Gail, TX Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Gail is about the same as Texas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Gail is much lower than Texas average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #494
| Gail, TX | 0.02 |
| Texas | 0.04 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Gail, TX | 0.0000 |
| Texas | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #1566
| Gail, TX | 107.91 |
| Texas | 208.58 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 2,037 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Gail, TX were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 0 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 15 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 227 | Hail: | 1,263 | Heat: | 0 | Heavy Snow: | 0 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 0 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 515 | Tropical Storm: | 1 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 3 | Winter Weather: | 0 |
| Other: | 13 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Gail, TX.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Gail, TX.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 43.7 | 1978-06-16 | 5.3 | 10 | 33.03 | -100.77 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 27 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Gail, TX.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 18.3 | 2005-06-05 | 2 | 32°34'N / 101°18'W | 32°30'N / 101°19'W | 5.00 Miles | 1300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 80K | 0 | Borden |
| Brief Description: A significant tornado developed in southern Borden County shortly after 18:00 CST. This tornado initially formed just north of Farm to Market Road 1785 three miles west of that highway's intersection with Farm to Market Road 1205. The tornado then slowly moved southwest, and resulted in a wide swath of damage to mesquite trees, road signs, fences, and utility poles as it crossed Farm to Market Road 1785. The tornado's damaging ground circulation briefly dissipated south of Farm to Market Road 1785 in south-central Borden County. Video provided by the public and storm spotters indicated that this phase of the tornado's life cycle was characterized by a condensation funnel that reached half way to the ground with no debris visible near the ground. National Weather Service meteorologists that conducted a damage survey of the tornado's track initially concluded that the broken damage path was likely the result of two separate tornadoes. Photographic evidence, however, supports that the funnel aloft remained well-defined and that the tornado reformed about one mile north of the Borden and Howard County line. The tornado crossed a county road near the Howard County line, and left a three-quarter mile wide swath of damage to mesquite trees and fences. Large drifts of wind blown mud accumulated several feet high along barbed-wire fences on the north side of the tornadoes circulation. A tin shed also was severely damaged. The tornado then moved over plowed fields as it crossed into north-central Howard County. Damage in the Borden County segment of the tornado's path would suggest a weak category rating. This may be largely due to a lack of man made structures that were affected. More significant (F2) damage was observed along the Howard County segment of the damage path. The total path length over Borden and Howard Counties was nine miles. An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes affected parts of west Texas during the afternoon and evening of the 5th. Thunderstorms developed along a stationary frontal boundary over the western low rolling plains and the northeastern Permian Basin during the late afternoon. These storms evolved into supercells, and one storm produced a series of tornadoes across southern Borden and northern Howard Counties. By mid evening, a small cluster of organized severe storms evolved and produced more widespread hail, damaging winds, and heavy rainfall. Damages to agricultural interests across the region were significant, and accounted for a majority of the estimated $2.2 million worth of losses reported. | |||||||||||
| 18.5 | 2005-06-05 | 2 | 32°31'N / 101°24'W | 32°29'N / 101°27'W | 4.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 300K | Howard |
