NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tempe, 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 Tempe, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 55
- 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 Tempe
The highest rating among the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on January 17, 1993, came within 16 miles. Of the 55, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on October 16, 2022. Tempe has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1972, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Tempe has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Tempe
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s8
- 2000s1
- 1990s12
- 1980s6
- 1970s18
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 17, 1993 | F2 | 16 mi | 2.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1972 | F2 | 7 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 14, 1971 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 1 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 41 |
| Jul 4, 1968 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 13, 1995 | F1 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 18, 1993 | F1 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 1992 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 1992 | F1 | 10 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 18, 1986 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1984 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1983 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tempe
The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Tempe since 1972, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on October 5, 2010. The most recent report is from November 19, 2025. September has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tempe
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tempe Asu, AZ, 2 miles north of Tempe at 1,167 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 106°F and low of 76°F; December is the coolest, at 69°F and 38°F. August is the wettest at 1.3 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 8.9 inches over 20 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 179 days a year, almost all from March to November. Lows fall below freezing on about 10 nights a year. That 8.9 inches is more than at 26 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (34%). Arizona City, 10 miles east, has its own station (E Mesa, AZ): 11.0 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 106°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 71 | 39 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 74 | 41 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Mar | 80 | 46 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Apr | 87 | 51 | 0.2 | 1 |
| May | 95 | 59 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Jun | 104 | 67 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 106 | 76 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Aug | 105 | 75 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Sep | 101 | 69 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Oct | 91 | 56 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 79 | 45 | 0.7 | 1 |
| Dec | 69 | 38 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Year | 88 | 55 | 8.9 | 20 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tempe Asu, AZ (1,167 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 Tempe
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 435 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tempe: 335 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 flash floods, 40 heavy rain events, 10 lightning strikes and 7 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 25, and the NWS estimated $137.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on July 14, 2002. August has had the most flash floods, 15 of 43. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 107 have had fewer than Tempe.
July 14, 2001: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Tempe — 1 killed, $5.0 million damage.
March 8, 2013: flood 8 miles from the centre of Tempe — 1 killed.
August 17, 2000: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Tempe — 4 injured, $500,000 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 Tempe's 4 ZIP codes have filed 37 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $256,000 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, 25 have fewer than Tempe.
Maricopa County, which includes Tempe, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 fires, 9 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Maricopa County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.20 billion a year, the highest of 15 Arizona counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.12 billion (51%), 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 Tempe
- Chandler, AZ2 mi
- Arizona City, AZ10 mi
- Paradise Valley, AZ11 mi
- Mesa, AZ11 mi
- Gilbert, AZ12 mi
- Phoenix, AZ13 mi
- Scottsdale, AZ13 mi
- Laveen, AZ14 mi
- Carefree, AZ17 mi
- Fountain Hills, AZ19 mi
- Glendale, AZ20 mi
- Tolleson, AZ21 mi
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