Nampa

Population 120,384 (2025)

25 tornadoes have tracked within 25 miles of Nampa since 1950, 0 of them rated EF3 or F3 or stronger; the most recent was on May 26, 2023.

Hazard fingerprint for Nampa Tornado: 17th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 43th percentile. Flood: 18th percentile. Hail & wind: 13th percentile. Heat: 4th percentile. Cold: 9th percentile. Winter: 51th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Tornado damage paths within 25 miles since 195025
  • Wildfire burn scars within 25 miles since 198464

At a glance

Tornado paths within 25 miles, tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles and wildfire perimeters within 25 miles of the city centre. Storm events, flood insurance claims and disaster declarations are for Canyon County. Earthquakes within 50 miles, volcanoes within 100 miles and smoke days are measured from the city centre; river and tide gauges, tsunami and landslide records and the drought index are for Canyon County.

Large wildfires within 25 mi

64

Largest: Soda, 2015

Details

Flood insurance claims

29

Canyon County

$102,000 paid since 1979

Details

Tornadoes since 1950, within 25 mi

25

0 rated F3/EF3 or stronger

Details

Strongest tornado

F1

May 17, 1996, 0.3 mile path

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

5.3magnitude

May 12, 1916, 42.5 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

4

Most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, 2020

Details

Record high

111°F

July 19, 1960

Details

Record low

−25°F

December 22, 1990

Details

Tornadoes

About one every 3 years since 1950, none rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Strongest

May 17, 1996

F1, 0.3 mile path

20 yards wide.

Most recent

Friday, May 26, 2023

EF0, 0.9 mile path

3 years ago.

Tornadoes by decade, within 25 miles Doppler radar era² 1950s: 2 2 1960s: 1 1 1970s: 0 1980s: 3 3 1990s: 6 6 2000s: 11 11 2010s: 0 2020s: 2 2 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
Recorded tornadoes per decade. The 2020s are incomplete.
Tornadoes by month J: 0 F: 1 M: 1 A: 3 M: 4 J: 2 J: 3 A: 7 7 S: 2 O: 1 N: 0 D: 1 JFMAMJJASOND
By month of occurrence, all years.

Every recorded tornado

Tornadoes within 25 miles since 1950
May 26, 2023EF00.9300
May 27, 2022EF03.83500
Aug 25, 2004F00.01600
Aug 25, 2004F00.01600
Apr 6, 2003F01.0700
Sep 29, 2002F01.01000
Feb 7, 2002F00.12000
Dec 15, 2000F01.03000
Aug 3, 2000F00.11000
Aug 3, 2000F00.11000
Aug 3, 2000F00.11000
Aug 3, 2000F00.0000
Jul 18, 2000F00.11000
May 10, 1998F02.05000
Apr 20, 1997F00.23000
May 17, 1996F10.32000
Jun 19, 1991F10.12000
Apr 24, 1991F00.25000
Jul 30, 1990F00.12000
Sep 26, 1986F00.51000
Oct 26, 1984F10.35000
Mar 21, 1984F10.11000
Jun 2, 1967F03.81700
Aug 23, 1956F00.510000
Jul 9, 1956F10.11000
  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.

Hurricanes and tropical storms

No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.

Wildfire and smoke

64 large fires burned within 25 miles since 1984.

Largest

August 10, 2015

Soda Fire, 282,664 acres

14.4 miles from the city centre.

Most recent

July 31, 2025

Range Fire

26,776 acres in total.

Acres burned by large fires within 25 miles, cumulative 1985: 8,8811986: 90,9921987: 7,6101988: 4,4991989: 1,3721991: 4,6441994: 3,6691995: 5,5981996: 70,3461997: 9,1892000: 2,9002001: 3,8362002: 48,3082005: 10,6632006: 2,5562007: 8,2632009: 1,3342010: 4,7482011: 5,8992012: 15,2722014: 1,1532015: 289,5152016: 3,6892018: 1,7432022: 2,0432023: 1,1312024: 37,2642025: 26,776 673,893 acres 198519901995200020052010201520202025
Running total of acres burned (line) and each year’s acres (bars).

