Pecos County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Pecos County is about the same as Texas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Pecos County is much lower than Texas average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #27
| Pecos County | 0.06 |
| 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
| Pecos County | 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, #201
| Pecos County | 48.39 |
| 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 3,421 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Pecos County 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: | 1 | Drought: | 21 |
| Dust Storm: | 2 | Flood: | 551 | Hail: | 2,007 | Heat: | 1 | Heavy Snow: | 6 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 2 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 21 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 775 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 1 | Winter Weather: | 4 |
| Other: | 29 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Pecos County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Pecos County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 31.4 | 1982-01-04 | 3.9 | 5 | 31.18 | -102.49 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 15 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Pecos County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 12.1 | 1990-04-15 | 2 | 30°54'N / 102°50'W | 30°57'N / 102°48'W | 3.50 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Pecos |
| 13.0 | 1960-04-21 | 2 | 30°49'N / 102°56'W | 0.30 Mile | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pecos | |
| 13.2 | 1961-05-16 | 2 | 30°54'N / 102°53'W | 0.10 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pecos | |
| 20.5 | 1954-04-21 | 2 | 31°02'N / 102°53'W | 1.00 Mile | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Pecos | |
| 26.6 | 1961-05-04 | 3 | 30°32'N / 102°22'W | 1.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pecos | |
| 30.5 | 1954-06-01 | 2 | 30°54'N / 102°18'W | 30°56'N / 102°10'W | 8.30 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Pecos |
| 32.0 | 1977-06-30 | 2 | 31°10'N / 103°00'W | 0.50 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pecos | |
| 36.4 | 1990-06-01 | 4 | 31°05'N / 102°21'W | 30°51'N / 101°57'W | 22.00 Miles | 1233 Yards | 2 | 21 | 25.0M | 0 | Pecos |
| 42.9 | 2010-05-23 | 2 | 31°00'N / 103°25'W | 30°58'N / 103°23'W | 4.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 24K | 0K | Reeves |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A spotter report from a NWS employee and a damage survey both determined that at approximately 1756 CST, a tornado developed about 11 miles southeast of Verhalen, TX. It then moved southeastward damaging a total of 12 powers poles. All but two of these poles were broken into 3 or 4 pieces each. The broken poles were indicative of EF-2 type damage. At 1802 CST, a Pecos County Sherriff???s Deputy took a photo of the tornado near the Pecos and Reeves County line. Finally, at 1806 CST the NWS employee captured the tornado in its dissipating stage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: With persistent low level southeast flow in place across the area and a surface dryline in place from southeast New Mexico across portions of southwest Texas, isolated supercell thunderstorms developed across southern Reeves County and northwest Pecos County. For the second straight evening, these thunderstorms produced tornadoes across the area. | |||||||||||
| 43.2 | 1960-04-26 | 2 | 31°08'N / 102°13'W | 31°08'N / 102°02'W | 10.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Upton |
| 44.0 | 1954-05-29 | 2 | 31°24'N / 102°36'W | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Crane | |||
| 46.1 | 2009-04-29 | 2 | 30°26'N / 102°03'W | 30°26'N / 102°03'W | 0 | 0 | 5K | 0K | Terrell | ||
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Although a tornado was never reported during the time of issuance, later public reports and a NWS Storm Survey indicated in fact there was a tornado. Based on radar estimates, tornadic damage began sometime around 4 PM CST about 28 miles north of Dryden, TX. This is where a 30 gallon fiberglass tank was destroyed, in addition to another chemical tank. Pieces of the fiberglass tank were found downwind. A set of metal stairs that appeared to have been welded to the tank were also found downwind and were no longer attached to the tank. As the tornado tracked southeastward, its debris field of rocks, gravel and tree limbs stripped the paint off of a recently painted 300 gallon storage tank. The tornado continued on its path and weakened after stripping some cedar trees sometime around 404 PM CST. Please see the attached images for damage photos and a detailed image of the tornado's damage path. EPISODE NARRATIVE: During the afternoon of April 29, 2009, a surface low developed near Raton Mesa with a dryline extending from the eastern NM/TX border to the Davis Mountains of west Texas. Strong daytime heating resulted in mixed layer CAPE values near 3000 j/kg. As a strong southern stream mid-level jet max approached, favored kinematic profiles lead to the rapid development of supercells across southwest Texas. Although coverage remained fairly isolated due to weak upper level support, upslope/backed flow did result in at least one tornado being observed. | |||||||||||
| 46.4 | 1977-04-19 | 3 | 31°25'N / 102°56'W | 31°26'N / 102°52'W | 4.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 18 | 2.5M | 0 | Ward |
| 48.0 | 1965-08-10 | 2 | 30°08'N / 102°24'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Terrell | |
| 48.6 | 1962-07-10 | 2 | 31°24'N / 102°21'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Crane | |||
* 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.