soldiers were caught outside in the hailstorm. 48 (out of a squadron of 200) T-37 training jets were damaged by 2-inch hail. The winds blew the protective covers from the planes and the hail then knocked holes in the wings and broke the planes' windshields. Over 100 cars on the base were damaged. A window was knocked out of the air traffic control tower. One house sustained heavy damage when all of its west-facing shutters were destroyed and 3 skylights and 2 windows were broken. Numerous trees were…

3. Mar 4, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roof and structural damage was reported on the west side of the city, with three homes destroyed. Many power poles and lines were downed. Many trees were also uprooted and snapped. A semi hauling an empty trailer was also overturned on the southbound overhead freeway near Holliday Road. The roof of a portable classroom at Rider High School was ripped off. Fowler Elementary also lost a corner of its roof.

4. May 10, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous streets were closed due to trees being blown over into the street. Numerous trees were also blown on top of houses. Four power poles were snapped. Several camp trailers were flipped and power poles snapped on Holeman Road. A service station canopy was blown onto the road at the Interstate 44 and Interstate 240 intersection. TXU Electic also reported five to six feeder lines were downed.

5. Jun 10, 1996Lightning$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a large brick house, setting the wood-shingled roof of the house and the car inside the garage on fire. The house and its contents, valued at $750,000, were destroyed.

6. May 27, 2000Hail$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms formed across portions of western north Texas during the afternoon of the 27th and moved southeastward. These storms resulted in areas of significant hail damage and 2 weak tornadoes. Hundreds of insurance claims were filed across Wichita, Archer, and Clay Counties (300 near and on the southwest side of Wichita Falls in Wichita County) due to hail damage, a total of approximately 1.8 million dollars.

7. Jul 2, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm winds damaged a chimney and a roof on one house and tore apart a carport. Numerous wooden fences and 2 brick fences were blown down and at least one storage building sustained roof damage. Numerous trees were uprooted and branches were downed. One semi truck was blown over on I-44 near Burkburnett.

8. May 20, 2015Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water coming into homes in Wichita Falls. Number of flooded homes unknown.

9. May 27, 2000Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms formed across portions of western north Texas during the afternoon of the 27th and moved southeastward. These storms resulted in areas of significant hail damage and 2 weak tornadoes. Hundreds of insurance claims were filed across Wichita, Archer, and Clay Counties (300 near and on the southwest side of Wichita Falls in Wichita County) due to hail damage, a total of approximately 1.8 million dollars.

10. Jun 2, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A damage path about 60 yards wide was reported in the area of the Kickapoo Airpark on the south side of the city. Six hangars were destroyed at the airport. These hangars were made of sheet metal and were old. Two aircraft were also damaged. Several power poles were downed with a few pulled out of the ground.

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 28, 1980

All-time low

−12°FJan 4, 1947

Warmest night

88°FJul 26, 2011

Coldest day

9°FFeb 15, 2021

Wettest day

6.19 inSep 27, 1980

Snowiest day

9.8 inJan 18, 1925

Hottest year

1933mean 67.7°F

Coldest year

1983mean 61.7°F

Wettest year

201547.38 in

Driest year

201112.97 in

Snowiest season

20.0 in1904-05

Station Wichita Falls Municipal Airport (USW00013966), 1,013 ft elevation, 5.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1907 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 USW00013966.
• 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.