NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sedona, 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 Sedona, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 11 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 11
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Sedona
The strongest of the 11 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on October 6, 2010; its path came within 15 miles. Of the 11, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. October has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on October 6, 2010. Sedona has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 20 times since 1981, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Sedona has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sedona
By decade
- 2010s7(1 EF3+)
- 2000s2
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF3 | 15 mi | 30.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 18.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF2 | 18 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF1 | 11 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 14, 2006 | F1 | 16 mi | 9.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | EF0 | 9 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2003 | F0 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1966 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1957 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 11 of 11, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sedona
The Storm Prediction Center has 20 hail reports within 10 miles of Sedona since 1981, made on 17 separate days. Of these, 12 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 14, 2003. The most recent report is from September 16, 2019. September has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sedona
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sedona, AZ, 4 miles northeast of Sedona at 4,220 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 97°F and low of 68°F; December is the coolest, at 58°F and 33°F. February is the wettest at 2.2 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 17.1 inches over 37 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 100 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 57 nights a year. That 17.1 inches is more than at 64 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (84%). Cornville, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (Tuzigoot, AZ): 12.0 inches a year, 5.1 less than here, and a July average high of 101°F against 97°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 34 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Feb | 61 | 36 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Mar | 68 | 40 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 75 | 44 | 0.8 | 2 |
| May | 84 | 53 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Jun | 94 | 61 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jul | 97 | 68 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Aug | 94 | 67 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Sep | 89 | 61 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Oct | 79 | 51 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Nov | 67 | 41 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Dec | 58 | 33 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Year | 77 | 49 | 17.1 | 37 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sedona, AZ (4,220 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 Sedona
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 58 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sedona: 34 flash floods, 13 heavy rain events, 6 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on July 9, 2018. July has had the most flash floods, 12 of 34. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 97 have had fewer than Sedona.
September 10, 2009: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Sedona — $2.6 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain, with rates up to 4 inches in an hour, fell on the Red Rocks on the northwest side of Sedona. With virtually no infiltration, the water quickly flowed into normally dry channels and washes.”
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 Sedona's 2 ZIP codes have filed 157 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 33. 1% 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, 45 have fewer than Sedona.
Yavapai County, which includes Sedona, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 fires, 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Yavapai County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $107.8 million a year, the 5th highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.7 million (65%), 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 Sedona
- Cornville, AZ11 mi
- Rimrock, AZ13 mi
- Cottonwood, AZ15 mi
- Clarkdale, AZ16 mi
- Camp Verde, AZ20 mi
- Dewey, AZ32 mi
- Flagstaff, AZ32 mi
- Prescott Valley, AZ33 mi
- Pine, AZ36 mi
- Chino Valley, AZ38 mi
- Paulden, AZ38 mi
- Mayer, AZ40 mi
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