Automated baseline from FEMA and NOAA data, release 2026-10.

Wilbarger County, TX

Risk-assessment baseline packet. County FIPS 48487. Release 2026-10, data as of 2026-09-30.

Summary

Plan status as of 2026-09-30: Expired on 2025-05-31. Plan: Wilbarger County (FEMA plan 106347), approved 2020-06-01.

Update: FEMA tracker shows a plan in progress.

Since the plan was approved on 2020-06-01: 2 new hazard declarations (1 incident) and 161 NOAA Storm Events records; details under "What changed since your last plan".

Highest expected annual loss (FEMA National Risk Index, modeled total; see B1-a): Drought ($5,496,586 a year), Tornado ($1,375,678) and Inland Flooding ($1,205,930).

The packet's tables are organized by the items of FEMA's Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool, Element B (B1-a to B2-c); the summaries below follow the same order.

Download the packet

Full packet as a web page. File manifest (checksums, source versions).

Plan clock

Expired on 2025-05-31

Plan:
Wilbarger County (FEMA plan 106347)
Approved:
2020-06-01
Days since expiry:
487
Update underway:
FEMA tracker shows a plan in progress

Until a new plan is approved, FEMA mitigation project grants (HMGP, FMA) need a FEMA exception (44 CFR 201.6(a)(3)).

What changed since your last plan (approved 2020-06-01)

New federal declarations:
2 new hazard declarations (1 incident): EM-3554-TX (Severe Winter Storm), DR-4586-TX (Severe Winter Storms)
Storm Events records since approval:
161 records (data through 2026-06-30)
Repetitive loss now:
FMA RL 0, SRL 0 (44 CFR 77.2); any definition: 0
Repeat-flood change:
this release sets the baseline count.

Plan status for every jurisdiction listed in this county

6 jurisdictions. Each row is that jurisdiction's own plan clock.

JurisdictionTypeStatusPlanApprovedExpiresDays to expirynegative = days since expiryUpdate underway
Wilbarger CountyCountyExpired on 2025-05-31Wilbarger County (FEMA plan 106347)2020-06-012025-05-31-487FEMA tracker shows a plan in progress
Vernon cityCityExpired on 2025-05-31Wilbarger County (FEMA plan 106347)2020-06-012025-05-31-487FEMA tracker shows a plan in progress
Chillicothe Independent School DistrictSchool/School DistrictNo approved plan on recordnonenonenoneFEMA tracker shows a plan in progress
Northside Independent School DistrictSchool/School DistrictNo approved plan on recordnonenonenoneFEMA tracker shows a plan in progress
Vernon Independent School DistrictSchool/School DistrictNo approved plan on recordnonenonenoneFEMA tracker shows a plan in progress
Wilbarger County SWCDWater/Sewer AuthorityNo approved plan on recordnonenonenoneFEMA tracker shows a plan in progress

State plan status and tribal plans in this state: see the state page.

What the packet contains

Sections in FEMA checklist order; each heading names the review item its tables support. Full tables are in the downloads above.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-a Hazard identification

14 of the 18 National Risk Index hazards apply here.

Not applicable to this county per NRI, with no federal declaration and no Storm Events record since 1996: avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami and volcanic activity. That is the evidence for leaving them out of the plan.

Highest expected annual loss (NRI, modeled): Drought, Tornado and Inland Flooding.

Not covered by NRI (local data needed): dam failure (incl. upstream dams); levee failure; flash flood as its own subtype; ice jams; debris flows; erosion (riverine and coastal); land subsidence and sinkholes; expansive soils.

The state hazard mitigation plan also lists hazards for this county; FEMA asks the plan to explain any hazard it leaves out.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-b Hazard location

  • Cold Wave, Drought, Hail, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Lightning, Strong Wind and Winter Weather: affects the whole county; national data give no location within it.
  • Earthquake, Hurricane, Landslide, Tornado and Wildfire vary within the county; the packet lists the highest-rated census tracts for each.
  • Inland Flooding: the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the required location source for flooding. See the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (https://msc.fema.gov) for this county.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-c Hazard extent

Storm Events records for 13 of the 20 NOAA event-type groups mapped to the 18 hazards, with the scale, observed range and worst recorded event for each; the others say which local data are needed.

