NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Safford, 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 Safford, 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 Safford
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Safford; the strongest was Lester in 1992, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. Safford 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 July 31, 2015; its path came within 5 miles. Of the 134 Arizona cities, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Safford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1958, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Safford has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Safford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | LesterAug 24 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Safford: 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 Safford
By decade
- 2010s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2015 | EF0 | 5 mi | 0.58 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 Safford
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Safford since 1958. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on March 12, 1958. The most recent report is from August 7, 2023. August and September have the most reports, 3 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Safford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Safford Ag Ctr, AZ, 1 mile northeast of Safford at 2,954 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 99°F and low of 69°F; December is the coolest, at 61°F and 30°F. August is the wettest at 1.8 inches of precipitation on average and April and May the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 9.0 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 141 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 70 nights a year. That 9.0 inches is more than at 27 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (36%). Pima, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Fort Thomas 2 SW, AZ): 10.3 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 100°F against 99°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 30 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Feb | 67 | 34 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Mar | 74 | 39 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Apr | 83 | 46 | 0.2 | 1 |
| May | 91 | 54 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jun | 100 | 63 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Jul | 99 | 69 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Aug | 97 | 68 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Sep | 93 | 61 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Oct | 84 | 48 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Nov | 72 | 37 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Dec | 61 | 30 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Year | 82 | 48 | 9.0 | 22 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Safford Ag Ctr, AZ (2,954 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 Safford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 83 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Safford: 64 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 29, 1996. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 17. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 56 have had fewer than Safford.
July 22, 2021: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Safford — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
September 5, 2021: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Safford — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused considerable damage near the junction of Highways 70 and 191 in Safford. Two hotel marquis signs were blown down.”
June 29, 1996: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Safford — $330,000 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 Safford's ZIP code 85546 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $268,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 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, 17 have fewer than Safford.
Graham County, which includes Safford, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Graham County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.2 million a year, the 14th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.0 million (50%), 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 Safford
- Thatcher, AZ4 mi
- Pima, AZ12 mi
- Willcox, AZ33 mi
- Bylas, AZ36 mi
- San Manuel, AZ55 mi
- Peridot, AZ58 mi
- Lordsburg, NM63 mi
- Oracle, AZ64 mi
- Benson, AZ66 mi
- Kearny, AZ77 mi
- Oro Valley, AZ78 mi
- Vail, AZ80 mi
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