NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cottonwood, 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 Cottonwood, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 16
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Cottonwood
The strongest of the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on October 6, 2010; its path came within 24 miles. Of the 16, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. September and October have had the most tornadoes, 5 each. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Cottonwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1996, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Cottonwood has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Cottonwood
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s5(1 EF3+)
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF3 | 24 mi | 30.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF2 | 18 mi | 18.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF2 | 20 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1996 | F1 | 25 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 1959 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2025 | EF0 | 18 mi | 0.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 2023 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 2023 | EF0 | 22 mi | 5.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2022 | EF0 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2021 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF0 | 24 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cottonwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Cottonwood since 1996, made on 14 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. July and August have the most reports, 4 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cottonwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tuzigoot, AZ, 3 miles north of Cottonwood 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, 15 miles northeast, 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.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61 | 30 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Feb | 65 | 33 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Mar | 71 | 38 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 79 | 43 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.2 |
| May | 88 | 51 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 99 | 59 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 101 | 67 | 1.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 98 | 66 | 2.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 93 | 58 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 83 | 47 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 71 | 36 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 60 | 29 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Year | 81 | 46 | 12.0 | 29 | 1.0 |
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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Cottonwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 62 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cottonwood: 24 flash floods, 16 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 heavy rain events, 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. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 24. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 76 have had fewer than Cottonwood.
January 9, 2018: heavy rain event 5 miles from the centre of Cottonwood — 2 killed, 3 injured.
July 24, 2021: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Cottonwood — 1 killed.
NWS: “Flood waters swept a vehicle away in a low water crossing on Camino Real near Rocky Knolls Road. The flood water was estimated to be 8 feet deep.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Cottonwood's ZIP code 86326 have filed 68 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $921,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 24. 9% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 50 Arizona cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 34 have fewer than Cottonwood.
Yavapai County, which includes Cottonwood, 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 Cottonwood
- Clarkdale, AZ4 mi
- Cornville, AZ6 mi
- Sedona, AZ15 mi
- Camp Verde, AZ15 mi
- Rimrock, AZ15 mi
- Dewey, AZ17 mi
- Prescott Valley, AZ19 mi
- Chino Valley, AZ26 mi
- Mayer, AZ27 mi
- Paulden, AZ29 mi
- Prescott, AZ29 mi
- Pine, AZ38 mi
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