NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Abernathy, TX
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Abernathy, Texas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 228 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 228
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
37 deaths in all
What the records show for Abernathy
The strongest of the 228 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 11, 1970; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 26 people. Of the 228, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 76. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2025. Abernathy has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 95% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 123 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Abernathy has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Abernathy
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s11
- 2000s30(1 EF3+)
- 1990s32
- 1980s35
- 1970s52(4 EF3+)
- 1960s43(2 EF3+)
- 1950s15(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1970 | F5 | 19 mi | 8.4 mi | 26 / 500 |
| Apr 17, 1970 | F4 | 11 mi | 96.6 mi | 5 / 51 |
| Jun 2, 1965 | F4 | 11 mi | 39.3 mi | 4 / 76 |
| Apr 17, 1970 | F4 | 18 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 24 |
| Apr 21, 1957 | F4 | 19 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 15, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 7.6 mi | 2 / 26 |
| Jun 9, 2005 | F3 | 16 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1961 | F3 | 17 mi | 25.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1956 | F3 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2025 | EF2 | 21 mi | 3.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2025 | EF2 | 23 mi | 8.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 2007 | EF2 | 24 mi | 28.75 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 228, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Abernathy
The Storm Prediction Center has 123 hail reports within 10 miles of Abernathy since 1957, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 105 were 1 inch across or larger, and 28 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 17, 2013. The most recent report is from June 6, 2025. May has the most reports, 53.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Abernathy
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Abernathy, TX, 3 miles southeast of Abernathy at 3,368 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 2.9 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 19.3 inches over 36 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 73 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. Snowfall averages 6.5 inches a year, most of it in December. That 19.3 inches is more than at 30 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (10%). Hale Center, 13 miles north, has its own station (Plainview Wtr Productn, TX): 18.5 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 24 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 58 | 28 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 66 | 35 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 74 | 43 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.1 |
| May | 81 | 54 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 63 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 67 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 66 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 58 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 75 | 46 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 63 | 34 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 55 | 26 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Year | 73 | 45 | 19.3 | 36 | 6.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Abernathy, TX (3,368 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Abernathy
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Abernathy: 58 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 6, 2004.
July 6, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of Abernathy — $2.0 million damage.
July 6, 2015: flood 9 miles from the centre of Abernathy — $1.0 million damage.
July 6, 2015: flood 8 miles from the centre of Abernathy — $500,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Hale County, which includes Abernathy, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 fires, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hale County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail; Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $30.9 million a year, the 62nd highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.0 million (52%), is from hail.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Abernathy
- Hale Center, TX13 mi
- Shallowater, TX13 mi
- Idalou, TX15 mi
- Lubbock, TX21 mi
- Plainview, TX25 mi
- Littlefield, TX25 mi
- Olton, TX27 mi
- Wolfforth, TX27 mi
- Slaton, TX32 mi
- Floydada, TX34 mi
- Levelland, TX35 mi
- Lockney, TX36 mi
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