Winkler County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Winkler County is higher than Texas average and is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Winkler County is much lower than Texas average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #2
| Winkler County | 0.86 |
| Texas | 0.04 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Winkler County | 0.0000 |
| Texas | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #194
| Winkler County | 59.72 |
| Texas | 208.58 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 5,275 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Winkler County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 0 | Dense Fog: | 1 | Drought: | 23 |
| Dust Storm: | 2 | Flood: | 806 | Hail: | 3,057 | Heat: | 1 | Heavy Snow: | 8 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 2 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 31 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,269 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 3 | Winter Weather: | 8 |
| Other: | 64 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Winkler County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 2 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Winkler County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 4.9 | 1976-01-25 | 4.1 | 2 | 31.9 | -103.08 |
| 37.1 | 1978-03-02 | 3.5 | 11 | 31.56 | -102.51 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 18 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Winkler County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 1.6 | 1955-05-30 | 2 | 31°50'N / 103°05'W | 2.00 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Winkler | |
| 20.0 | 2010-05-14 | 3 | 31°49'N / 102°43'W | 31°54'N / 102°43'W | 4.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0K | Ector |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: At 12:15 pm CST, members of the TWISTEX research group confirmed the formation of a tornado approximately 6.5 miles south of Notrees. This tornado progressed northeastward around 20 mph, first causing damage to power poles around from 12:16 to 12:17 pm CST. As it continued to track to the northeast, the tornado caused significant damage to oil equipment from 12:19 to 12:22 pm CST. Two type 320 pump jacks, each weighing 71,000 pounds including the concrete base, were blown over. The tornado then began to weaken at 12:27 pm CST, and dissipated at 12:28 pm CST approximately 2 miles southeast of Notrees, TX. EPISODE NARRATIVE: During the late morning hours, an upper level disturbance slowly progressed over the area. At the surface, abundant low level moisture was available due to southeasterly to easterly winds. A nearly stationary frontal boundary across the Permian basin provided a focus for rapid thunderstorm development. Several supercell thunderstorms resulted in widespread severe weather in the form of tornadoes, flash flooding and large hail across the Texas Permian Basin. The supercell thunderstorms eventually diminished during the late evening hours across the southern Permian Basin. | |||||||||||
| 22.6 | 1987-05-25 | 2 | 31°27'N / 103°04'W | 31°34'N / 102°55'W | 11.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ward |
| 29.5 | 1977-04-19 | 3 | 31°25'N / 102°56'W | 31°26'N / 102°52'W | 4.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 18 | 2.5M | 0 | Ward |
| 32.6 | 1961-09-19 | 2 | 31°27'N / 103°23'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ward | |||
| 34.7 | 1954-06-13 | 2 | 31°30'N / 103°30'W | 25.00 Miles | 133 Yards | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Reeves | |
| 37.2 | 1962-05-17 | 2 | 31°26'N / 103°29'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Reeves | |
| 38.1 | 1974-04-26 | 2 | 31°25'N / 103°29'W | 0.50 Mile | 110 Yards | 0 | 12 | 250K | 0 | Reeves | |
| 38.8 | 1999-04-30 | 2 | 31°46'N / 103°41'W | 31°50'N / 103°45'W | 6.00 Miles | 170 Yards | 0 | 0 | 20K | 0 | Loving |
| Brief Description: The Reeves County tornado crossed the Pecos River and headed north across open country. Soon after it crossed the river, the tornado hit some oil field supplies and caused some damage. The only oil pumpjack in the path was overturned. Engineers at a pumpjack manufacturer estimated winds in the range of 110-130 mph to knock over this large piece of equipment. Vegetation mainly consisted of brush less than 4 feet tall with disturbances ranging from snapped or flattened to bent more than 45 degrees. The small foliage on these plants was generally still present, but wind-torn. A classic severe weather setup was taking place on this day and would continue into the next day. A strong upper level low pressure system was centered near Las Vegas, NV and was moving slowly eastward toward the area. Surface winds were backed to the southeast with rich moisture. One item of interest was the early start time of the storms with the first tornado by 1130 am CDT...only about 10 am local sun time. With the mid-level flow blowing parallel to the orientation of multicell complexes were oriented, training of storms was common over several parts of the region. In the evening tornadoes and hail events subsided and flash flooding began to take control. | |||||||||||
| 39.9 | 1961-07-21 | 2 | 31°55'N / 102°23'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ector | |
| 40.1 | 1954-05-29 | 2 | 31°24'N / 102°36'W | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Crane | |||
| 40.1 | 1955-05-05 | 2 | 31°25'N / 103°32'W | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Reeves | |||
| 41.7 | 1999-04-30 | 2 | 31°42'N / 103°45'W | 31°42'N / 103°45'W | 1.00 Mile | 170 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Reeves |
| Brief Description: This tornado formed from a very young cell that became a small classic supercell very quickly. The cell was on the southern end of a small cluster of cells. The tornado formed near the Pecos River in extreme eastern Reeves County and crossed into western Loving County. As the tornado crossed the river the largest vegetation in the area, lines of Salt Cedar trees were snapped or uprooted. Many of these trees were well established and approximately 25-30 feet tall. The funnel exhibited a condensation funnel to the ground for much of its life. A classic severe weather setup was taking place on this day and would continue into the next day. A strong upper level low pressure system was centered near Las Vegas, NV and was moving slowly eastward toward the area. Surface winds were backed to the southeast with rich moisture. One item of interest was the early start time of the storms with the first tornado by 1130 am CDT...only about 10 am local sun time. With the mid-level flow blowing parallel to the orientation of multicell complexes were oriented, training of storms was common over several parts of the region. In the evening tornadoes and hail events subsided and flash flooding began to take control. | |||||||||||
| 42.4 | 1981-10-15 | 2 | 31°39'N / 102°22'W | 1.50 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Ector | |
| 42.6 | 1992-05-22 | 2 | 31°44'N / 103°48'W | 31°46'N / 103°45'W | 5.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Reeves |
| 43.4 | 1973-05-12 | 2 | 31°51'N / 102°19'W | 1.00 Mile | 120 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Ector | |
| 46.0 | 1977-06-30 | 2 | 31°10'N / 103°00'W | 0.50 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pecos | |
| 48.3 | 1982-05-12 | 2 | 32°25'N / 102°45'W | 32°32'N / 102°43'W | 6.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Andrews |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.