NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hale Center, 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 Hale Center, Texas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 213 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 213
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Hale Center
The highest rating among the 213 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 17, 1970, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 17, 1970, killed 5 people. Of the 213, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 72. The most recent tornado was on April 26, 2025. Hale Center has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Hale Center has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hale Center
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s11
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s43
- 1980s30
- 1970s49(3 EF3+)
- 1960s48(2 EF3+)
- 1950s14(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1970 | F4 | in town | 96.6 mi | 5 / 51 |
| Jun 2, 1965 | F4 | in town | 39.3 mi | 4 / 76 |
| Apr 17, 1970 | F4 | 23 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 24 |
| Apr 15, 1973 | F3 | 13 mi | 7.6 mi | 2 / 26 |
| Jun 9, 2005 | F3 | 21 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1961 | F3 | 18 mi | 25.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1956 | F3 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2019 | EF2 | 16 mi | 1.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 2007 | EF2 | 17 mi | 28.75 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 1998 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1989 | F2 | 17 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1978 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 213, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hale Center
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Hale Center since 1959, made on 75 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 27, 2015. The most recent report is from May 22, 2023. May has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hale Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Plainview Wtr Productn, TX, 14 miles northeast of Hale Center at 3,450 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 24°F. June is the wettest at 3.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 18.5 inches over 33 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 108 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.0 inches a year, most of it in December. That 18.5 inches is more than at 23 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (7%). Abernathy, 13 miles south, has its own station (Abernathy, TX): 19.3 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and the same July average high, 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 24 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.9 |
| Feb | 57 | 27 | 0.5 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Mar | 65 | 34 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 73 | 42 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.2 |
| May | 81 | 53 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 63 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 67 | 2.1 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 65 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 57 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 45 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 62 | 33 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 53 | 26 | 0.7 | 2 | 2.4 |
| Year | 73 | 45 | 18.5 | 33 | 7.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Plainview Wtr Productn, TX (3,450 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 Hale Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 24 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hale Center: 14 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods, 3 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 26, 2021.
May 25, 2019: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Hale Center — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous roads in and around Plainview were flooded by torrential rainfall from a supercell thunderstorm. The intersection of Interstate 27 and Farm to Market Road 194 was completely inundated by water.”
May 26, 2021: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Hale Center — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “An NWS storm survey revealed extensive damage in Hale County about seven miles northwest of Hale Center. Thunderstorms began bowing out across Lamb and western Hale Counties creating a line of destructive winds.”
May 27, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Hale Center — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Local farmers reported that thunderstorm winds destroyed at least six irrigation pivot systems northwest of Hale Center.”
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 Hale Center, 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 Hale Center
- Abernathy, TX13 mi
- Plainview, TX14 mi
- Olton, TX17 mi
- Shallowater, TX25 mi
- Idalou, TX26 mi
- Littlefield, TX26 mi
- Lockney, TX31 mi
- Lubbock, TX34 mi
- Floydada, TX35 mi
- Tulia, TX36 mi
- Wolfforth, TX39 mi
- Levelland, TX42 mi
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