NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Nogales, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Nogales, Arizona since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Lester in 1992. Since 1950, 1 tornado has touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 1
- 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 Nogales
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Nogales; the strongest was Lester in 1992, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. Nogales has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 79% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. The only tornado within 25 miles was an EF0 on May 9, 2012; its path came within 2 miles. Of the 134 Arizona cities, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Nogales. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 15 times since 1994, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Nogales has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 134 Arizona cities.
Compare Nogales's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Nogales
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | LesterAug 24 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Nogales: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Nogales
By decade
- 2010s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2012 | EF0 | 2 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 1 of 1, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Nogales
The Storm Prediction Center has 15 hail reports within 10 miles of Nogales since 1994. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 13, 1994. The most recent report is from September 25, 2025. July has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Nogales
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Nogales International Airport, AZ, 6 miles northeast of Nogales at 3,932 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 67°F; December is the coolest, at 65°F and 34°F. July is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 14.6 inches over 33 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 110 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 45 nights a year. That 14.6 inches is more than at 57 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (75%). Rio Rico, 9 miles northwest, has its own station (Nogales 6 N, AZ): 16.2 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 66 | 34 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 68 | 36 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Mar | 73 | 40 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Apr | 79 | 44 | 0.3 | 1 |
| May | 88 | 52 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Jun | 97 | 62 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Jul | 94 | 67 | 4.2 | 9 |
| Aug | 92 | 66 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Sep | 90 | 61 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Oct | 83 | 50 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Nov | 73 | 40 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Dec | 65 | 34 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Year | 81 | 49 | 14.6 | 33 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Nogales International Airport, AZ (3,932 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 Nogales
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 76 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Nogales: 37 thunderstorm wind reports, 36 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 4 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $11.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 19, 2010. August has had the most flash floods, 20 of 36. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 101 have had fewer than Nogales.
July 12, 2008: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Nogales — 2 killed, 3 injured, $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall on the Mexican side of the border caused flash flooding in the city of Nogales, Arizona. This was caused by a damaged portion of the underground Nogales Wash.”
March 1, 2014: heavy rain event 6 miles from the centre of Nogales — 1 killed, 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
February 4, 2008: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Nogales — 1 killed, 1 injured.
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 Nogales's ZIP code 85621 have filed 92 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $757,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1983, with 15. 10% 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, 41 have fewer than Nogales.
Santa Cruz County, which includes Nogales, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Santa Cruz County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $42.5 million a year, the 10th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.6 million (41%), 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.