| Brief Description: The long-lived tornado that developed in south-central Borden County crossed into Howard County east of County Road 41. The tornado's damage path narrowed as it moved over a hay field northeast of Luther. Three hundred round bales of hay, weighing 2,000 pounds each, were shredded by the tornadic winds. All of the hay bales were destroyed and the individual straws of hay served as small missiles, stripping mesquite trees of their bark in a thicket to the west. The tornado crossed County Road 41 about two miles south of the Howard and Borden County line. Chunks of asphalt, some up to six inches in diameter, were removed from the road's surface and deposited in an adjacent field. A 250 yard wide swath was cut through mesquite filled range land west of the road. Large mesquite trees were reduced to stumps that only stood a few feet tall, and were partially debarked. A railroad boxcar that was being used for storage was destroyed one mile west of County Road 41. The boxcar broke into three large pieces as it initially bounced along the earth, leaving large craters in the ground, and then was lofted. The three pieces were displaced a mile to the southwest from the boxcar's original location, near the end of the damage path. A National Weather Service damage survey team concluded that a significant rating (F2) was warranted based on the magnitude of tree and vegetation damage, and the lofting and displacement of the railroad boxcar. The tornadoes total path length across Borden and Howard Counties was nine miles, with a maximum path width of three quarters of a mile in south-central Borden County. An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes affected parts of west Texas during the afternoon and evening of the 5th. Thunderstorms developed along a stationary frontal boundary over the western low rolling plains and the northeastern Permian Basin during the late afternoon. These storms evolved into supercells, and one storm produced a series of tornadoes across southern Borden and northern Howard Counties. By mid evening, a small cluster of organized severe storms evolved and produced more widespread hail, damaging winds, and heavy rainfall. Damages to agricultural interests across the region were significant, and accounted for a majority of the estimated $2.2 million worth of losses reported. | |||||||||||
| 28.4 | 1991-05-07 | 2 | 32°28'N / 101°51'W | 32°30'N / 101°46'W | 3.50 Miles | 120 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Martin |
| 28.4 | 2009-04-16 | 2 | 32°18'N / 101°34'W | 32°25'N / 101°27'W | 11.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 0 | 0 | 83K | 0K | Howard |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: At 1953 CST, a trained weather spotter reported a tornado about 5 miles northwest of Big Spring. The NWS Storm Survey confirmed two snapped power poles, minor tree damage and an empty oil pump storage tank knocked over near this location. The tornado then tracked north northeastward and bent an 80 foot aluminum radio tower in half towards the east and snapped two additional power poles due to damaging northerly winds on its northwest flank; this occurred sometime around 2000 CST. At 2005 CST, another trained spotter reported a tornado near the town of Fairview, TX. The damage survey concluded this was a valid report, as the tornado began to turn right snapping multiple power poles and damaging a 12???X10??? storage shed anchored 2-3 feet in the ground along the way. The storage shed was tossed east northeast approximately 30 yards, indicating the tornado passed north of the residence. As the tornado continued eastward just north of Farm to Market Road 2230 east of Fairview, a significant line of power pole damage (2 miles) was observed. There were a total of 28 poles snapped towards the south around 2015 CST. Twenty of these were distribution poles and 8 of these were larger transmission poles. The tornado then possibly weakened and turned left to the northeast. On its way, it damaged another storage shed and a home's north side windows approximately 4 miles northeast of Fairview. The last approximated time for tornadic wind damage was around 2030 CST. The path recorded for this event is not the exact path the tornado actually took. Please see attached image. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A mid to upper level closed low was located over southwest Utah the day of the event. Near the surface, a quasi dryline was located from a line near the mountains of west Texas to the eastern NM/TX border. Dewpoints in the low to mid 50 F range resulted in moderate surface based instability east of the dryline during the early evening hours. The upper dynamics combined with the surface convergence along the dryline led to the development of severe weather as the deep layer shear increased with the approach of the aforementioned feature. There was also a brief window for tornadic storms as low level profiles became increasingly backed east of the dryline as height falls increased ahead of the upper trough just west of the region. A tornado watch was issued from 1642-2400 local. | |||||||||||
