Hockley County, Texas severe weather history spans 640 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 48.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #494 nationally and #46 in Texas.
640
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
27
Direct injuries
$127.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Hockley County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hockley County, Texas severe weather history averages 9.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 205 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 125 events fall before 1990 and 515 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $53.4M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Hockley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 313 | 0 | $34.7M | 5 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 190 | 0 | $38.8M | 104 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 76 | 0 | $53.4M | F4 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $365K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $130K | 0 | 2007–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2017 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $350K | 0 | 2001–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2020 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Hockley County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
83 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 77 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-04-17 | EF4 | 0 | 24 | 30.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-04-21 | EF4 | 0 | 7 | 29.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 45.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-10-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hockley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | LEVELLAND | 0 | 13 | $35.0M |
| Apr 18, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 21, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 6, 2025 | Tornado | SMYER | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2025 | Lightning | ANTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | LEVELLAND | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Jul 1, 2017 | Hail | ANTON | 0 | 1 | $3.0M |
| Jun 9, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An NWS storm survey team observed damage to utility poles, trees, and center pivots in and around Levelland. Damage escalated in both coverage and intensity east of US Highway 385 with a concentrated area of damage noted in and around Kauffman Park. Here, winds of 90 mph to 120 mph caused partial failures to some roofs and completely destroyed several wooden outbuildings. Many homes and vehicles|suffered broken windows with roughly one dozen trees uprooted. One home lost roughly 30 percent of its roof and insulation while a wooden framed workshop in its backyard was completely destroyed and|blown two homes away. Numerous wooden and metal fences were also heavily damaged or destroyed. The Penny Newman cotton gin on the east side of Levelland suffered total destruction from winds estimated around 110 mph.
Golfball- to baseball-size hail fell across Levelland, and caused millions of dollars in damages to roofs, vehicles, and windows all across the city. This same storm would later go on to cause damage in Wolfforth and far southwest Lubbock.
A left-moving supercell produced a swath of large hail generally from near Sundown northeast to Levelland. Trained spotters estimated the hail ranged in size from ping pong balls to as large as tennis balls. The worst hail damage was noted in Levelland where many vehicles suffered cracked or shattered windows, particularly at the Covenant hospital. Several homes in Levelland also sustained varying degrees of roof damage including some broken windows.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
21,363
Population (ACS)
$127K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Levelland 144
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hockley County, Texas?
640 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $127.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hockley County?
Hail, with 313 recorded events — 48.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hockley County?
83 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 77 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hockley County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hockley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hockley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hockley County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 51 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hockley 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
- Hill County 596
- Hood County 481
- Hidalgo County 574
- Hopkins County 508
- Henderson County 514
- Houston County 363
Cite this page
“Hockley County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/hockley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.