NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Paulden, 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 Paulden, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 21 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 21
- 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 Paulden
The strongest of the 21 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on August 10, 1972; its path came within 11 miles. Of the 21, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Paulden has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 9 times since 1999, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Paulden.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Paulden
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2000s1
- 1990s6
- 1970s3(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 10, 1972 | F3 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 1993 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1996 | F1 | 13 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 1959 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2025 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 2023 | EF0 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 2023 | EF0 | 15 mi | 5.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2022 | EF0 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2021 | EF0 | 13 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2003 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1999 | F0 | 25 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 14, 1999 | F0 | 15 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 21, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Paulden
The Storm Prediction Center has 9 hail reports within 10 miles of Paulden since 1999, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 6 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on July 14, 2004. The most recent report is from October 9, 2014.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Paulden
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Prescott Love Field, AZ, 18 miles south of Paulden at 5,042 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 63°F; December is the coolest, at 52°F and 26°F. August is the wettest at 2.5 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 13.1 inches over 31 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 51 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 113 nights a year. That 13.1 inches is more than at 52 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (68%). Ash Fork, 19 miles north, has its own station (Seligman, AZ): 12.0 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 26 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Feb | 56 | 29 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Mar | 62 | 34 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Apr | 69 | 39 | 0.5 | 1 |
| May | 77 | 47 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Jun | 88 | 56 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Jul | 90 | 63 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Aug | 88 | 61 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Sep | 83 | 54 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Oct | 73 | 42 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Nov | 62 | 32 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Dec | 52 | 26 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Year | 71 | 42 | 13.1 | 31 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Prescott Love Field, AZ (5,042 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 Paulden
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 20 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Paulden: 10 flash floods, 6 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $92,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 68 mph, on August 16, 2020. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 10. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 43 have had fewer than Paulden.
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
Yavapai County, which includes Paulden, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 fires, 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yavapai County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $107.8 million a year, the 5th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.7 million (65%), 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 Paulden
- Chino Valley, AZ10 mi
- Ash Fork, AZ19 mi
- Prescott Valley, AZ21 mi
- Prescott, AZ22 mi
- Clarkdale, AZ25 mi
- Cottonwood, AZ29 mi
- Dewey, AZ30 mi
- Cornville, AZ34 mi
- Kirkland, AZ35 mi
- Williams, AZ35 mi
- Sedona, AZ38 mi
- Camp Verde, AZ43 mi
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