NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Phoenix, 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 Phoenix, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 48
- 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 Phoenix
The highest rating among the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 6 times; the most recent, on January 17, 1993, came within 13 miles. Of the 48, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. August and September have had the most tornadoes, 8 each. The most recent tornado was on November 29, 2019. Phoenix has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 61 times since 1973, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Phoenix has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Phoenix
By decade
- 2010s6
- 2000s1
- 1990s10
- 1980s6
- 1970s16
- 1960s6
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 17, 1993 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1972 | F2 | 6 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 14, 1971 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 41 |
| Oct 3, 1968 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 4, 1968 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 23, 1992 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 1992 | F1 | 3 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1984 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1983 | F1 | 7 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1983 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1981 | F1 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 48, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Phoenix
The Storm Prediction Center has 61 hail reports within 10 miles of Phoenix since 1973, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on October 16, 2022. The most recent report is from November 19, 2025. September and October have the most reports, 19 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Phoenix
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, AZ, 8 miles southeast of Phoenix at 1,107 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 107°F and low of 85°F; December is the coolest, at 66°F and 45°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 173 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 1 nights a year. That 7.2 inches is more than at 12 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (16%). Glendale, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Youngtown, AZ): 8.3 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and a July average high of 105°F against 107°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 46 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Feb | 71 | 49 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Mar | 78 | 55 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Apr | 86 | 61 | 0.2 | 1 |
| May | 95 | 70 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jun | 104 | 79 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 107 | 85 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Aug | 105 | 84 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Sep | 100 | 78 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Oct | 89 | 66 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 77 | 54 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Dec | 66 | 45 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 87 | 64 | 7.2 | 17 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, AZ (1,107 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 Phoenix
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 463 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Phoenix: 320 thunderstorm wind reports, 93 flash floods, 32 heavy rain events, 10 lightning strikes and 8 floods. They killed 4 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $210.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on July 14, 2002. August has had the most flash floods, 43 of 93. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 127 have had fewer than Phoenix.
April 1, 2023: flood 8 miles from the centre of Phoenix — 2 killed.
July 24, 2024: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Phoenix — 1 killed, $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Large warehouse facility located in the area of West Van Buren Street and North 47th Avenue in Phoenix collapsed with multiple walls and portion of roof missing. 5 days later by a search and rescue operations team.”
September 26, 2025: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Phoenix — 1 killed, $200,000 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 Phoenix's 38 ZIP codes have filed 1,247 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $9.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1978: 96 claims (8% of all) and $632,000. The year with the most claims was 1990, with 133. 8% 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, 49 have fewer than Phoenix.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1978 | 96 | $632,000 |
Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, 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 Phoenix
- Glendale, AZ7 mi
- Paradise Valley, AZ8 mi
- Scottsdale, AZ11 mi
- Peoria, AZ12 mi
- Laveen, AZ12 mi
- Tempe, AZ13 mi
- Tolleson, AZ13 mi
- Youngtown, AZ13 mi
- Avondale, AZ13 mi
- Cashion, AZ13 mi
- Sun City, AZ14 mi
- Goodyear, AZ14 mi
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