NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sun Valley, NV
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 Sun Valley, Nevada since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 11 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 11
- 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 Sun Valley
The highest rating among the 11 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 3 times; the most recent, on August 15, 2020, came within 21 miles. Of the 11, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 5. Sun Valley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 32 Nevada cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 26 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Sun Valley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 32 Nevada cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sun Valley
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s2
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2020 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2020 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1973 | F1 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 24, 2004 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 2003 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 2002 | F0 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 2000 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1999 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1998 | F0 | 5 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1964 | F0 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 2020 | Unrated | 19 mi | 3.16 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 Sun Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 26 hail reports within 10 miles of Sun Valley since 1957, made on 21 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 24, 2005. The most recent report is from July 27, 2025. July has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sun Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Reno WFO, NV, 2 miles southwest of Sun Valley at 4,987 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 61°F; December is the coolest, at 45°F and 27°F. January is the wettest at 1.3 inches of precipitation on average and August and September the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 8.0 inches over 23 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 102 nights a year. Snowfall averages 29.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 8.0 inches is more than at 13 of the 27 Nevada stations used on this site (48%). Sparks, 3 miles east, has its own station (Sparks, NV): 8.4 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 27 | 1.3 | 3 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 50 | 29 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.0 |
| Mar | 57 | 34 | 0.9 | 2 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 0.5 | 2 | 1.8 |
| May | 72 | 46 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 83 | 54 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 61 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 60 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 53 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 43 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 54 | 33 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 45 | 27 | 1.2 | 3 | 7.4 |
| Year | 67 | 42 | 8.0 | 23 | 29.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Reno WFO, NV (4,987 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 Sun Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 102 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sun Valley: 40 heavy rain events, 34 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 9 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $8.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 77 mph, on July 20, 2013. July has had the most flash floods, 9 of 17. Of the 29 Nevada cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 19 have had fewer than Sun Valley.
September 24, 2011: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Sun Valley — 4 injured.
June 19, 2026: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Sun Valley — $5.0 million damage.
July 27, 2025: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Sun Valley — $1.5 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
Washoe County, which includes Sun Valley, has been named in 54 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 43 fires, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washoe County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $273.8 million a year, the 2nd highest of 17 Nevada counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $80.0 million (29%), 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 Sun Valley
- Sparks, NV3 mi
- Reno, NV6 mi
- Verdi, NV14 mi
- Washoe Valley, NV22 mi
- Incline Village, NV26 mi
- Dayton, NV27 mi
- Kings Beach, CA28 mi
- Carson City, NV30 mi
- Truckee, CA30 mi
- Fernley, NV32 mi
- Silver Springs, NV32 mi
- Tahoe City, CA35 mi
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