Maricopa County

Every recorded tornado

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

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

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 (161), NASA (2).

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. Oct 5, 2010Hail$1.8 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   This storm moved from Firebird Lake, south of Chandler to the north Glendale/south Peoria area. This storm produced widespread golf ball to baseball sized hail along its path. Thousands of roofs and vehicles were damaged by the hail. Locations in northwest Phoenix and Glendale were impacted by this storm as well as the storm shortly after noon, compounding the damage. The football coach at Alhambra High School reported at least one injury when large hail struck the practice field. This palm-size hail is likely the largest hail ever reported in the Phoenix area.|Large hail, estimated to be upwards of 2 inches in diameter, punctured 34 skylights at the main warehouse of St. Mary's…

2. Oct 5, 2010Hail$900 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hailstorm moved from southwest to northeast across the central Phoenix area. Hail up to 1.5 diameter fell in this swath. The hail broke hundreds of skylights and damaged roofs and cars from southwest Phoenix, to north central Phoenix, to Carefree.

3. Jul 25, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$150 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several cities throughout the central portion of Maricopa County had major wind damage as a series of thunderstorms and microbursts moved across the area. According to the Salt River Project, an estimated 65 power poles were blown down, in parts of Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa. At one point, about 20,000 customers were without power. Arizona Public Service reported about 8,000 customers were without power. At Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the official peak wind gust was 59 mph. However, winds at Williams Gateway Airport gusted to 86 mph and flipped a small twin-engine plane atop another aircraft. In Mesa, 35 schools reported damages due to the storm. In addition to numerous trees and…

4. Oct 5, 2010Hail$110 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This storm moved from south of Chandler to far north Scottsdale. As the storm moved through Scottsdale, the storm dropped up to tennis ball sized hail. The hail damaged hundreds of roofs and vehicles. Dozens of aircraft at Scottsdale airport were damaged by the hail.

5. Aug 14, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Every town in the western half of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area reported some damage. The hardest hit areas were in northwest Phoenix, Glendale, and Peoria. Other towns that sustained damage were Sun City, Surprise, El Mirage, Tolleson, Avondale, Goodyear, and Buckeye. Approximately 400 power poles were knocked down throughout these towns, 100 owned by SRP and 300 owned by APS. There were from 70,000 to 75,000 homeowner claims for about $100 million in damage.

6. Sep 19, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Microburst winds struck the Desert Sands Trailer Park where at least 14 homes were totally destroyed and about 340 homes were damaged. Over 200,000 customers lost power after more than 40 power poles were snapped by the winds and rain. Talley Industries, on Greenfield Road received about $500,000 in damage as a large portion of the roof was removed by wind. A large truck was overturned near 80th Street and Baseline Road. Trees were uprooted in nearby Gilbert.

7. Jul 14, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The second of two microburst events struck on the airport at the Postal facility and the West economy parking lot. A large thunderstorm complex, with strong microburst winds estimated at 100 mph struck Sky Harbor International Airport. Southerly winds and dense blowing dust initially spread across the East valley and converged with a fast-moving thunderstorm in North Phoenix. These merging systems developed into a severe thunderstorm with winds that uprooted trees, took down power poles and damaged homes and businesses near the airport. Several hangars sustained major damage. Flying debris damaged five commercial aircraft, several private planes and hundreds of cars in the nearby…

8. Aug 14, 2021Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Following 2 to 4 inches of rain in 1 to 2 hours over the Sand Tank Wash watershed, catastrophic flooding occurred in the small town of Gila Bend with feet of water, mud, and debris moving through town. Storm surveys were completed by NWS Phoenix, Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management (MCDEM), American Red Cross, and Flood Control District of Maricopa County (FCDMC). FCDMC gages on Sand Tank Wash, Bender Wash, and in the Maricopa Mountains measured rainfall amounts around 3 to 4 inches in 1 to 2 hours for an annual exceedance probability of 0.1%. FCDMC found the most significant floodwaters were within Sand Tank Wash, with lesser flows in Bender and Scott Avenue…

9. Jul 14, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of two microburst events occurred on the airport at 1300 Airlane Blvd.

10. Jul 14, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$20.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Microburst winds heavily damaged the Arizona Public Service power sub-station at 7th Ave and Thomas. Widespread damage was reported across the greater Phoenix metropolitan area caused by the storm's high winds and heavy rainfall with up to 2 inches in 90 minutes. Utility companies reported that 22 power poles were downed, leaving at least 47,000 homes and businesses without power electricity for many hours. Homes in Scottsdale and Ahwatukee were struck by lightning and set on fire.

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

122°FJun 26, 1990

All-time low

17°FJan 5, 1950

Warmest night

97°F2 times, most recently Jul 24, 2026

Coldest day

43°F2 times, most recently Dec 11, 1985

Wettest day

3.30 inSep 8, 2014

Snowiest day

0.4 inFeb 2, 1939

Hottest year

2024mean 78.6°F

Coldest year

1964mean 67.9°F

Wettest year

194115.37 in

Driest year

19562.82 in

Snowiest season

0.4 in1990-91

Station Phoenix Airport (USW00023183), 1,113 ft elevation, 4.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1933 to October 26, 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.

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 USW00023183.
• 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.