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Wilbarger County, Texas severe weather history spans 593 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #606 nationally and #56 in Texas.
593
Recorded events
14
Direct deaths
105
Direct injuries
$35.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Wilbarger County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wilbarger County, Texas severe weather history averages 8.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 174 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 120 events fall before 1990 and 473 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Wilbarger County, Texas record is tornado, responsible for 14 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $28.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Wilbarger County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 317 | 0 | $13K | 4.5 | 1959–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 198 | 0 | $7.0M | 97 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 58 | 14 | $28.2M | F4 | 1954–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–2018 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $200 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Wilbarger County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
56 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 52 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-04-10 | EF4 | 11 | 68 | 39.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-11-07 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 17.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-01 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 68.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-05-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 23.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 40.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-17 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 65.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-04-10 | EF2 | 1 | 3 | 74.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-04-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wilbarger County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 1979 | Tornado | 11 | 67 | $25.0M | |
| May 27, 1995 | Tornado | Burkburnett | 2 | 30 | $0 |
| Apr 10, 1979 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jun 7, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| May 1, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Apr 7, 2008 | Tornado | HARROLD | 0 | 1 | $30K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Severe thunderstorms produced large hail, flash flooding and 2 tornados. The first tornado was reported 5 miles southwest of Burkburnett in Wichita County, and the second was 3 miles west of Burkburnett. The second tornado touched down 6 minutes after the first began, and both tornados lifted at the same time. No damage was reported, and both were rated as F0. Significant damage occurred in Vernon with straight-line winds along a strong gust front. Numerous fences and trees as large as 4-feet in diameter and fences were downed (3 fell onto houses), 8 homes received major roof damage, and 4 storage buildings were destroyed. In addition, 2 businesses were damaged: parts of the roof were blown off a boot store, and a second store received major air conditioner and roof damage. Other reports included nickel sized hail in Vernon in Wilbarger County and water covering Highway 183 north of Vernon in Wilbarger County.
Severe thunderstorm winds in Vernon in Wilbarger County blew out all of the windows and removed a large part of the roof of the administrative offices and gymnasium of a state hospital. Damage to the facilities was estimated at $1 to 2 million dollars. A mobile home was also destroyed and at least 14 utility poles were blown down. In Foard County severe thunderstorm winds downed two-inch tree limbs in Thalia.
The long-lived Lockett tornado moved into Wilbarger County from Foard County and continued to move northeast. As the tornado approached County Road 138, the tornado created significant tree damage and roof damage to a home, and destroyed an outbuilding. Along County Road 138, at least seven large steel electrical transmission towers were bent over, with the western most tower blown to the south. Roof damage occurred to another home just north of County Road 138 an another outbuilding was heavily damaged along County Road 83. The tornado then turned to the north and damaged another house, destroyed a barn and broke wooden utility poles along County Road 85 to the south of Lockett.||The tornado continued to move north and moved through mainly the eastern portion of the town of Lockett where it produced roof and wall damage to a number of homes and businesses, as well as tree and power pole damage. The tornado continued to veer in direction and moved north-northwest in areas north of Lockett before dissipating.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
12,616
Population (ACS)
$89K
Median home value
17
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 |
| Feb 9, 2016 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 1, 2011 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Vernon 151
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wilbarger County, Texas?
593 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 14 direct deaths and $35.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wilbarger County?
Hail, with 317 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wilbarger County?
56 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 52 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Wilbarger County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wilbarger County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wilbarger County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wilbarger County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wilbarger 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
- Wichita County 1,298
- Willacy County 166
- Wheeler County 566
- Williamson County 891
- Wharton County 327
- Wilson County 244
Cite this page
“Wilbarger County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/wilbarger-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.