NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vernal, UT
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 Vernal, Utah since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 8
- 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 Vernal
The highest rating among the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 3, 1999, came within 7 miles. Of the 8, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 16, 2015. Of the 99 Utah cities on this site, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Vernal. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 19 times since 1962, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Vernal has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 99 Utah cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vernal
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s3
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 1999 | F1 | 7 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 1, 1955 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2015 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2009 | EF0 | 4 mi | 0.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2009 | EF0 | 23 mi | 2.18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 21, 2001 | F0 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 1990 | F0 | 7 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1988 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vernal
The Storm Prediction Center has 19 hail reports within 10 miles of Vernal since 1962, made on 11 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently September 17, 2013. The most recent report is from August 14, 2024. September has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vernal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vernal, UT, 5 miles south of Vernal at 5,345 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 10°F. September and October are the wettest at 1.2 inches of precipitation on average and July and November the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 9.1 inches over 28 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 34 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 174 nights a year. Snowfall averages 20.4 inches a year, most of it in December. That 9.1 inches is more than at 6 of the 58 Utah stations used on this site (10%). Roosevelt, 28 miles southwest, has its own station (Roosevelt Radio, UT): 7.4 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 10 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.8 |
| Feb | 37 | 17 | 0.6 | 2 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 51 | 27 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 34 | 0.8 | 3 | 0.6 |
| May | 70 | 43 | 1.0 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 51 | 0.6 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 57 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 55 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 46 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 35 | 1.2 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 46 | 24 | 0.5 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 31 | 13 | 0.6 | 2 | 6.4 |
| Year | 60 | 34 | 9.1 | 28 | 20.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vernal, UT (5,345 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 Vernal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vernal: 12 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $130,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 72 mph, on June 21, 2024.
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 Vernal's ZIP code 84078 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $17,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 20% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 23 Utah cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Vernal.
Uintah County, which includes Vernal, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Uintah County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.8 million a year, the 24th highest of 29 Utah counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.8 million (48%), 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 Vernal
- Roosevelt, UT28 mi
- Rangely, CO53 mi
- Duchesne, UT54 mi
- Lyman, WY75 mi
- Rock Springs, WY77 mi
- Green River, WY79 mi
- Evanston, WY88 mi
- Meeker, CO91 mi
- Price, UT92 mi
- Heber City, UT94 mi
- Helper, UT95 mi
- Loma, CO97 mi
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