Motley County, Texas severe weather history spans 310 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 58.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,723 nationally and #153 in Texas.
310
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$3.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Motley County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Motley County, Texas severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 81 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 53 events fall before 1990 and 257 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Motley County, Texas record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.6M 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 Motley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 181 | 0 | $620K | 5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 92 | 0 | $209K | 78 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 28 | 4 | $2.6M | F3 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2025 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2010–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Motley County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-21 | EF3 | 4 | 15 | 9.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-23 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-01 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-04-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-03-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-05-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Motley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2023 | Tornado | WHITEFLAT | 4 | 15 | $0 |
| May 2, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Storm spotters and fire department officials from Matador reported a swath of large hail up to golf ball size accompanied by destructive downburst winds. The wind-driven hail damaged dozens of vehicles, broke some north-facing windows to homes and businesses in and near Matador, and caused varying degrees of damage to rooftops.
A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site near Roaring Springs measured wind gusts up to 65 mph for five minutes. Additionally, an NSSL mobile mesonet also recorded 65 mph wind gusts around the same location and nine miles east of Matador. The emergency manager in Motley County reported that several trees and power lines were blown down in Roaring Springs.
Downburst winds in the rear flank downdraft of a supercell caused scattered wind damage in Matador and also overturned a semi-truck on US Highway 62 east of Matador. The driver was not injured. Wind damage in and around Matador consisted of a portion of a roof removed from a house, several large trees downed and some fallen power lines.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,183
Population (ACS)
$88K
Median home value
19
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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Motley County, Texas?
310 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $3.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Motley County?
Hail, with 181 recorded events — 58.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Motley County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Motley County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Motley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Motley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Motley County as very low risk, placing it in the 3 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Motley 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
- Morris County 233
- Nacogdoches County 587
- Moore County 654
- Navarro County 554
- Montgomery County 583
- Newton County 256
Cite this page
“Motley County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/motley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.