NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Santa Clara, 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 Santa Clara, Utah since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 3
- 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 Santa Clara
The highest rating among the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 26, 1994, came within 18 miles. The most recent tornado was on July 8, 2017. Of the 99 Utah cities on this site, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Santa Clara. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 9 times since 1971, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 99 Utah cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Santa Clara.
Compare Santa Clara's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Santa Clara
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 1994 | F0 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 1992 | F0 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2017 | Unrated | 19 mi | 0.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Santa Clara
The Storm Prediction Center has 9 hail reports within 10 miles of Santa Clara since 1971. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 30, 1971. The most recent report is from August 22, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Santa Clara
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St George, UT, 3 miles southeast of Santa Clara at 2,857 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 102°F and low of 72°F; December is the coolest, at 53°F and 28°F. February is the wettest at 1.4 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 9.5 inches over 22 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 128 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 63 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.2 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 9.5 inches is more than at 9 of the 58 Utah stations used on this site (16%). Toquerville, 22 miles east, has its own station (La Verkin, UT): 11.7 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and a July average high of 98°F against 102°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 28 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 59 | 32 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Mar | 68 | 39 | 1.0 | 2 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 75 | 46 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.0 |
| May | 85 | 56 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 96 | 65 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 102 | 72 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 100 | 70 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 92 | 61 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 79 | 47 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 64 | 35 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 53 | 28 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Year | 77 | 48 | 9.5 | 22 | 1.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St George, UT (2,857 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 Santa Clara
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 66 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Santa Clara: 30 flash floods, 26 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $14.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on September 20, 2023. Of the 90 Utah cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 86 have had fewer than Santa Clara.
October 5, 2010: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Santa Clara — 2 injured.
NWS: “Two 17 year old males were struck by lightning just outside Snow Canyon High School in St. George.”
September 11, 2012: flash flood in Santa Clara — $7.5 million damage.
NWS: “24 inches of rainfall was measured in Ivins, Utah. In nearby Santa Clara, an earthen dike (called the Laub Dike) burst, releasing all of the water in the associated retention pond.”
August 23, 2020: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Santa Clara — $5.4 million 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
Washington County, which includes Santa Clara, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 fires, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $147.7 million a year, the 3rd highest of 29 Utah counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $65.6 million (44%), 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.