NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Carefree, AZ
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 Carefree, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 39 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 39
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Carefree
The highest rating among the 39 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 21, 1972, came within 17 miles. Of the 39, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on October 16, 2022. Carefree has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 2002, with stones up to 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Carefree.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Carefree
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s7
- 2000s1
- 1990s8
- 1980s4
- 1970s12
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1972 | F2 | 17 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 14, 1971 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 17 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 41 |
| Oct 3, 1968 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 23, 1992 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 1992 | F1 | 16 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1984 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1983 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1983 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 25, 1977 | F1 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1974 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 1972 | F1 | 21 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 39, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Carefree
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Carefree since 2002, made on 4 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.25 inches (half dollar size), fell on July 24, 2024, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Carefree
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Laveen 3 SSE, AZ, 5 miles northeast of Carefree at 1,135 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 107°F and low of 81°F; December is the coolest, at 66°F and 42°F. July is the wettest at 1.0 inches of precipitation on average and May and June the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 7.4 inches over 18 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 181 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 6 nights a year. That 7.4 inches is more than at 14 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (18%). Tolleson, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Litchfield Park, AZ): 8.4 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 107°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 67 | 43 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 71 | 46 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Mar | 79 | 51 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Apr | 87 | 56 | 0.2 | 1 |
| May | 96 | 66 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 106 | 75 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 107 | 81 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Aug | 106 | 81 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Sep | 101 | 74 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Oct | 89 | 61 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Nov | 76 | 50 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Dec | 66 | 42 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 88 | 60 | 7.4 | 18 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Laveen 3 SSE, AZ (1,135 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 Carefree
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 42 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Carefree: 25 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 4 floods, 4 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $153.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on September 19, 1999. October has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 25 have had fewer than Carefree.
July 25, 2006: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Carefree — 1 injured, $150.0 million damage.
NWS: “Several cities throughout the central portion of Maricopa County had major wind damage as a series of thunderstorms and microbursts moved across the area. According to the Salt River Project, an estimated 65 power poles were blown down, in parts of Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa.”
January 21, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Carefree — $2.0 million damage.
September 8, 2014: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Carefree — $500,000 damage.
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
Maricopa County, which includes Carefree, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 fires, 9 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Maricopa County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.20 billion a year, the highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.12 billion (51%), 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 Carefree
- Laveen, AZ5 mi
- Tolleson, AZ12 mi
- Cashion, AZ12 mi
- Avondale, AZ15 mi
- Goodyear, AZ17 mi
- Tempe, AZ17 mi
- Phoenix, AZ18 mi
- Chandler, AZ19 mi
- Litchfield Park, AZ20 mi
- Glendale, AZ21 mi
- Maricopa, AZ22 mi
- Surprise, AZ22 mi
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