NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Phoenix, MD
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
30 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Phoenix, Maryland since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 90 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 28
- Tornadoes
- 90
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Phoenix
The strongest storm to pass near Phoenix was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. The record near Phoenix begins with an unnamed storm in 1872; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 56 miles away. The 1870s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 30 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site, 85% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Phoenix. The highest rating among the 90 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on September 24, 2001, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on November 2, 2018, killed 2 people. Of the 90, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Phoenix. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 72 times since 1963, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Phoenix has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 239 Maryland cities.
Compare Phoenix's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Phoenix
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 42 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 12 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Phoenix: 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 Phoenix
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s19
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s31(1 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s9
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F3 | 23 mi | 17.5 mi | 2 / 55 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F3 | 20 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 9, 1961 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 2004 | F2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1994 | F2 | 24 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1990 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 59 |
| Jun 29, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 1979 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1978 | F2 | 12 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 90, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Phoenix
The Storm Prediction Center has 72 hail reports within 10 miles of Phoenix since 1963, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4 inches (softball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 23, 2015. The most recent report is from May 3, 2025. June has the most reports, 29.
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 Md Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD, 16 miles south of Phoenix at 20 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 30°F. July is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 44.0 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (23.5 of 44.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 30 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 52 nights a year. That 44.0 inches is more than at 12 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (29%). Monkton, 5 miles north, has its own station (Millers 4 NE, MD): 47.8 inches a year, 3.8 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 90°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Baltimore, MD, 16 miles south, averaged 83°F in July and 40°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Baltimore tide gauge, 16 miles from Phoenix, has risen 1.30 ± 0.02 inches per decade from 1902 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 13.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 77 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 30 | 3.1 | 6 | 41 |
| Feb | 47 | 32 | 2.8 | 6 | 40 |
| Mar | 55 | 39 | 3.9 | 7 | 46 |
| Apr | 67 | 48 | 3.6 | 6 | 56 |
| May | 76 | 58 | 3.4 | 7 | 66 |
| Jun | 85 | 68 | 3.4 | 6 | 75 |
| Jul | 90 | 73 | 4.7 | 7 | 83 |
| Aug | 87 | 71 | 4.4 | 6 | 81 |
| Sep | 80 | 65 | 4.5 | 5 | 77 |
| Oct | 69 | 53 | 3.5 | 5 | 68 |
| Nov | 58 | 43 | 3.0 | 5 | 57 |
| Dec | 48 | 35 | 3.7 | 7 | 45 |
| Year | 67 | 51 | 44.0 | 72 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Md Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD (20 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Baltimore, MD, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 512 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Phoenix: 352 thunderstorm wind reports, 77 flash floods, 77 floods, 5 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $5.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on November 17, 2010. August has had the most flash floods, 25 of 77. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 164 have had fewer than Phoenix.
August 3, 2017: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Phoenix — 1 killed, 3 injured.
August 4, 2022: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Phoenix — 1 killed.
July 18, 2016: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Phoenix — 2 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
Baltimore County, which includes Phoenix, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 6 snowstorms, 5 floods, 4 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Baltimore County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $157.1 million a year, the highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $67.3 million (43%), 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.