NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Salem, UT
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 Salem, Utah since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 10
- 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 Salem
The highest rating among the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on December 2, 1970, came within 25 miles. Of the 10, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 3. The most recent tornado was on July 13, 2021. Of the 99 Utah cities on this site, 47% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Salem. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1983, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Salem has more hail reports within 10 miles than 47% of the 99 Utah cities.
Compare Salem's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Salem
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 2000s2
- 1980s2
- 1970s2
- 1960s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2, 1970 | F1 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1966 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1965 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 7, 2013 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2005 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2003 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 13, 1984 | F0 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1982 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 2, 1971 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 2021 | Unrated | 19 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Salem
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Salem since 1983, made on 9 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 21, 1987. The most recent report is from August 10, 2016. August has the most reports, 3.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Salem
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spanish Fk Pwr House, UT, 4 miles northeast of Salem at 4,720 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 22°F. April is the wettest at 2.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 20.3 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 60 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 118 nights a year. Snowfall averages 66.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 20.3 inches is more than at 42 of the 58 Utah stations used on this site (72%). Payson, 3 miles southwest, has its own station (Santaquin Chlorinator, UT): 18.2 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 22 | 2.1 | 6 | 17.3 |
| Feb | 45 | 26 | 2.1 | 6 | 14.1 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 2.2 | 5 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 64 | 38 | 2.5 | 7 | 4.2 |
| May | 74 | 46 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 53 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 61 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 60 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 51 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 41 | 1.8 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 1.8 | 5 | 7.4 |
| Dec | 38 | 23 | 2.0 | 5 | 15.7 |
| Year | 65 | 40 | 20.3 | 53 | 66.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spanish Fk Pwr House, UT (4,720 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 Salem
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 34 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Salem: 21 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $453,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on July 3, 2023. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 10. Of the 90 Utah cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 64 have had fewer than Salem.
July 19, 2017: flash flood in Salem — 2 injured, $125,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused widespread street and residential flooding in Salem, with 139 homes damaged. This damaged varied widely; most homes experienced only minor yard or basement flooding, while 3-5 homes experienced significant basement damage.”
August 24, 2009: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Salem — 1 injured, $5,000 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
Utah County, which includes Salem, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1983, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 fires, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Flooding, on December 23, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Utah County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $287.9 million a year, the 2nd highest of 29 Utah counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $63.9 million (22%), 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.