NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit New River, 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 New River, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 16
- 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 New River
The highest rating among the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on January 17, 1993, came within 24 miles. Of the 16, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. February has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on November 29, 2019. New River has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 7 times since 1992, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than New River.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of New River
By decade
- 2010s4
- 2000s2
- 1990s4
- 1980s3
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 17, 1993 | F2 | 24 mi | 2.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1972 | F2 | 21 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 9, 1984 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1981 | F1 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1971 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 29, 2019 | EF0 | 22 mi | 8.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 29, 2019 | EF0 | 17 mi | 10.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 23, 2019 | EF0 | 4 mi | 1.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF0 | 23 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2006 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2003 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 8, 1994 | F0 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in New River
The Storm Prediction Center has 7 hail reports within 10 miles of New River since 1992, made on 6 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently October 12, 2025. The most recent report is from October 12, 2025.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in New River
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Carefree, AZ, 14 miles southeast of New River at 2,530 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 103°F and low of 76°F; December is the coolest, at 64°F and 41°F. January is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 12.7 inches over 23 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 153 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 6 nights a year. That 12.7 inches is more than at 49 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (64%). Black Canyon City, 13 miles north, has its own station (Cordes, AZ): 15.2 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 96°F against 103°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 42 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Feb | 68 | 44 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Mar | 74 | 48 | 1.6 | 2 |
| Apr | 82 | 53 | 0.5 | 1 |
| May | 91 | 61 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jun | 101 | 70 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 103 | 76 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Aug | 102 | 76 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Sep | 97 | 70 | 1.2 | 2 |
| Oct | 86 | 60 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Nov | 74 | 49 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Dec | 64 | 41 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Year | 84 | 58 | 12.7 | 23 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Carefree, AZ (2,530 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 New River
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of New River: 64 flash floods, 11 heavy rain events, 11 thunderstorm wind reports and 8 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $14.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 29, 2008. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 118 have had fewer than New River.
August 9, 2005: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of New River — 2 killed, $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains from widespread thunderstorms caused flash flood waters to over-flow washes from New River east to the Seven Springs area and Camp Creek. Rainfall runoff was higher than normal in the Cave Creek Complex area and contributed significantly to the rapid flooding.”
July 31, 2012: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of New River — 1 injured, $10.0 million damage.
August 19, 2014: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of New River — $2.0 million damage.
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 New River's ZIP code 85087 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2010, and were paid $936,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2014, with 17. Of the 50 Arizona cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 17 have fewer than New River.
Maricopa County, which includes New River, 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 New River
- Anthem, AZ7 mi
- Cave Creek, AZ12 mi
- Black Canyon City, AZ13 mi
- Peoria, AZ21 mi
- Sun City West, AZ22 mi
- Sun City, AZ23 mi
- Glendale, AZ24 mi
- Youngtown, AZ26 mi
- El Mirage, AZ26 mi
- Scottsdale, AZ26 mi
- Paradise Valley, AZ27 mi
- Phoenix, AZ28 mi
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