Every large fire

Large wildfires since 1984
Range202521.426,776
Valley202420.99,871
Jump202419.426,223
Swany202412.71,170
Southtom202323.71,131
Blacks202222.02,043
Leone201822.91,743
Table Rock201620.02,481
Map Rock201611.61,208
Soda201514.4282,664
Celebration201520.06,851
Celebration201420.11,153
Hollow201215.81,456
Micro201221.92,724
Jump201218.41,960
Con Shea201221.19,132
South Pen201118.71,364
Mm62 I84201122.31,437
Goody201111.63,098
Big201012.14,748
Sand Hallow200919.81,334
Pearlie200721.11,346
Gem County200724.54,224
Indian Creek200721.82,693
Discovery200624.61,202
Guff200620.31,354
South Black200523.78,276
Homestead200522.21,286
Gotch Canyon200519.61,101
Chip200221.93,743
Trimbly Creek200219.243,057
Guff200220.41,508
Chapped Willow200114.62,466
South Spring200116.81,370
Hilltop200023.52,900
Highway 55199718.09,189
Eighth Street199619.515,307
Prospect199618.42,855
Cottonwood199622.52,939
Applevalle199620.29,891
Coyote Butte19969.830,617
Sinker Butte199622.98,737
Initial Pt199515.15,598
Jenness199415.31,983
Gravel199417.51,686
Bf 3199120.01,698
Rrmp 431199124.42,946
Isaac198921.01,372
Hartley198813.41,000
Stewart198820.02,486
Warmspring198821.71,013
Anderson198722.01,601
So Gowen198717.41,305
Picket Pin198718.81,397
Initial Pt198715.81,319
Blacks Ck198720.31,988
Pleasant198617.43,007
Bissell Ck198623.540,816
Van Dusen198624.839,868
Bryans Run198624.25,585
Jeness198617.51,716
Agri-Line198521.65,658
Gemco198517.71,860
Pay-Gem198519.81,363
  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

Smokiest year

2021: 63 days

Heavy smoke on 41 days in 2021, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

25.8 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

10 days

Medium or heavy smoke. 31 so far in 2026.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 4 2012: 27 2013: 20 2014: 15 2015: 24 2016: 4 2017: 23 2018: 32 2019: 3 2020: 42 2021: 63 63 2022: 24 2023: 12 2024: 45 2025: 10 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the city centre, 2011 to 2025.
  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.

Floods and flood insurance

29 federal flood insurance claims since 1979, with $102,000 paid.

Flood insurance figures are for Canyon County, the county that contains Nampa.

Federal flood insurance claims by year 1979: 13 13 1979
Claims per year since 1979. Years with fewer than five claims are not shown.

Most claims in one year

1979: 13 claims

$39,000 paid.

Claims by ZIP code

Flood insurance claims by ZIP code
8364411$31,000
836605$30,000

Flood events since 1996

  • Flood8
  • Flash Flood3
  • Heavy Rain3

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.

Drought

In severe drought or worse for 254 of 1,581 months since 1895 (16%); the longest spell lasted 30 months.

The drought index is for Canyon County, the county that contains Nampa.

254

Months in severe drought or worse since 1895

105

Months in extreme drought

16%

Share of all months, severe or worse

Lowest reading

July 1934

−6.96, extreme drought

Longest severe spell

30 months

July 2001 to December 2003.

Latest month

September 2026

−2.65, moderate drought

Last severe month: April 2022.

Months in severe drought or worse, by year 1895: 0 1896: 0 1897: 0 1898: 0 1899: 0 1900: 0 1901: 0 1902: 0 1903: 0 1904: 0 1905: 0 1906: 0 1907: 0 1908: 7 1909: 0 1910: 0 1911: 0 1912: 0 1913: 0 1914: 0 1915: 9 1916: 0 1917: 0 1918: 3 1919: 6 1920: 1 1921: 0 1922: 0 1923: 0 1924: 8 1925: 0 1926: 3 1927: 0 1928: 0 1929: 2 1930: 2 1931: 8 1932: 2 1933: 0 1934: 12 12 1935: 9 1936: 0 1937: 0 1938: 0 1939: 5 1940: 0 1941: 0 1942: 0 1943: 0 1944: 0 1945: 0 1946: 0 1947: 0 1948: 0 1949: 9 1950: 0 1951: 0 1952: 0 1953: 0 1954: 5 1955: 1 1956: 0 1957: 0 1958: 0 1959: 1 1960: 0 1961: 3 1962: 0 1963: 0 1964: 0 1965: 0 1966: 8 1967: 3 1968: 5 1969: 0 1970: 0 1971: 0 1972: 0 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 0 1977: 5 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 0 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 0 1984: 0 1985: 0 1986: 0 1987: 9 1988: 10 1989: 0 1990: 10 1991: 10 1992: 9 1993: 0 1994: 3 1995: 0 1996: 0 1997: 0 1998: 0 1999: 1 2000: 1 2001: 6 2002: 12 2003: 12 2004: 1 2005: 2 2006: 0 2007: 7 2008: 8 2009: 5 2010: 0 2011: 0 2012: 4 2013: 12 2014: 7 2015: 0 2016: 3 2017: 0 2018: 2 2019: 0 2020: 0 2021: 1 2022: 2 2023: 0 2024: 0 2025: 0 18951905191519251935194519551965197519851995200520152025
Months each year with a Palmer index of −3 or lower, 1895 to 2025. Twelve means the whole year.
  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.

Earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides

1 earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 5.3 in 1916.

2

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

1

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

1

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

May 12, 1916

Magnitude 5.3

Western Idaho; 42.5 miles away.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

November 17, 2022

Magnitude 3.4

14 km SW of Smiths Ferry, Idaho; 46.8 miles away.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
May 12, 19165.342.5—Western Idaho
  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

Volcanoes within 100 miles
Jordan Craters volcanic field54.3Very low4,833
  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 Canyon County.

6

Landslides mapped, probable or better

0

With a recorded date

1

Source inventory

Mapped by ID GS (6).

  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.

Severe weather and other events

216 events in the National Weather Service record for Canyon County, 173 of them since 1996.

15

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

1

Hail, 2 inches or larger

45

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

69

Winter weather events since 1996

1

Heat events since 1996

2

Cold events since 1996

Largest hail

May 25, 2018

2.00 inches

Strongest measured or estimated gust

June 7, 1996

81 mph

More event types since 1996

Other Storm Events types since 1996
Lightning322Jul 7, 2002
Dust storms and dust devils200Apr 29, 2024
Dense fog and smoke400Oct 25, 2012

Costliest events since 1996

  1. Jan 18, 2017Heavy Snow, Lower Treasure Valley$100 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous reports from social media reported 6 to 9 inches of snow around Caldwell and 15 to 16 inches from Ontario to Payette and Weiser reported by emergency management. Significant damage occurred to agricultural buildings housing fresh produce.

  2. Jun 26, 2026Flash Flood$7.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Timing estimated by MRMS, polygon focused on the area with the largest impact and intentionally kept broad. Numerous reports received of flooded roadways, some impassable; flooding also affected houses, public buildings, and infrastructure. The Caldwell Airport ASOS reported 1.06 inches of rainfall having fell in 15 minutes. A disaster was declared for Canyon County in the aftermath. There was an estimated 7 million dollars in damages to infrastructure.

  3. May 1, 2017Flood$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Boise River remained in flood during the entire month of May due to planned release from Lucky Peak dam. Regulated flows were above flood stage for 101 days resulting in extensive bank erosion and flooding of lowlands along the river.

  4. Apr 1, 2017Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Planned releases from Lucky Peak Reservoir for flood control ranged from 7800 CFS to 8900 CFS during the month of April. The prolonged flood flows caused extensive damage along the river banks and widespread flooding of lowlands.

  5. Aug 26, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorms moved through Southwestern Idaho with strong winds and lightning. Several locations reported downed trees and power lines. The hardest hit area was Nampa in Canyon county. Wind lifted a dairy barn and smashed it, several roofs were pulled off of houses, barns and sheds were blown over, large trees were uprooted, one fell on a house, and several residents reported small grass and barn fires. 911 in Canyon county had a record number of calls. Several fires were ignited by lightning. In the Vale District, 16 fires were started totalling 26000 acres. In Owyhee county, reports of visiblity reduced to zero in blowing dust occured at Givens Hot Springs.

  6. Mar 6, 2017Flood$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation increased regulated flows from Lucky Peak Reservoir putting the Boise River in flood for the remainder of the month of March. Flooding was expected to continue through late spring. The extended period of flood flows caused severe bank erosion and lowland flooding.

  7. Apr 24, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A cold front moving through the area had strong convection embedded along the leading edge. A strong downburst from a cell moving through the Middleton area produced the damaging winds in the vicinity of the Middleton High School.

