Cottonwood

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Yavapai County, the county that contains Cottonwood.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Yavapai County, the county that contains Cottonwood.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Yavapai County, the county that contains Cottonwood.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

1. U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.

USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Yavapai County.

Mapped by AZ GS (203), NASA (3), USGS Post-Fire Debris Flows (3).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 15, 1999Hail$18.0 million
2. May 20, 2014Wildfire, Oak Creek And Sycamore Canyons$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A human caused fire started less than 1/4 mile north of Slide Rock State Park at around 350 PM on May 20 during Red Flag Conditions. The fire quickly spread north and eventually out of the canyon and into the edge of the Western Mogollon Rim. Fire burned over 22,000 acres beginning about 6 miles north of Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon, West Fork Oak Creek Canyon, and parts of the rim country bordering the canyons. The fire stayed west of Oak Creek and Highway 89A that connects Sedona and Flagstaff. The total fire fighting cost was over $7 million. The cost of rehabilitation and the expected flood damage has yet to be determined.

3. Jul 19, 2017Flash Flood$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produce heavy rain over the Goodwin Fire scar. This lead to flash flooding in Big Big Bug Creek and Grapevine Creek which both flow into the Agua Fria River. This lead to a double crest in the flash flood downstream. The flooding started around 1745 in Mayer and 1845 in Spring Valley. People were evacuated in Mayer. The stream gauge on Agua Fria River near Mayer showed a 5.84 foot rise in 45 minutes (830 to 915 PM MST). ||This is a list of the damage: ||Homes destroyed - 15|Major damage - 25|Minor damage - 17|Affected - 10|Impacted - 53||Total: 120||Most of the homes that were damaged were in Mayer with a few in Spring Valley.

4. Sep 10, 2009Flash Flood$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain, with rates up to 4 inches in an hour, fell on the Red Rocks on the northwest side of Sedona. With virtually no infiltration, the water quickly flowed into normally dry channels and washes. There were reports of numerous flooded homes, widespread street flooding, over flowing stream beds, large boulders washed into streets, eroded paved roads, and cars moved and stacked by flood water. A 4 foot wall of water swept through the Los Abrigados Resort parking lot and moved parked cars. One normally dry gully filled with 6 feet of rushing water. Several people were rescued after their cars started floating in the rapidly raising water in parking lots. City officials estimated…

5. Jul 18, 2018Hail$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail damaged approximately 1000 cars in shopping centers and car dealerships.

6. Aug 23, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Rimrock Fire District reported wind caused roof damage to homes along Airport Road, one mobile home flipped, and 12 inch diameter trees were uprooted. Power poles were blown down or snapped along Beaver Creek Road. In all, 41 structures suffered minor damage, six structures suffered major damage, and 2,300 people were without power after the storm hit.

7. Feb 14, 2019Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The stream gauge on Wet Beaver Creek near Rimrock reported a 7 foot rise between 6 PM and 8 PM. The river gauge on Wet Beaver Creek at Montezuma Castle showed a 15 foot rise in two hours (945 PM to 1145 PM). Officials estimate about 25 homes were damaged as a result of the flooding, and some were declared unsafe. Multiple rescues performed in the Montezuma and Rimrock areas.

8. Sep 27, 2014Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Path length over 2 miles with a with of 0.4 miles. EF0-EF1 damage. The tornado occurred between 155 PM and 205 PM MST. Three homes were significantly damaged with light damage to other homes. Numerous pine trees were snapped off and uprooted.

9. Jan 21, 2010Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and melting snow caused major flooding in Black Canyon City. Evacuations orders were issued for communities along the Agua Fria River and Black Canyon Creek. One trailer park had damage to all 50 trailers.

10. Sep 26, 2019Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Approximately 20 mobile homes were damaged by very strong thunderstorm winds. One home was so damaged that it was no longer habitable. Four homes suffered moderate damage. Power poles were snapped off with many with out power. Close to 100 trees were damaged as well.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

118°FJun 26, 1994

All-time low

6°FFeb 3, 2011

Warmest night

82°FJun 20, 2016

Coldest day

32°FDec 31, 2010

Wettest day

3.03 inJul 25, 2021

Snowiest day

7.5 inFeb 3, 1985

Hottest year

1996mean 65.6°F

Coldest year

1979mean 61.6°F

Wettest year

198319.18 in

Driest year

20205.22 in

Snowiest season

9.0 in1984-85

Station Tuzigoot (USC00028904), 3,470 ft elevation, 2.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1977 to October 26, 2026; 89.2% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Yavapai County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00028904.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.