NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tolleson, 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 Tolleson, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 38 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 38
- 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 Tolleson
The highest rating among the 38 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 21, 1972, came within 17 miles. Of the 38, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Tolleson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 134 Arizona cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1986, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Tolleson has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 134 Arizona cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Tolleson
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s6
- 2000s1
- 1990s8
- 1980s6
- 1970s10
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1972 | F2 | 17 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 14, 1971 | F2 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 41 |
| Oct 3, 1968 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 23, 1992 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 6, 1992 | F1 | 13 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1984 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1983 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1983 | F1 | 5 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1981 | F1 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 25, 1977 | F1 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1974 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 38, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tolleson
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Tolleson since 1986, made on 13 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on September 7, 2002. The most recent report is from November 19, 2025. September has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tolleson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Litchfield Park, AZ, 7 miles northwest of Tolleson at 1,040 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 107°F and low of 81°F; December is the coolest, at 65°F and 42°F. February is the wettest at 1.2 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.0 inches; the year adds up to 8.4 inches over 19 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 173 days a year, almost all from March to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 7 nights a year. That 8.4 inches is more than at 22 of the 76 Arizona stations used on this site (29%). Laveen, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Laveen 3 SSE, AZ): 7.4 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 107°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 66 | 43 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 70 | 46 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Mar | 78 | 51 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Apr | 86 | 57 | 0.3 | 1 |
| May | 94 | 65 | 0.1 | 1 |
| Jun | 104 | 74 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Jul | 107 | 81 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Aug | 105 | 81 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Sep | 99 | 74 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Oct | 88 | 61 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Nov | 75 | 49 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Dec | 65 | 42 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Year | 86 | 60 | 8.4 | 19 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Litchfield Park, AZ (1,040 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 Tolleson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 171 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tolleson: 122 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 15 floods, 7 lightning strikes and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $158.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 101 mph, on August 29, 1996. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 22. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Tolleson.
July 24, 2024: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Tolleson — 1 killed, $2.0 million damage.
August 14, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Tolleson — 4 injured.
July 25, 2006: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Tolleson — 1 injured, $150.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Tolleson's ZIP code 85353 have filed 241 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1980: 115 claims (48% of all) and $870,000. The year with the most claims was 1978, with 96. 48% 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, 46 have fewer than Tolleson.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1980 | 115 | $870,000 |
Maricopa County, which includes Tolleson, 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 Tolleson
- Cashion, AZunder 1 mi
- Avondale, AZ3 mi
- Goodyear, AZ5 mi
- Laveen, AZ8 mi
- Litchfield Park, AZ9 mi
- Surprise, AZ10 mi
- Youngtown, AZ11 mi
- Carefree, AZ12 mi
- El Mirage, AZ12 mi
- Glendale, AZ12 mi
- Phoenix, AZ13 mi
- Waddell, AZ14 mi
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