Tornadoes · United States · Texas

Tornadoes in Donley County, Texas

61 tornadoes have crossed Donley County since 1950, 48th of the 254 counties in Texas with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.2 years. They have killed 16 people and injured 46. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Now

Tornadoes
61
Deaths
16
Injuries
46
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, April 18, 1970

The deadliest in Donley County

  1. F4, Swisher, Briscoe, Armstrong and Donley counties, TexasApril 18, 197016 killed, 42 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Swisher, Briscoe, Armstrong and Donley counties, TexasApril 18, 1970F4, 65.0 mi (105 km)
  2. F3, Donley County, TexasMay 15, 1957F3, 10.2 mi (16 km)
  3. EF3, Donley County, TexasMarch 28, 2007EF3, 3.4 mi (5 km)
  4. EF2, Donley County, TexasMarch 13, 2021EF2, 13.2 mi (21 km)
  5. F2, Donley County, TexasJune 8, 1995F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  6. F2, Donley and Gray counties, TexasJune 8, 1995F2, 9.0 mi (14 km)
  7. F2, Donley County, TexasMarch 3, 1983F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  8. F2, Donley County, TexasMarch 3, 1983F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  9. EF2, Donley County, TexasMarch 28, 2007EF2, 4.5 mi (7 km)
  10. EF2, Donley County, TexasMarch 28, 2007EF2, 4.2 mi (7 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 31 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Donley County. Each year links to every tornado in Texas that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20242EF1
20212EF2
20192EF0
20181EF0
20171EF0
20162EF1
20152EF1
20122EF0
20102EF0
200782EF3
20053F0
20033F1
20021F0
19992F0
19971F1
19961F0
19953F2
19901F0
19894F0
19871F0
19863F0
198321F2
19781F0
19772F1
19762F0
19741F0
197011642F4
19611F1
19601F2
195711F3
19552F2

Every tornado that crossed Donley County

61 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 1, 20244:04 PM CDTEF1Donley1.8150$50,000
May 1, 20243:56 PM CDTEF0Donley0.4125$20,000
March 13, 20215:51 PM CSTEF0Donley0.940$30,000
March 13, 20215:48 PM CSTEF2Donley13.21,200$250,000
May 7, 20197:48 PM CDTEF0Donley4.2500
May 7, 20197:25 PM CDTEF0Donley1.173
December 26, 20184:23 PM CSTEF0Donley0.6100
May 16, 20174:39 PM CDTEF0Donley1.450
May 22, 20165:39 PM CDTEF1Donley1.175
May 22, 20165:30 PM CDTEF0Donley0.425
May 16, 20152:40 PM CDTEF1Donley22.5100
May 16, 20152:20 PM CDTEF1Donley8.6150
December 14, 20124:58 PM CSTEF0Donley0.450
December 14, 20124:53 PM CSTEF0Donley0.950
April 22, 20106:07 PM CDTEF0Donley0.625
April 22, 20105:10 PM CDTEF0Donley5.2100
March 28, 20078:15 PM CDTEF0Donley1.050
March 28, 20078:13 PM CDTEF2Donley4.5200$170,000
March 28, 20078:02 PM CDTEF0Donley0.350
March 28, 20077:46 PM CDTEF2Donley4.2528$63,000
March 28, 20077:39 PM CDTEF3Donley3.46002$180,000
March 28, 20077:05 PM CDTEF0Donley1.0200
March 28, 20076:55 PM CDTEF1Donley7.3150$5,000
March 28, 20076:40 PM CDTEF0Donley1.0100
June 9, 20058:47 PM CDTF0Donley0.125
June 9, 20058:30 PM CDTF0Donley0.230$10,000
April 18, 20057:25 PM CDTF0Donley0.125
May 15, 20038:59 PM CDTF0Donley0.120
May 15, 20038:37 PM CDTF0Donley0.550
April 23, 200312:16 PM CDTF1Donley0.125$150,000
May 5, 20029:15 PM CDTF0Collingsworth0.225
May 20, 19998:02 PM CDTF0Donley0.10
May 20, 19996:44 PM CDTF0Donley0.550
June 11, 19978:58 PM CDTF1Donley1.0200
May 31, 19969:13 PM CDTF0Donley0.550
June 8, 19956:10 PM CDTF2Donley9.0400
June 8, 19955:55 PM CDTF2Donley10.0500
June 8, 19955:19 PM CDTF0Donley2.0100
April 24, 199010:40 PM CDTF0Donley1.590
June 12, 198911:25 PM CDTF0Donley2.0100
June 11, 198912:08 AM CDTF0Donley0.380$500,000 to $5 million
June 11, 198912:07 AM CDTF0Donley0.380$500,000 to $5 million
June 11, 198912:02 AM CDTF0Donley1.590
May 24, 198710:30 PM CDTF0Donley0.550
June 8, 19864:10 PM CDTF0Donley0.230
June 8, 19862:14 PM CDTF0Donley0.240
May 16, 19866:33 PM CDTF0Donley0.230
March 3, 19835:59 PM CSTF2Donley5.08801$5,000 to $50,000
March 3, 19834:50 PM CSTF2Donley5.0880under $50
May 26, 197811:00 PM CDTF0Donley1.040$5,000 to $50,000
May 20, 19774:28 PM CDTF1Donley2.030under $50
April 19, 19773:30 PM CSTF0Donley0.110
April 7, 19764:35 PM CSTF0Donley0.110
April 7, 19764:30 PM CSTF0Donley0.110
June 11, 19743:34 PM CDTF0Donley0.517
April 18, 19701:00 AM CSTF4Swisher65.08801642$500,000 to $5 million
July 14, 19619:00 PM GMT-5F1Donley0.510
June 8, 19605:25 PM GMT-5F2Donley0.110$500 to $5,000
May 15, 19577:00 PM GMT-5F3Donley10.2501$50,000 to $500,000
June 16, 19557:30 PM GMT-5F2Donley1.020under $50
June 16, 19557:30 PM GMT-5F0Donley1.010

Nearby

Warnings in force in Donley CountyThe forecast for Donley CountyThe live radar over Donley CountyEvery county in Texas

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.