NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ely, NV
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 Ely, Nevada since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Ely
The highest rating among the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 7 times; the most recent, on July 23, 1998, came within 3 miles. Of the 7, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. Ely has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 32 Nevada cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 3 times since 1977, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 32 Nevada cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ely.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ely
By decade
- 1990s2
- 1980s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 1998 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1998 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1988 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1987 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 19, 1977 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 1975 | F0 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 1967 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 7 of 7, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ely
The Storm Prediction Center has 3 hail reports within 10 miles of Ely since 1977. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 2 days, most recently September 12, 2001. The most recent report is from May 27, 2015.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ely
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ruth, NV, 4 miles west of Ely at 6,858 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 47°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 7°F. May is the wettest at 1.5 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 12.5 inches over 34 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 235 nights a year. Snowfall averages 63.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 12.5 inches is more than at 23 of the 27 Nevada stations used on this site (85%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 9 | 1.0 | 3 | 13.1 |
| Feb | 40 | 12 | 1.1 | 3 | 12.4 |
| Mar | 47 | 19 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.1 |
| Apr | 54 | 24 | 1.3 | 4 | 5.5 |
| May | 64 | 32 | 1.5 | 5 | 1.3 |
| Jun | 76 | 40 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 47 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 46 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 36 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Oct | 61 | 25 | 1.1 | 3 | 1.8 |
| Nov | 47 | 16 | 0.9 | 2 | 6.1 |
| Dec | 37 | 7 | 0.9 | 3 | 13.3 |
| Year | 59 | 26 | 12.5 | 34 | 63.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ruth, NV (6,858 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 Ely
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 10 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ely: 7 thunderstorm wind reports and 3 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $500 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 63 mph, on July 9, 2015.
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
White Pine County, which includes Ely, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 drought, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives White Pine County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.5 million a year, the 11th highest of 17 Nevada counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (53%), 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 Ely
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