| 28.5 | 1969-05-05 | 2 | 33°09'N / 101°37'W | 33°11'N / 101°33'W | 4.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Lynn |
| 29.4 | 1961-06-05 | 2 | 33°13'N / 101°22'W | 33°09'N / 101°20'W | 5.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Garza |
| 32.9 | 1965-06-08 | 2 | 32°54'N / 102°10'W | 32°54'N / 101°50'W | 19.40 Miles | 17 Yards | 0 | 8 | 25K | 0 | Dawson |
| 33.3 | 1962-06-16 | 2 | 33°12'N / 101°32'W | 33°18'N / 101°22'W | 11.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Garza |
| 33.6 | 1970-05-31 | 2 | 32°30'N / 102°07'W | 32°40'N / 101°52'W | 18.60 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Martin |
| 35.7 | 1980-06-19 | 2 | 32°50'N / 102°04'W | 2.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Dawson | |
| 36.5 | 1970-05-12 | 2 | 33°15'N / 101°41'W | 33°18'N / 101°35'W | 6.80 Miles | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Lynn |
| 37.8 | 1964-06-20 | 2 | 32°15'N / 101°40'W | 0.80 Mile | 23 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Howard | |
| 38.9 | 1957-05-24 | 3 | 33°10'N / 101°47'W | 33°24'N / 101°40'W | 17.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Lynn |
| 39.2 | 1957-05-24 | 3 | 32°19'N / 101°52'W | 1.50 Miles | 83 Yards | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Martin | |
| 40.1 | 1971-05-08 | 2 | 32°36'N / 102°07'W | 1.00 Mile | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Dawson | |
| 40.3 | 2006-05-05 | 2 | 32°28'N / 102°03'W | 32°28'N / 102°03'W | 6.10 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Martin |
| Brief Description: A tornado developed in Martin County in open fields north of County Road D4800 and east of County Road D2651. Based on spotter reports, the tornado was visible at 8:02 pm CDT just south of CR D4800 and west of Farm to Market Road 829 (FM 829), south-southeast of Patricia. According to spotter reports, it took on a stove-pipe like shape and continued to move to the east-southeast along FM 829. A few minutes later, the tornado pulled an oil pump jack and well head from the ground. The pump jack was estimated to weigh about 35,000 pounds by an oil company representative. The well head was anchored in the ground by an additional 35,000 pounds of weight from pipe below the ground. Southward along FM 829, four power poles were snapped four to five feet above ground and an additional six poles farther south were blown over to the east due to rear flank downdraft winds. Another couple of minutes later, an oil heater treater weighing approximately 12,000 pounds was blown over. The damage survey team classified the damage that occurred between 8:02pm CDT and 8:07pm CDT, when the oil heater treater was blown over, as F2 intensity damage. After blowing over the oil heater, the tornado became rain-wrapped and crossed County Road 4600, just west of County Road D3401. Five power poles were knocked down on County Road D3401. Based on information received from both spotters and chasers, the tornado dissipated at 8:14pm CDT, just west of Texas Highway 137. During the remainder of the tornado's path, it remained mainly over open country. The damage survey team calculated the width of the tornado to be 130 yards near the end of its life. However, the track was estimated to be between 200 and 300 yards during earlier stages of its life. The path length was calculated to be just over six miles long. | |||||||||||
| 40.5 | 1963-04-26 | 2 | 32°44'N / 100°55'W | 32°48'N / 100°36'W | 19.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Scurry |
| 41.1 | 1968-05-24 | 3 | 32°38'N / 100°46'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scurry | |
| 45.7 | 1968-05-24 | 3 | 32°38'N / 100°42'W | 32°39'N / 100°40'W | 2.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scurry |
| 47.2 | 1971-05-08 | 2 | 33°24'N / 101°46'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Lubbock | |
| 47.4 | 1991-10-27 | 2 | 32°14'N / 101°58'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Martin | |
| 48.7 | 1968-05-24 | 3 | 32°38'N / 100°36'W | 32°38'N / 100°40'W | 4.10 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scurry |
| 49.5 | 1982-05-27 | 2 | 32°25'N / 100°44'W | 32°26'N / 100°41'W | 3.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mitchell |
| 49.6 | 1981-05-07 | 2 | 33°29'N / 101°23'W | 1.50 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Crosby | |
| 49.7 | 1994-05-12 | 2 | 32°47'N / 100°36'W | 2.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Fisher | |
| 49.8 | 1962-06-16 | 2 | 32°28'N / 102°14'W | 0.80 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Andrews | |
| 49.9 | 1965-05-13 | 2 | 33°25'N / 101°50'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Lubbock | |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.