NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Maricopa, 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 Maricopa, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 19 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 19
- 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 Maricopa
The highest rating among the 19 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 8 times; the most recent, on January 18, 1993, came within 23 miles. Of the 19, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on March 7, 2024. Maricopa has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 67% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 1966, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Maricopa.
Compare Maricopa's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Maricopa
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s5
- 1990s2
- 1980s3
- 1970s3
- 1960s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 1993 | F1 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1984 | F1 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1981 | F1 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1972 | F1 | 3 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 1, 1971 | F1 | 21 mi | 32.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1967 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1961 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 1960 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 2022 | EF0 | 15 mi | 0.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 29, 2019 | EF0 | 25 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 2019 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 23, 2019 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 19, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Maricopa
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Maricopa since 1966, made on 5 separate days. Of these, 2 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 29, 1966. The most recent report is from March 18, 2020.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Maricopa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Maricopa 4 N, AZ, 8 miles north of Maricopa at 1,160 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 109°F and low of 78°F; December is the coolest, at 68°F and 35°F. August is the wettest at 1.0 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 7.2 inches over 18 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 184 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 32 nights a year. That 7.2 inches is more than at 13 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (17%). Sacaton, 16 miles east, has its own station (Casa Grande Nm, AZ): 8.3 inches a year, 1.1 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 | 69 | 37 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 73 | 40 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Mar | 80 | 45 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Apr | 88 | 51 | 0.2 | 1 |
| May | 97 | 59 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Jun | 107 | 69 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 109 | 78 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Aug | 107 | 77 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Sep | 102 | 69 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Oct | 91 | 55 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Nov | 78 | 43 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Dec | 68 | 35 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Year | 89 | 55 | 7.2 | 18 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Maricopa 4 N, AZ (1,160 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 Maricopa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 77 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Maricopa: 44 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 8 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on September 21, 2010. August has had the most flash floods, 7 of 20. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 64 have had fewer than Maricopa.
September 21, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Maricopa — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “A trained weather spotter reported significant wind damage to portions of Stanfield. Several mobile homes were rolled over or destroyed.”
October 2, 2018: flood 6 miles from the centre of Maricopa — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the deserts south of Phoenix during the morning hours on October 2nd, resulting in widespread moderate to heavy showers.”
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
Pinal County, which includes Maricopa, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 fires, 6 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 Pinal County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $137.5 million a year, the 3rd highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $92.4 million (67%), 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 Maricopa
- Sacaton, AZ16 mi
- Casa Grande, AZ17 mi
- Carefree, AZ22 mi
- Laveen, AZ26 mi
- Gilbert, AZ26 mi
- Queen Creek, AZ27 mi
- Chandler, AZ27 mi
- Tempe, AZ27 mi
- San Tan Valley, AZ28 mi
- Coolidge, AZ30 mi
- Mesa, AZ32 mi
- Arizona City, AZ33 mi
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