NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Childress, 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 Childress, Texas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 66 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 66
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Childress
The highest rating among the 66 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2010, came within 9 miles. Of the 66, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on March 13, 2021. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Childress. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 152 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Childress has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Childress
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s13
- 1990s16
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10
- 1960s5
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2010 | EF3 | 9 mi | 12.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1982 | F3 | 15 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2016 | EF2 | 24 mi | 6.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 2010 | EF2 | 18 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2006 | F2 | 5 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 15, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 1987 | F2 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1970 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 6, 1951 | F2 | 6 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 10, 2007 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2003 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 2002 | F1 | 24 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 66, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Childress
The Storm Prediction Center has 152 hail reports within 10 miles of Childress since 1955, made on 107 separate days. Of these, 109 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 30, 2017. The most recent report is from May 30, 2024. May has the most reports, 67.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Childress
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Childress Municipal Airport, TX, 3 miles north of Childress at 1,951 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 29°F. June is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 23.9 inches over 40 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 102 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. Snowfall averages 5.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 23.9 inches is more than at 70 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (22%). Memphis, 27 miles northwest, has its own station (Memphis, TX): 22.3 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and the same July average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 29 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 58 | 32 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 68 | 40 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 76 | 48 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.2 |
| May | 84 | 59 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 92 | 68 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 96 | 72 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 95 | 70 | 2.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 87 | 62 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 50 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 65 | 39 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 31 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.3 |
| Year | 75 | 50 | 23.9 | 40 | 5.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Childress Municipal Airport, TX (1,951 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 Childress
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 113 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Childress: 104 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods, 2 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $21.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 102 mph, on July 29, 2009.
June 15, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Childress — 6 injured, $17.0 million damage.
NWS: “ The Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site northeast of the city initially recorded a 58 mph wind gust at 19:33 CST. By 19:35 CST winds at the mesonet site had increased to 80 mph.”
July 29, 2009: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Childress — 3 injured, $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “A complex of severe thunderstorms produced extreme winds and resulted in significant damage in the Childress vicinity during the 21:00 CST hour of the 29th. The Automated Surface Observing System at the Childress Municipal Airport recorded a 102 mph thunderstorm wind gust at 21:29 CST.”
July 6, 2016: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Childress — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “A destructive downburst with peak winds around 80 mph traveled across the city of Childress causing extensive damage. The winds damaged several small structures, awnings, trees, utility poles, knocked down billboards and road signs, and even toppled two gas station pumps.”
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
Childress County, which includes Childress, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1996, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 fires, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Childress County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.4 million a year, the 180th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.8 million (28%), is from strong wind.
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 Childress
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