NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Gila Bend, 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 Gila Bend, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 7 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 7
- 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 Gila Bend
The strongest of the 7 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on August 4, 1957; its path came within 25 miles. Of the 7, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on July 14, 1995. Of the 134 Arizona cities on this site, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Gila Bend. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 4 times since 1960, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Gila Bend.
Compare Gila Bend's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Gila Bend
By decade
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1960s1
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 1957 | F3 | 25 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1981 | F1 | 5 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 1969 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 25, 1956 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1995 | F0 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1982 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 1957 | F0 | 25 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 Gila Bend
The Storm Prediction Center has 4 hail reports within 10 miles of Gila Bend since 1960, made on 3 separate days. All were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 3 days, most recently October 5, 2021. The most recent report is from October 5, 2021.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Gila Bend
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gila Bend 2SE, AZ, 7 miles east of Gila Bend at 794 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 109°F and low of 81°F; December is the coolest, at 70°F and 40°F. February and August are the wettest at 0.9 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 6.5 inches over 14 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 192 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 9 nights a year. That 6.5 inches is more than at 9 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (12%). Buckeye, 34 miles northeast, has its own station (Litchfield Park, AZ): 8.4 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 107°F against 109°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 71 | 41 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 75 | 44 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Mar | 82 | 49 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Apr | 90 | 55 | 0.3 | 0 |
| May | 98 | 63 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Jun | 107 | 72 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 109 | 81 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Aug | 109 | 81 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Sep | 104 | 74 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Oct | 93 | 60 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Nov | 80 | 48 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Dec | 70 | 40 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Year | 90 | 59 | 6.5 | 14 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gila Bend 2SE, AZ (794 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 Gila Bend
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 46 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Gila Bend: 28 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $25.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on July 19, 2009. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 51 have had fewer than Gila Bend.
August 14, 2021: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Gila Bend — 2 killed, $25.0 million damage.
NWS: “Following 2 to 4 inches of rain in 1 to 2 hours over the Sand Tank Wash watershed, catastrophic flooding occurred in the small town of Gila Bend with feet of water, mud, and debris moving through town.”
July 19, 2009: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Gila Bend — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “About 65 power poles were blown down in the Gila Bend area due to very strong microburst winds. About 2300 APS customers were left without power.”
August 14, 2005: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Gila Bend — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “As many as 12 electric utility power poles were blown down by severe thunderstorm winds. The storm winds also damaged the roof of the Paloma school building, and toppled a large tree onto a house.”
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 Gila Bend's ZIP code 85337 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $683,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 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, 1 have fewer than Gila Bend.
Maricopa County, which includes Gila Bend, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 fires, 9 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Maricopa County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.20 billion a year, the highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.12 billion (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 Gila Bend
- Buckeye, AZ34 mi
- Tonopah, AZ36 mi
- Carefree, AZ41 mi
- Cashion, AZ43 mi
- Tolleson, AZ43 mi
- Litchfield Park, AZ43 mi
- Avondale, AZ44 mi
- Goodyear, AZ44 mi
- Laveen, AZ45 mi
- Maricopa, AZ46 mi
- Waddell, AZ46 mi
- Surprise, AZ47 mi
All Arizona cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Gila Bend with another place →