NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Slaton, 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 Slaton, Texas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 161 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 161
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
26 deaths in all
What the records show for Slaton
The strongest of the 161 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 11, 1970; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 26 people. Of the 161, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 61. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2025. Slaton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 140 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Slaton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 753 Texas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Slaton
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s11
- 2000s29(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s34(1 EF3+)
- 1970s35(1 EF3+)
- 1960s19
- 1950s13(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1970 | F5 | 13 mi | 8.4 mi | 26 / 500 |
| Apr 21, 1957 | F4 | in town | 15.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 12, 2005 | F3 | 13 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1989 | F3 | 14 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1957 | F3 | 4 mi | 37.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 2019 | EF2 | 17 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2005 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1987 | F2 | 22 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 7, 1981 | F2 | 25 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1981 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1981 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 161, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Slaton
The Storm Prediction Center has 140 hail reports within 10 miles of Slaton since 1957, made on 102 separate days. Of these, 113 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 8, 2015. The most recent report is from June 17, 2025. May has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Slaton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lubbock, TX, 18 miles northwest of Slaton at 3,259 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 27°F. May is the wettest at 2.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 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 92 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 84 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.0 inches a year, most of it in December. That 18.5 inches is more than at 24 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (8%). Tahoka, 19 miles southwest, has its own station (Tahoka, TX): 20.6 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 27 | 0.7 | 1 | 1.6 |
| Feb | 60 | 31 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 68 | 38 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 76 | 46 | 1.3 | 2 | 0.1 |
| May | 84 | 57 | 2.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 92 | 66 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 69 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 68 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 60 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 48 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 64 | 36 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 28 | 0.8 | 2 | 2.4 |
| Year | 75 | 48 | 18.5 | 33 | 7.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lubbock, TX (3,259 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 Slaton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 58 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Slaton: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 7 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $52.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on June 25, 2026. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 138 have had fewer than Slaton.
August 28, 2016: lightning strike in Slaton — 1 killed.
May 30, 2001: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Slaton — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm wind rolled and destroyed a couple mobile homes. A man was trapped and severely injured in one of the mobile homes.”
September 26, 2012: thunderstorm wind in Slaton — 1 injured.
NWS: “S. Highway 84.”
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
Lubbock County, which includes Slaton, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, on February 19, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lubbock County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail and strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $213.5 million a year, the 11th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $46.8 million (22%), 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 Slaton
- Lubbock, TX16 mi
- Idalou, TX18 mi
- Tahoka, TX19 mi
- Post, TX21 mi
- Wolfforth, TX22 mi
- Shallowater, TX28 mi
- Abernathy, TX32 mi
- Floydada, TX40 mi
- Brownfield, TX42 mi
- Hale Center, TX44 mi
- Levelland, TX46 mi
- Littlefield, TX50 mi
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