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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tonopah, 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 Tonopah, Arizona since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
4

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Tonopah

The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 29, 2010, came within 11 miles. The most recent tornado was on September 27, 2025. Of the 134 Arizona cities on this site, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Tonopah. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2011, with stones of 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 134 Arizona cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Tonopah.

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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Tonopah

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s1
  • 1950s1
Strongest tornadoes near Tonopah, Arizona
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 29, 2010EF111 mi1.42 mi0 / 1
Jul 25, 1956F124 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 2025Unrated13 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 2, 2025Unrated17 mi0.45 mi0 / 0

The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Tonopah

The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Tonopah, from September 11, 2011: 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size).

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Tonopah

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 31 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tonopah: 17 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $331,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 14, 2001. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 12. Of the 130 Arizona cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 45 have had fewer than Tonopah.

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

Maricopa County, which includes Tonopah, 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 Tonopah

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