NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chinle, 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 Chinle, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 2
- 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 Chinle
The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on October 21, 2010, came within 12 miles. Of the 134 Arizona cities on this site, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chinle. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2002, with stones of 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Chinle.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chinle
By decade
- 2010s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21, 2010 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 2010 | EF0 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chinle
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Chinle, from July 27, 2002: 1.75 inches (golf ball size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chinle
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Canyon De Chelly, AZ, 5 miles east of Chinle at 5,610 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 19°F. August is the wettest at 1.3 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 8.9 inches over 27 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 72 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 139 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 8.9 inches is more than at 25 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (33%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 19 | 0.8 | 3 | 1.1 |
| Feb | 51 | 24 | 0.7 | 3 | 0.9 |
| Mar | 61 | 29 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 69 | 36 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.1 |
| May | 79 | 44 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 90 | 53 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 60 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 59 | 1.3 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 50 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 38 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 56 | 27 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 43 | 20 | 0.7 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Year | 69 | 38 | 8.9 | 27 | 4.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Canyon De Chelly, AZ (5,610 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 Chinle
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 7 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chinle: 6 flash floods and 1 flood. July 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 Chinle.
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
Apache County, which includes Chinle, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 fires, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 13, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Apache County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.0 million a year, the 13th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.8 million (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 Chinle
- Blue Gap, AZ23 mi
- Lukachukai, AZ25 mi
- Tsaile, AZ26 mi
- Pinon, AZ33 mi
- Ganado, AZ35 mi
- Kayenta, AZ44 mi
- St. Michaels, AZ45 mi
- Window Rock, AZ46 mi
- Second Mesa, AZ56 mi
- Yatahey, NM57 mi
- Shiprock, NM61 mi
- Gallup, NM61 mi
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