Worst recorded tornado, hail and thunderstorm wind (the three event types on record since the 1950s; the packet has every group):

  • Hail: 4.5 in hail, 1995-06-09; same size also recorded on 1993-10-12
  • Thunderstorm Wind: 97 kt (112 mph), measurement type not recorded, Thunderstorm Wind, 1992-06-07
  • Tornado: F4 tornado, 1979-04-10, 21.5 mi path length (whole path, pre-1996), 880 yd wide, $25,000,000 property; crops not recorded (1979 dollars), 11 direct deaths, 67 direct injuries

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-d Previous occurrences

Federal declarations for this area: 17 declarations covering 9 separate hazard incidents counted in this packet; each with type, dates and county Public Assistance dollars.

New since the last plan (approved 2020-06-01): DR-4586-TX and EM-3554-TX.

10 statewide declarations listed separately.

Hazards with no Storm Events record and no federal declaration are stated as such (7 of 18).

Storm Events history: 836 records (notable ones in the PDF, all of them in the Excel file).

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-e Probability of future events

FEMA annualized frequency (modeled) for each hazard, with a descriptor from a scale defined in the packet.

  • Highly likely: Hail, Lightning and Strong Wind
  • Likely: Cold Wave, Drought, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Inland Flooding, Landslide, Tornado, Wildfire and Winter Weather
  • Possible: Hurricane

Historical frequency by intensity band (tornado, hail, wind): 9 bands from Storm Events.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-f Hazards that vary across jurisdictions

Range of census tract risk scores within the area for 14 of the 18 hazards (4 tracts; rated tracts only).

2 jurisdictions: plan clock, repeat-flood count, Public Assistance dollars and event records naming the place (starting figures from federal data).

Supports FEMA checklist items B2-a and B2-b Vulnerability and potential impacts

The packet's table gives county-level starting figures; the plan describes impacts for each jurisdiction and its own assets.

Storm Events damage since 2020-06-01: $250,000 in county-coded records (47 records); $5,000 reported for the zone (114 zone records). Data through 2026-06-30; nominal dollars.

Local data needed

To gather:

  • Critical facilities and lifelines per hazard
  • A problem statement per jurisdiction per hazard
  • Changes in development in hazard-prone areas since the last approval, or a statement of none (E1-a)
  • Future assets
  • Texas A&M Forest Service TxWRAP for wildfire risk; Texas State Hazard Mitigation Plan hazard list for B1-a exclusions.

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-a Vulnerability (county context)

Population 12,869; building value $3,278,038,171 and agriculture value $66,823,192 (total, not at risk).

National Risk Index rating Relatively Low; social vulnerability Very High; community resilience Relatively High.

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-c Repetitive loss properties

Repetitive-loss properties, FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2): 0 repetitive loss, 0 severe repetitive loss. NFIP insurance definition: 0 and 0.

Mitigated 0; insured 0; NFIP data as of 2026-08-02. Counts by occupancy group and for each jurisdiction are in the packet.

Releases

Each release is dated; this is release 2026-10. It was first published 2026-09-30; its files do not change. Later releases will be listed here with what changed between them. All releases.

Cite this

Hazard Plain (2026). Wilbarger County, TX: risk-assessment baseline packet, release 2026-10 (data as of 2026-09-30; County FIPS 48487). Automated baseline. https://hazardplain.org/tx/48487/ Built from FEMA OpenFEMA, the FEMA National Risk Index and NOAA NCEI Storm Events; source versions in the packet's Sources list.

Source citations for the plan's bibliography (8)

How this packet is built: methods and sources