NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Olton, 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 Olton, Texas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 209 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 209
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Olton
The highest rating among the 209 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 17, 1970, came within 16 miles. Of the 209, 22 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 73. The most recent tornado was on April 26, 2025. Olton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 93% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 74 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 52% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Olton.
Compare Olton's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Olton
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s9
- 2000s14
- 1990s51
- 1980s27
- 1970s35(2 EF3+)
- 1960s55(4 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1970 | F4 | 16 mi | 96.6 mi | 5 / 51 |
| Jun 2, 1965 | F4 | 16 mi | 39.3 mi | 4 / 76 |
| Apr 21, 1957 | F4 | 18 mi | 29.2 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 12, 1960 | F3 | 15 mi | 5.2 mi | 3 / 32 |
| Apr 15, 1973 | F3 | 22 mi | 7.6 mi | 2 / 26 |
| May 6, 1969 | F3 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1961 | F3 | 17 mi | 25.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2019 | EF2 | 18 mi | 8.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2019 | EF2 | 23 mi | 1.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 2007 | EF2 | in town | 28.75 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 1998 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1995 | F2 | 24 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 209, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Olton
The Storm Prediction Center has 74 hail reports within 10 miles of Olton since 1962, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 6, 2008. The most recent report is from May 25, 2025. June has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Olton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Olton, TX, in Olton at 3,640 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 25°F. June is the wettest at 2.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 19.0 inches over 36 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 67 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 19.0 inches is more than at 27 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (9%). Hale Center, 17 miles southeast, has its own station (Plainview Wtr Productn, TX): 18.5 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 25 | 0.6 | 1 | 1.3 |
| Feb | 57 | 28 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 65 | 35 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 73 | 43 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.2 |
| May | 81 | 54 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 63 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 66 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 65 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 57 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 45 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 62 | 34 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 53 | 26 | 0.8 | 2 | 2.2 |
| Year | 72 | 45 | 19.0 | 36 | 7.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Olton, TX (3,640 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 Olton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 50 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Olton: 47 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 26, 2021.
October 10, 2007: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Olton — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Damaging thunderstorm winds accompanied the destructive hail over much of western Hale County. S.”
May 26, 2021: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Olton — $1.0 million damage.
June 20, 2003: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Olton — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm wind uprooted trees, downed power lines and power poles, damaged the roofs of homes, and destroyed 15 center pivot irrigation systems.”
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
Lamb County, which includes Olton, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 fires, 4 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 Lamb County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.0 million a year, the 110th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.2 million (41%), 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 Olton
- Hale Center, TX17 mi
- Littlefield, TX23 mi
- Plainview, TX23 mi
- Abernathy, TX27 mi
- Dimmitt, TX28 mi
- Tulia, TX34 mi
- Shallowater, TX34 mi
- Muleshoe, TX37 mi
- Idalou, TX42 mi
- Lockney, TX43 mi
- Levelland, TX43 mi
- Friona, TX46 mi
All Texas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Olton with another place →