Ward County, Texas severe weather history spans 244 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 61.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,145 nationally and #183 in Texas.
244
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$3.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Ward County, Texas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ward County, Texas severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 75 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 48 events fall before 1990 and 196 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.9M 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 Ward County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 151 | 0 | $94K | 6 | 1959–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 56 | 0 | $522K | 86 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 16 | 0 | $2.9M | F3 | 1960–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $28K | 0 | 2000–2021 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1997–2005 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Ward County, Texas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 18 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-09-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-03-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-05-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-03-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-10-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-04-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-04-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ward County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 18 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 8, 1997 | Lightning | GRANDFALLS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A supercell storm moving to the northeast spawned a weak tornado that moved straight north through the heart of Wickett. With the weak nature of the tornado and lack of targets outside of the city, the exact starting and ending points of the tornado could not be determined.Damage included one abandoned mobile home that was overturned and destroyed, several carports and other low-grade roofs dislodged, and utility poles/lines downed. With little structural damage to any substantial dwellings, this tornado was rated in the high end of the F0 category. Vectors into the center of the damage converged at a 90 degree angle.This mesocyclone quickly occluded after exiting Wickett, with the following mesocyclone producing another weak tornado in western Ector County.
A thunderstorm moved across Ward County and produced wind damage south of Monahans. The damage swath included metal roofs/carports lifted or bent, downed tree branches between one to three inches in diameter, and several damaged travel trailers. The damage was generally oriented in an easterly direction. After re-analysis of radar data, the damage was determined to be the result of a microburst that occurred at approximately 9:15 pm CDT. The survey team estimated the peak wind speeds to be between 75 to 85 mph. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
Strong to severe thunderstorms over Pecos County spawned a left moving (anticyclonic) severe storm that rapidly propagated over the town of Grandfalls. Quarter to golfball size hail was reported in addition to damaging winds. Five power poles were snapped along State Route 11 just southeast of town. In town, an abandon mobile home was rolled by the winds and destroyed while the roof of another mobile home in the southwest portions of the community was blown onto a nearby pickup truck. Several trees were uprooted and a historic church also sustained serious roof damage.A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service concluded that the severe winds that produced the damage was uniform in direction, blowing debris from the southwest to the northeast. The damage swath covered an area three miles wide. These observations were consistent with the occurrence of a large downburst, or macroburst.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,144
Population (ACS)
$151K
Median home value
11
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 |
| Mar 14, 2008 | Fire | WILDFIRES | EM |
| Jan 11, 2006 | Fire | EXTREME WILDFIRE THREAT | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ward County, Texas?
244 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ward County?
Hail, with 151 recorded events — 61.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ward County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ward County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ward County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ward County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ward County as very low risk, placing it in the 15 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ward 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
- Waller County 158
- Washington County 213
- Walker County 292
- Webb County 412
- Victoria County 376
- Wharton County 327
Cite this page
“Ward County, Texas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/texas/ward-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.