Apache County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Apache County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

Mapped by AZ GS (305).

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. Jun 1, 2011Wildfire, White Mountains$58.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Wallow Fire entered Apache County around 200 PM on June first. The fire burned a total of 313,103 acres in Apache County. The fire did not spread after June 30th (it was contained). The fire was declared out (controlled) on July 13th. It cost an estimated 58 million dollars to fight the fire in Apache County alone.

2. Jul 21, 2019Wildfire, Black Mesa Area$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Museum Fire started about 4 miles north of Flagstaff on Sunday July 21 at around 1115 AM. The fire grew to 1,962 acres in the Dry Lake Hills area. The burn severity was 12% High, 28% moderate, 48%, and 12% very low. Much of this area drains into the Spruce Wash which runs into several communities of Flagstaff. An initial estimate of $9 million was spent on fire suppression. Extensive flood protection measures (200,000 sand bags and many jersey barriers) have been put in place below the fire scar.

3. Sep 14, 2013Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Close to 50 families were displace across the Navajo Nation in Apache County because of the flash flooding. Part of the Navajo Zoo was inundated with water.

4. Jan 1, 2011Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, White Mountains$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very cold temperatures caused water pipes to burnt in the South County Health Complex in Show Low. The flooding that resulted caused the clouser of the complex for at least a week. The new buildings were still under warranty.

5. Apr 15, 2009High Wind, Chuska Mountains And Defiance Plateau$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Window Rock ASOS reported a peak wind gusts to 59 MPH. Blowing dust reduced the visibility to less than one mile. A restaurant sign blew off its pedestal in Window Rock, crushed an SUV, and injured a couple who had stopped for lunch. One person, in critical condition, was taken to a local health service center then transported to Phoenix once the winds died down and it was safe to fly.

6. Feb 20, 1996Strong Wind, Little Colorado River Valley In Apache County$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind Damage in Springerville, Arizona. A brief gradient wind gust ripped the roof off one mobile home and knock several other mobiles homes off their foundations. Structural movement broke several water lines and caused extensive damage to trailer skirting. Many anchors and tie-down cables used to secure mobile homes were snapped. There was no estimated or recorded wind speed. There were no other reported high wind incidents in the vicinity. The event lasted less than one minute.

7. Feb 1, 2011Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, White Mountains$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very cold conditions lead to freezing and burst pipes in the White Mountains. About two dozen businesses, schools, and homes had frozen pipes.

8. Jul 24, 2011Flash Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain over Escudilla Peak area caused flash flooding and mud slides over sections of Highway 180/191 north and southeast of Alpine. Mud, trees, and rocks temporarily blocked the highway between Alpine and Nutrioso. The Alpine Ranger District Office experienced minor flooding in front of the office. Flooding and erosion on private property was also reported. Rainfall amounts of around an inch to one and a half inches was reported.

9. Aug 18, 2011Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding flooding and debris flows were reported along side canyons and over road ways in the eastern side of Greer. Rocks one foot in diameter washed over roads. The creek in Butler Canyon over flowed its banks.

10. Jul 4, 2011Flash Flood$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Greer Fire Department reported flash flooding on Butler Creek in Greer. Water and debris flowed to a dept of 1 to 2 feet.

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

101°F4 times, most recently Jul 17, 2023

All-time low

−34°FDec 23, 1990

Warmest night

70°FJun 24, 2016

Coldest day

8°FFeb 2, 2011

Wettest day

2.36 inApr 16, 1988

Snowiest day

10.5 inDec 5, 1992

Hottest year

2022mean 51.9°F

Coldest year

1975mean 46.1°F

Wettest year

199715.83 in

Driest year

19895.44 in

Snowiest season

60.4 in1990-91

Station Gallup Municipal Airport (USW00023081), 6,464 ft elevation, 35.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1973 to October 26, 2026; 99.5% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00023081.
• 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.