Donley County, Texas severe weather history spans 607 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 67.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #570 nationally and #51 in Texas.
607
Recorded events
16
Direct deaths
46
Direct injuries
$9.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Donley County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Donley County, Texas severe weather history averages 8.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 217 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 61 events fall before 1990 and 546 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Donley County, Texas record is tornado, responsible for 16 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $8.7M 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 Donley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 407 | 0 | $263K | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 102 | 0 | $377K | 75 | 1958–2026 |
| Tornado | 64 | 16 | $8.7M | F4 | 1955–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 0 | $257K | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $21K | 0 | 2019–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2020 |
Decade by decade
Donley County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
64 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 58 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-04-18 | EF4 | 16 | 42 | 65.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-04-17 | EF4 | 5 | 51 | 96.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-03-28 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-05-15 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 10.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-03-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-03-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Donley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 1970 | Tornado | 16 | 42 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 29, 2007 | Tornado | JERICHO | 0 | 2 | $180K |
| Mar 3, 1983 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| May 16, 1957 | 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
A tornado touched down on the southwest side of Clarendon, continuing through Greenbelt Reservoir before dissipating northeast of Howardwick. Minor damage to homes and Clarendon College was observed on the west side of Clarendon. The tornado took on a wider path and strengthened as it progressed toward Greenbelt Reservoir causing considerable damage to mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and boating facilities. In addition, several power poles of varying sizes were downed and many trees were snapped in the area.
Flash flooding was first reported by a National Weather Service Cooperative Observer in Clarendon with U.S. Highway 287 closed. Water was reported three feet deep on U.S. Highway 287 in Clarendon and water was covering the road on State Highway 70 with both highways being shut down. Vehicles were reported to have been washed away and people had to be rescued. The Texas Department of Public Safety lost three patrol cars in the flood. By late evening…there was one foot of water covering U.S. Highway 287 and everyone had been rescued. By the early morning hours…eight Government apartments had four inches of water in them and four feet of water was found around a house with six inches of water inside. Major damage was done to the house. A peanut field was destroyed just north of Clarendon as the water stripped the top soil away along with the peanut seeds. There was extensive county road damage across Donley county.
Roof partially blown off a house…two second story rooms and the front porch of a vacant house were ripped apart…a doublewide trailer house had damage to the roof and windows…two unattached garages destroyed…trees uprooted…other roofs and barns were reported damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,257
Population (ACS)
$96K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2026 | Fire | CORNER POCKET FIRE | FM |
| Feb 18, 2026 | Fire | 8 BALL FIRE | FM |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Fire | REST AREA FIRE | FM |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Clarendon 270
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Donley County, Texas?
607 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 16 direct deaths and $9.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Donley County?
Hail, with 407 recorded events — 67.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Donley County?
64 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 58 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Donley County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Donley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Donley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Donley County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Donley 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
- Dimmit County 132
- Duval County 217
- Dickens County 339
- Eastland County 506
- DeWitt County 262
- Ector County 814
Cite this page
“Donley County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/donley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.