NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Odessa, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Odessa, Texas since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1942. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Odessa
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Odessa; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1942, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 13 miles away. Of the 753 Texas cities on this site, 87% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Odessa. The highest rating among the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 30, 2024, came within 20 miles. Of the 84, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on May 30, 2024. Of the 753 Texas cities, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Odessa. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 285 times since 1958, with stones up to 5 inches. Odessa has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Odessa
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 31 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Odessa: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Odessa
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8(2 EF3+)
- 2000s11
- 1990s9
- 1980s31
- 1970s10
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2024 | EF3 | 20 mi | 5.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 2019 | EF3 | 10 mi | 5.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 2010 | EF3 | 21 mi | 4.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1965 | F3 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2024 | EF2 | 9 mi | 10.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 18, 2012 | EF2 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 15, 1981 | F2 | 14 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 12, 1973 | F2 | 3 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1969 | F2 | 10 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1961 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1957 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2016 | EF1 | 25 mi | 5.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Odessa
The Storm Prediction Center has 285 hail reports within 10 miles of Odessa since 1958, made on 148 separate days. Of these, 226 were 1 inch across or larger, and 42 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5 inches, fell on June 14, 2017. The most recent report is from June 9, 2025. June has the most reports, 98.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Odessa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Odessa, TX, 2 miles northeast of Odessa at 2,910 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 32°F. May and August are the wettest at 1.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 12.3 inches over 26 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 106 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 44 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 12.3 inches is more than at 7 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (2%). Gardendale, 11 miles north, has its own station (Odessa Schlemeyer Field, TX): 13.0 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 95°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 32 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Feb | 62 | 36 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 71 | 44 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 79 | 51 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.0 |
| May | 87 | 61 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 94 | 68 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 71 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 93 | 70 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 62 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 77 | 53 | 1.3 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 66 | 41 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 58 | 33 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.3 |
| Year | 77 | 52 | 12.3 | 26 | 0.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Odessa, TX (2,910 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 Odessa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 242 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Odessa: 115 flash floods, 113 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 heavy rain events, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $7.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on May 30, 2024. May has had the most flash floods, 29 of 115. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 736 have had fewer than Odessa.
May 30, 2024: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Odessa — 2 injured, $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Odessa FD/PD responded to a report of an overturned double-wide trailer home along CR 172. This was likely the result of intense RFD winds on the backside of the tornadic circulation.”
September 28, 2012: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Odessa — $1.5 million damage.
June 14, 2017: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Odessa — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A thunderstorm moved across Ector County and produced wind damage in Odessa. There were many reports of trees being uprooted and blown over as well as sheds destroyed and damage to roofs.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Odessa's 6 ZIP codes have filed 190 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2007, with 35. 3% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 433 Texas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 287 have fewer than Odessa.
Ector County, which includes Odessa, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1989, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 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 Ector County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.4 million a year, the 37th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.0 million (43%), is from inland flooding.
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 Odessa
- Gardendale, TX11 mi
- Midland, TX19 mi
- Crane, TX32 mi
- Andrews, TX36 mi
- Stanton, TX36 mi
- Monahans, TX37 mi
- Kermit, TX42 mi
- Jal, NM57 mi
- Big Spring, TX59 mi
- Seminole, TX63 mi
- Big Lake, TX64 mi
- Lamesa, TX64 mi
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