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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clarkdale, 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 Clarkdale, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 22 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
22

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Clarkdale

The highest rating among the 22 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on October 6, 2010, came within 23 miles. Of the 22, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Clarkdale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 74% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 15 times since 1996, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Clarkdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 134 Arizona cities.

Compare Clarkdale's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clarkdale

By decade

  • 2020s5
  • 2010s5(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s3
  • 1990s5
  • 1970s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Clarkdale, Arizona
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Oct 6, 2010EF323 mi30.06 mi0 / 0
Aug 10, 1972F323 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 6, 2010EF217 mi18.6 mi0 / 0
Oct 6, 2010EF219 mi4.9 mi0 / 0
May 16, 1993F224 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Oct 6, 2010EF118 mi1.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 6, 2010EF124 mi0.7 mi0 / 0
Oct 14, 2006F125 mi9.27 mi0 / 0
Sep 13, 1996F122 mi4 mi0 / 0
Nov 2, 1959F122 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
May 6, 2025EF017 mi0.14 mi0 / 0
Sep 9, 2023EF022 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 22, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Clarkdale

The Storm Prediction Center has 15 hail reports within 10 miles of Clarkdale since 1996, made on 13 separate days. Of these, 11 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently October 6, 2010. The most recent report is from July 3, 2025. August has the most reports, 4.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Clarkdale

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tuzigoot, AZ, 2 miles east of Clarkdale at 3,470 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 101°F and low of 67°F; December is the coolest, at 60°F and 29°F. August is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 12.0 inches over 29 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 128 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 63 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.0 inches a year, most of it in December. That 12.0 inches is more than at 45 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (59%). Sedona, 16 miles east, has its own station (Sedona, AZ): 17.1 inches a year, 5.1 more than here, and a July average high of 97°F against 101°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Tuzigoot, AZ
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan61301.130.2
Feb65331.030.1
Mar71381.030.1
Apr79430.410.2
May88510.410.0
Jun99590.200.0
Jul101671.640.0
Aug98662.250.0
Sep93581.330.0
Oct83471.020.0
Nov71360.720.1
Dec60291.130.3
Year814612.0291.0

Averages for 1991–2020 at Tuzigoot, AZ (3,470 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.

Arizona weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Clarkdale

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 60 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clarkdale: 24 flash floods, 15 heavy rain events, 14 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $16,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on July 4, 1996. July has had the most flash floods, 9 of 24. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 76 have had fewer than Clarkdale.

  • January 9, 2018: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Clarkdale — 2 killed, 3 injured.

  • July 24, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Clarkdale — 1 killed.

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

Yavapai County, which includes Clarkdale, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 fires, 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yavapai County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $107.8 million a year, the 5th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.7 million (65%), 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 Clarkdale