Nolan County, Texas severe weather history spans 467 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #993 nationally and #93 in Texas.
467
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
104
Direct injuries
$47.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Nolan County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nolan County, Texas severe weather history averages 6.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 139 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 72 events fall before 1990 and 395 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Nolan County, Texas record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $28.1M 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 Nolan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 253 | 0 | $13.9M | 4.5 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 131 | 1 | $4.3M | 75 | 1957–2024 |
| Tornado | 49 | 1 | $28.1M | F3 | 1954–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $140K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2007–2023 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $9K | 0 | 2000–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Nolan County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
49 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 44 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-04-19 | EF3 | 1 | 100 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-03-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 10.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-03-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-03-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-03-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Nolan County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1986 | Tornado | 1 | 100 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 29, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROSCOE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 29, 2012 | Hail | MARYNEAL | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 7, 2012 | Lightning | LAKE TRAMMELL | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2007 | Tornado | SWEETWATER | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| May 31, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sweetwater | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Nolan County Sheriff confirmed 6 accidents on I-20 near Roscoe, with 1 fatality caused by a tanker truck rolling over. Also, several jack-knifed 18-wheelers. No tornadoes reported. but locally strong winds were reported. Also, multiple power lines were blown down nearby.
An EF-2 tornado touched down in southeast Nolan County and continued into Taylor County. About 14.5 miles southeast of Sweetwater, drone footage provided by AES Wind Generation Plant showed the EF-2 tornado damaged a large windmill turbine and tore off other windmill blades. The twister also caused roof damage to a residence and knocked down some high powered transmission poles and power lines.
An intense swift moving thunderstorm from the Conco Valley to the Big Country, packing wind gusts to near 90 mph, the night of the 12th wreaked most of its havoc on the community of Blackwell. The storm felled large trees, damaged roofs, and destroyed at least one trailer home. No one was seriously injured in the storm, though one woman broke her ankle while entering a storm cellar at her home.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,454
Population (ACS)
$96K
Median home value
20
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 25, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 9, 2016 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Sweetwater 150
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nolan County, Texas?
467 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $47.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nolan County?
Hail, with 253 recorded events — 54.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nolan County?
49 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 44 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nolan County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nolan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nolan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nolan County as very low risk, placing it in the 38 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nolan 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
- Newton County 256
- Nueces County 836
- Navarro County 554
- Ochiltree County 597
- Nacogdoches County 587
- Oldham County 458
Cite this page
“Nolan County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/nolan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.