Jim Wells County, Texas severe weather history spans 360 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 41.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,429 nationally and #136 in Texas.
360
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$9.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Jim Wells County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jim Wells County, Texas severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 92 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 73 events fall before 1990 and 287 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 $3.1M 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 Jim Wells County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 151 | 0 | $1.8M | 100 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 87 | 0 | $1.8M | 5 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 64 | 0 | $3.1M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Tornado | 44 | 0 | $2.6M | F2 | 1956–2023 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $70K | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2011 |
Decade by decade
Jim Wells 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-10 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-09-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-01-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 23.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jim Wells County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | ALICE | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Aug 10, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF1 tornado touched down on the southeast side of the city of Alice just south of the intersection of Highway 359 and Stadium Road. The tornado traveled 2.3 miles and lifted just north of the intersection of County Road 1352 and County Road 382. This tornado produced shingle damage to the roof tops of several homes, lifted the roof deck off of several homes, and snapped a dozen power poles at their mid-point. The tornado destroyed a metal building and a portable building, broke overhead doors, blew out the siding of several metal buildings, and downed numerous trees.
Street flooding occurred in Orange Grove. A high water rescue was performed for a woman in a trailer near a rapidly rising creek along Farm to Market Road 534 west of Sandia. Water was over the roadway in two places on Farm to Market Road 624 northwest of Westdale.
NWS storm survey concluded that damaging straight line winds, estimated at 65 to 70 mph, impacted the town of Orange Grove. The damage path was 4.5 miles long and 3.2 miles wide. Approximately 500-600 homes suffered minor to moderate damage with a few broken windows, damaged shingles or siding. A few homes suffered major damage with all west facing windows broken, and exterior siding destroyed by wind blown hail. Throughout the impacted areas, large tree branches and fence posts were snapped. Numerous trampolines were blown and destroyed. There were approximately a dozen unanchored outdoor storage sheds or carports that were destroyed by the wind. One large unanchored outdoor metal building was blown into the neighboring home with debris scattered 300 yards downstream. Another large metal building was blown into an adjacent vehicle with debris scattered 400 yards down wind. There were reports of several horses injured by wind blown debris and large hail.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
38,850
Population (ACS)
$124K
Median home value
30
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 |
| Jul 26, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HANNA | EM |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 6, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jim Wells County, Texas?
360 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jim Wells County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 151 recorded events — 41.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jim Wells County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jim Wells County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jim Wells County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 87 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jim Wells 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
- Jim Hogg County 84
- Johnson County 904
- Jefferson County 650
- Jones County 726
- Jeff Davis County 179
- Karnes County 179
Cite this page
“Jim Wells County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/jim-wells-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.