Winkler County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Winkler 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. Jun 26, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Automated Surface Observing Station at Wink (KINK) recorded a wind gust of 67 mph. A local media outlet reported downed powerlines and trees in Kermit. The roof at the Family Activity Center of the First Baptist Church in Kermit was severely damaged.

2. Jun 14, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm produced wind damage four miles east northeast of Kermit. Power lines and power poles were down along Highway 302 east of Kermit. There were some power lines also down in the City of Kermit. The time was estimated from radar. The wind speed was estimated. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

3. Jun 3, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm produced wind damage in Wink, TX. The winds caused light roof damage to a church, damage to nearby power poles, and uprooted a tree. Winds were estimated to be between 70 to 80 mph. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

4. Jan 17, 1996High Wind, Winkler$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 300-foot tall light stanchion crashed to the ground at the Wink Football Stadium. At 1727 CST the peak wind gust of 70 mph occurred at the Winkler County Airport and the visibility was reduced to 3/4 mile from 1509-1640 CST. In Kermit poles were blown down around town.

5. Aug 6, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Winkler County and produced wind damage in Wink. Trees were down and roofs were damaged in Wink. The power was also knocked out too. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

6. Jul 6, 2004Hail$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Public and media reports indicated that tennis ball size hail broke windows out of vehicles and caused damage to melon crops near Wink.

7. May 2, 2007Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Street flooding occured within the city of Kermit with curb to curb flooding on Texas Highway 18. Several cars were stranded in high water in Kermit.

8. Oct 5, 2003Hail$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm developed in the vicinity of Kermit. Hail to the size of pennies was reported on the south side of the city. The storm intensified as it moved east-northeast along Highway 302. A westbound motorist traveling in a recently purchased vehicle encountered tennis ball size hail ten miles east-northeast of Kermit. In an effort to escape the hail, the motorist turned around and headed east towards the Notrees community in western Ector County. Given slow travel in hazardous driving conditions and the storm's motion along the highway, the motorist continued to experience golfball to tennis ball size hail for the duration of the retreat to Notrees. The vehicle was…

9. Sep 8, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm moved across Winkler County and produced wind damage about two miles north of Kermit. A powerline pole was snapped which left streets on the north side of Kermit without power. Several trees were uprooted and there was damage to roofing material and metal awnings. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

10. Aug 21, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$14,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A total of 7 distribution power poles were knocked down/snapped along County Road 101 just south of Wink, TX.

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, 7.4 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.