Upton County, Texas severe weather history spans 263 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 60.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,019 nationally and #173 in Texas.
263
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$946K
Property damage
The record
What the Upton County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Upton County, Texas severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 91 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 233 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $532K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Upton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 159 | 0 | $111K | 4 | 1960–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 43 | 0 | $532K | 78 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 39 | 0 | $225K | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | $79K | F2 | 1959–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Upton County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-03-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1986-10-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-10-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-06-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Law enforcement officials reported flash flooding along State Highway 349 north of Rankin. Flowing flood waters inundated the highway seven miles north of the city. By 19:56 CST residents in Rankin reported that heavy rainfall and flash flooding resulted in high water that entered several homes. A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer reported that up to five inches of rain had fallen during the past forty-eight hours.
This tornado was reported to have begun as a large tornado very near the Midland/Upton County line by multiple observers. This tornado began to move towards the west, growing in size and increasing in intensity as it caused EF-3 damage to vegetation and heavy oil equipment. Ground scouring was noted along this portion of the damage path. The tornado may have been nearly stationary for a short time before moving back to the west, continuing to cause damage to vegetation, power poles, and oil equipment. During this portion of the path, the tornado would cross from Midland County into Upton County, a short distance from FM 1788. Eventually, the tornado began to dissipate as it continued towards the west-southwest as a stringing cone tornado before ending. Property damage cost is an estimation.
Heavy rain fell across Upton County and produced flash flooding in Rankin. A manufactured home and an RV were caught in high water near the 300 block of South Main Street in Rankin. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,191
Population (ACS)
$109K
Median home value
13
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 |
| Jul 1, 2011 | Fire | WILDFIRES | DR |
| Mar 14, 2008 | Fire | WILDFIRES | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Upton County, Texas?
263 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $946K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Upton County?
Hail, with 159 recorded events — 60.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Upton County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Upton County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Upton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Upton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Upton County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Upton 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
- Upshur County 425
- Uvalde County 409
- Tyler County 299
- Val Verde County 704
- Trinity County 232
- Van Zandt County 481
Cite this page
“Upton County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/upton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.