El Paso County, Texas severe weather history spans 442 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 35.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,091 nationally and #108 in Texas.
442
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
43
Direct injuries
$673.9M
Property damage
The record
What the El Paso County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, El Paso County, Texas severe weather history averages 6.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 159 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 48 events fall before 1990 and 394 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the El Paso County, Texas record is flash flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $463.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in El Paso County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 158 | 0 | $463.0M | 3.25 | 1958–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 145 | 5 | $206.8M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 119 | 1 | $891K | 78 | 1957–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2025 |
| Tornado | 6 | 0 | $3.0M | F1 | 1972–2019 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $130K | 0 | 1996–2006 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
El Paso County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in El Paso County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2021 | Flash Flood | EL PASO | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 28, 2021 | Flash Flood | BIGGS AFB | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Sep 22, 2014 | Flash Flood | TOBIN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 2, 2002 | Flash Flood | EL PASO | 1 | 0 | $200K |
| Aug 3, 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | El Paso | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Aug 9, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | El Paso | 0 | 27 | $125K |
| Sep 16, 2009 | Hail | SOCORRO | 0 | 10 | $100.0M |
| Sep 14, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flash flooding occurred across central El Paso with a torrent of water flowing down the mountainside near Fort Blvd and Louisiana St. There was also significant water flow down Nashville St where two deaths were reported as a wall collapsed in the basement of a house and trapped a 2 year old and her 65 year old grandmother. Atlas Avenue just north of Chapin High School also had the road buckle with slabs of pavement missing. A rainfall report at the Wyler Tramway reported 4.65 of rain in a couple of hours which caused the flash flooding.
The El Paso Police reported a large amount of mud and debris causing a road closure near Doniphan and Sunland Park Drive. The area around Paisano Drive and Executive had to be closed as well due to a large amount of water flooding the intersection. Water entered homes in parts of West El Paso as nearby drainage ponds overflowed. In addition, a 39 year old female died on the Thunderbird Trail after water rushed down the side of the mountain. By the end of the day, some locations of the city had received over 4 inches of rain in 36 hours.
Strong thunderstorms developed over portions of eastern New Mexico and far west Texas ahead of an outflow boundary during the early afternoon. One of the storms moved south over southeastern portions of El Paso producing a downburst that struck Horizon City (12 miles southeast of El Paso) collapsing the frame of a house under construction. The damage was extremely localized and apparently enhanced by the orientation of a nearby house and mobile home. A construction worker suffered fatal injuries as the frame collapsed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
870,779
Population (ACS)
$180K
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 |
| Sep 10, 2008 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IKE | EM |
| Aug 29, 2008 | Hurricane | HURRICANE GUSTAV | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- El Paso 100
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in El Paso County, Texas?
442 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $673.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in El Paso County?
Hail, with 158 recorded events — 35.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed El Paso County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover El Paso County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include El Paso County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is El Paso County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates El Paso County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the El Paso 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
- Ellis County 926
- Erath County 545
- Edwards County 233
- Falls County 245
- Ector County 814
- Fannin County 613
Cite this page
“El Paso County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/el-paso-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.