NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fernley, 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 Fernley, Nevada since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 5
- 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 Fernley
The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on November 3, 1973; its path came within 19 miles. Of the 5, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 11, 1998. Of the 32 Nevada cities on this site, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fernley.
Compare Fernley's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fernley
By decade
- 1990s4
- 1970s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3, 1973 | F1 | 19 mi | 25.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1998 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1998 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1997 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1995 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fernley
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Fernley since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fernley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lahontan Dam, NV, 12 miles southeast of Fernley at 4,167 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 66°F; December is the coolest, at 46°F and 24°F. January and December are the wettest at 0.7 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 4.9 inches over 13 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 82 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 110 nights a year. That 4.9 inches is more than at 5 of the 27 Nevada stations used on this site (19%). Fallon, 28 miles southeast, has its own station (Fallon Naas, NV): 5.0 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47 | 25 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Feb | 53 | 28 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Mar | 61 | 34 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Apr | 67 | 40 | 0.3 | 1 |
| May | 76 | 48 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Jun | 87 | 57 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Jul | 96 | 66 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 94 | 64 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Sep | 86 | 54 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Oct | 72 | 42 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Nov | 57 | 31 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Dec | 46 | 24 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Year | 70 | 43 | 4.9 | 13 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lahontan Dam, NV (4,167 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 Fernley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fernley: 7 heavy rain events, 4 flash floods, 4 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $6.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 24, 2017.
January 5, 2008: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Fernley — $6.6 million damage.
NWS: “A 40-foot-long break in the Truckee Canal released floodwater into portions of Fernley, Nevada on the morning of January 5th. Local newspapers reported that approximately 1500 people had to be evacuated from their homes.”
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
Lyon County, which includes Fernley, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on April 27, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lyon County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.9 million a year, the 6th highest of 17 Nevada counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.1 million (34%), 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 Fernley
- Silver Springs, NV18 mi
- Fallon, NV28 mi
- Sparks, NV29 mi
- Dayton, NV31 mi
- Sun Valley, NV32 mi
- Reno, NV35 mi
- Washoe Valley, NV41 mi
- Carson City, NV44 mi
- Verdi, NV46 mi
- Yerington, NV46 mi
- Incline Village, NV49 mi
- Minden, NV52 mi
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