Dawson County, Texas severe weather history spans 375 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,356 nationally and #131 in Texas.
375
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$32.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Dawson County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dawson County, Texas severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 137 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 312 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $20.3M in reported property damage. In total, 4 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dawson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 163 | 0 | $1.3M | 4.5 | 1963–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 106 | 0 | $11.0M | 100 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 54 | 0 | $153K | F2 | 1950–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 52 | 0 | $20.3M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
Decade by decade
Dawson County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
50 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 49 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-05-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 19.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-03-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dawson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $25K | |
| Aug 18, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | LAMESA | 0 | 1 | $8K |
| Jun 20, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A thunderstorm moved across Dawson County and produced wind damage in and near Lamesa. Significant wind damage was discovered on the north and northeast sides of Lamesa, Texas. The damage swath included multiple uprooted trees, downed or leaning power poles, metal roofs/carports lifted or bent, some homes missing shingles or roof damage due to uprooted trees, and several damaged metal buildings and travel trailers. All of this damage was oriented in a northwest direction. After re-analysis of radar data and evaluation of eye-witness accounts, the damage was determined to be the result of an intense downburst that developed as an approaching outflow boundary interacted with an approaching supercell thunderstorm at roughly 7:45 pm CDT. The survey team estimated peak wind speeds to be between 110 to 120 mph. It was also determined that the overturned irrigation pivots, south of Lamesa, resulted from 70 to 80 mph winds behind the approaching outflow boundary. The total damage estimate between the thunderstorm winds and flooding is around 10 million dollars.
Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in Lamesa. There was a video of street flooding in Lamesa submitted via social media. The damage estimate from the flooding and thunderstorm downburst in Lamesa was around ten million dollars.
Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in Lamesa. There was a video of at least a foot of flowing water over roads in Lamesa. The damage estimate in Lamesa due to a thunderstorm downburst plus flooding was around ten million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
12,134
Population (ACS)
$103K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Feb 14, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 1, 2011 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 3, 2010 | Hurricane | HURRICANE ALEX | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Lamesa 192
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dawson County, Texas?
375 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $32.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dawson County?
Hail, with 163 recorded events — 43.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dawson County?
50 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 49 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dawson County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dawson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dawson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dawson County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dawson County, Texas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Dallas County 2,012
- Deaf Smith County 598
- Dallam County 354
- Delta County 197
- Culberson County 139
- Denton County 1,595
Cite this page
“Dawson County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/dawson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.