  8. May 6, 2005Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flooding at the Caldwell Airport, parts of Caldwell, Conway Rd washed out

  9. May 17, 1996Tornado$50,000
  10. Jun 15, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Scattered thunderstorms moved through southern Canyon and western Ada counties and produced damaging wind gusts. Numerous trees and powerlines were downed throughout the area. A 75 foot tall tree fell on a home in Nampa and a porch was torn off another home. In Boise, the I-84 connector was closed due to downed powerlines.

  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.

Weather records

From Boise Air Terminal, 16.2 miles from the city centre, with records from 1940.

All-time high
111°FJul 19, 1960
All-time low
−25°FDec 22, 1990
Warmest night
82°FJul 22, 2024
Coldest day
−6°FDec 22, 1990
Wettest day
1.91 inJun 12, 1958
Snowiest day
9.8 inDec 20, 1996
Hottest year
2025mean 55.5°F
Coldest year
1985mean 45.9°F
Wettest year
198318.77 in
Driest year
19666.64 in
Snowiest season
48.8 in1948-49
Average monthly high and low temperature and precipitation, last 30 years, Boise Air Terminal 32°F 39° 26° 1.4 Jan 46° 29° 1.1 Feb 55° 35° 1.4 Mar 62° 39° 1.3 Apr 72° 47° 1.4 May 82° 55° 0.7 Jun 94° 63° 0.2 Jul 91° 62° 0.3 Aug 80° 53° 0.5 Sep 65° 42° 0.9 Oct 50° 32° 1.1 Nov 39° 26° 1.7 Dec Precipitation, inches
Average daily high and low by month, and average monthly precipitation, over the last 30 years.
Days reaching 95°F per year 1976: 10 1977: 20 1978: 20 1979: 18 1980: 7 1981: 19 1982: 7 1983: 12 1984: 16 1985: 19 1986: 30 1987: 16 1988: 35 1989: 22 1990: 33 1991: 27 1992: 30 1993: 7 1994: 38 1995: 19 1996: 29 1997: 16 1998: 34 1999: 22 2000: 29 2001: 30 2002: 25 2003: 34 2004: 24 2005: 31 2006: 32 2007: 51 2008: 26 2009: 31 2010: 23 2011: 29 2012: 41 2013: 47 2014: 31 2015: 27 2016: 28 2017: 43 2018: 36 2019: 31 2020: 26 2021: 51 2022: 55 55 2023: 35 2024: 49 2025: 28 19761986199620062016
Days reaching 95°F each complete year, last 50 years. Thirty-year average: 33.1.
Snowfall by winter 1976: 14.7 in 1977: 18.0 in 1978: 20.5 in 1979: 15.3 in 1980: 9.7 in 1981: 32.5 in 1982: 11.8 in 1983: 37.4 in 1984: 18.3 in 1985: 39.5 in 39.5 1986: 7.9 in 1987: 11.8 in 1988: 22.0 in 1989: 12.5 in 1990: 18.5 in 1991: 4.2 in 1992: 34.5 in 1993: 8.7 in 1994: 25.7 in 1995: 21.5 in 1996: 16.7 in 1997: 7.3 in 1998: 23.3 in 1999: 14.2 in 2000: 18.9 in 2001: 32.1 in 2002: 5.0 in 2003: 21.7 in 2004: 2.8 in 2005: 10.7 in 2006: 8.8 in 2007: 31.8 in 2008: 33.7 in 2009: 19.9 in 2010: 21.8 in 2011: 8.6 in 2012: 16.0 in 2013: 14.4 in 2014: 13.3 in 2015: 10.9 in 2016: 39.1 in 2017: 20.1 in 2018: 18.0 in 2019: 15.3 in 2020: 21.2 in 2021: 22.0 in 2022: 31.1 in 2023: 36.9 in 2024: 13.6 in 2025: 1.8 in 19761986199620062016
Total snowfall each winter (July to June), last 50 winters.

Median first snow

November 22

Earliest: October 10, 2008

Median last snow

March 22

Latest: May 12, 1970

0 of 86 winters had no measurable snow.

Station Boise Air Terminal (USW00024131), 2,823 ft elevation, 16.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1940 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% 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.

Federal disaster declarations

4 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, April 9, 2020.

Declarations for Canyon County.

Federal disaster declarations
Apr 9, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4534-ID
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3467-ID
Oct 7, 2017FloodFloodingMajor disasterDR-4342-ID
Sep 13, 2005HurricaneHurricane KatrinaEmergencyEM-3244-ID

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.

Sources and vintage

Every number on this page comes from these public records.

  • 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 USW00024131.
  • 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.