NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Golden Valley, 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 Golden Valley, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 10
- 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 Golden Valley
The highest rating among the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 21, 2001, came within 22 miles. Of the 10, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. November has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on July 24, 2020. Golden Valley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1972, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Golden Valley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 48% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Golden Valley
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s1
- 1990s4
- 1970s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2001 | F1 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F1 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1972 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 24, 2020 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2016 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2010 | EF0 | 15 mi | 1.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1996 | F0 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1972 | F0 | 18 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Golden Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Golden Valley since 1972. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently September 5, 2009. The most recent report is from August 21, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Golden Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kingman Mohave Co Airport, AZ, 18 miles east of Golden Valley at 3,420 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 99°F and low of 70°F; December is the coolest, at 56°F and 30°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 113 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 66 nights a year. That 8.1 inches is more than at 17 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (22%). Bullhead City, 20 miles west, has its own station (Bullhead City, AZ): 5.5 inches a year, 2.6 less than here, and a July average high of 111°F against 99°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 31 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 61 | 33 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 67 | 38 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Apr | 75 | 43 | 0.5 | 1 |
| May | 85 | 53 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 95 | 62 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 99 | 70 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Aug | 97 | 69 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Sep | 91 | 60 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Oct | 79 | 48 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 66 | 37 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Dec | 56 | 30 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 77 | 48 | 8.1 | 19 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kingman Mohave Co Airport, AZ (3,420 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 Golden Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 92 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Golden Valley: 71 flash floods, 16 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 heavy rain events, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 4 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 2, 2006. August has had the most flash floods, 26 of 71. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 122 have had fewer than Golden Valley.
July 24, 2007: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Golden Valley — 2 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Water was up to the door of a home in Golden Valley, and many cars were stuck in washes. Two men died when their truck was swept down a wash after they attempted to drive across it.”
July 6, 2014: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Golden Valley — 1 killed, 3 injured.
NWS: “A car crash on Highway 68 in heavy rain conditions killed one and injured three (indirect).”
October 4, 2018: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Golden Valley — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Water four feet deep flowed over Shinarump Drive at the Holy Moses Wash, washing a vehicle 1000 feet down the wash and killing the occupant.”
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
Mohave County, which includes Golden Valley, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mohave County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $104.9 million a year, the 6th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $73.6 million (70%), 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 Golden Valley
- Kingman, AZ15 mi
- Bullhead City, AZ20 mi
- Laughlin, NV22 mi
- Fort Mohave, AZ23 mi
- Mohave Valley, AZ28 mi
- Needles, CA34 mi
- Lake Havasu City, AZ48 mi
- Boulder City, NV63 mi
- Henderson, NV72 mi
- Parker, AZ75 mi
- Bagdad, AZ78 mi
- Las Vegas, NV84 mi
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