Pima County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Pima County: 3.
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 storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by AZ GS (1,947), NASA (3), USGS Conterminous (1).

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. Jul 1, 2003Wildfire$66.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Aspen wildfire started on June 17th in the Catalina Mountains by an unknown hiker on the Marshall Gulch and Aspen Loop trail. The Fire was first observed on the south face portion of Marshall Peak around 7000 feet. On June 19th, winds increased across Southeast Arizona with the highest winds recorded at Hopkins RAWS site (south of Catalina Mountains). Sustained winds of 23 knots (26 mph) and gusts up to 42 knots (48 mph) were recorded at this site for one hour during the afternoon. The combination of strong winds and low relative humidity pushed the fire northeast into the town of Summerhaven on top of Mt. Lemmon. Numerous structures were destroyed including the Alpine Lodge,…

2. Jun 17, 2003Wildfire$66.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Aspen wildfire started on June 17th in the Catalina Mountains by an unknown hiker on the Marshall Gulch and Aspen Loop trail. The Fire was first observed on the south face portion of Marshall Peak around 7000 feet. On June 19th, winds increased across Southeast Arizona with the highest winds recorded at Hopkins RAWS site (south of Catalina Mountains). Sustained winds of 23 knots (26 mph) and gusts up to 42 knots (48 mph) were recorded at this site for one hour during the afternoon. The combination of strong winds and low relative humidity pushed the fire northeast into the town of Summerhaven on top of Mt. Lemmon. Numerous structures were destroyed including the Alpine Lodge,…

3. Jul 14, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of very intense thunderstorms moved from southeast to northwest through the Tucson Metro area. The storm was most intense from midtown Tucson extending to the northwest into portions of Marana. Wind damage was extensive across the much of the Tucson Metro with an estimate of thousands of fallen trees, numerous power poles down, building damage to several buildings, widespread sign damage, roof damage and vehicle damage due to fallen trees.

4. Jul 1, 2011Wildfire, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca And Santa Rita Mountains$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Monument Fire was contained on July 7, after charring 30,526 acres (nearly 47 square miles). The fire destroyed 62 homes, four businesses, 18 outbuildings, and damaged seven homes. Nearly 10,000 people were evacuated from areas south of Sierra Vista at the peak of the fire.

5. May 9, 2011Strong Wind, Upper San Pedro River Valley$11.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong surface winds occurred in Sierra Vista. Homeland Security's aerostat, an anti-trafficking balloon, broke free from its tether and crashed into the Canyon de Flores neighborhood in Sierra Vista. Equipment from the aerostat was picked up from 39 different sites throughout the neighborhood. Minor damage was reported to a few vehicles and homes, as well as a damage to power lines south of Fort Huachuca. The aerostat, based at the fort since 1986, was a total loss and will be replaced.

6. Jul 15, 1999Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Six to Seven inches of rain fell in the headwaters of Sabino and Bear Canyons on the south slopes of the Catalina mountains early in the morning. At one point 2 inches of rain in 20 minutes was recorded by a remote rain gage. Most of the rain fell over a three hour periof between 3 am and 6am. The river gage on Sabino Creek where the creek comes out of the mountains rose from 214 CFS at 6:15 AM to a peak flow of 10,600 CFS at 8:30 AM. The flow of 10,600 is the highest summer flow recorded by this rain gage which has a history back to 1932. The resulting food washed out much of the recreational facilities along the creek at the Sabino Canyon Recreation area. Between 10 and 20…

7. Jul 10, 2018Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced 2 to 3 inches of rain in around on hour on both sides of I-10 from Cortaro to Twin Peaks which caused flash flooding. Some of these areas had als received 1 to 2 inches of rain two days earlier. Many roads and intersections were closed due to flash flooding on the northwest side of Tucson encompassing an area from Tangerine Rd and I-10 down to Ina Rd and I-10. First responders performed at least eight swift water rescues of motorists. A restaurant and animal shelter were also flooded, along with damage to Sanctuary Cove foot trail. A total of 8 swift water rescues had to be performed. Flood waters damaged railroad tracks and derailed over two dozen Union…

8. Jul 31, 2006Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several rivers running through the Tucson Metro Area flooded on July 31, 2006. The Rillito River flooded with water over the cement banks near Dodge Boulevard. Additionally, the Rillito River was over bankfull just east of the Swan Road Bridge. River Road near La Cholla Road was flooding from the Rillito River. Sabino Creek was out of its banks and houses were flooded near Sabino Canyon and Bear Canyon. Below is a listing of some of the damage, but not all, caused by the flooding and an estimate for the cost of repairs:Sabino Canyon Recreation area road and facility damaged, $100,000Forty homes and businesses flooded, $1,200,000One home destroyed due to flooding, $150,000Water…

9. Jul 31, 2022Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain of 1.5-2.5 fell in less than 1 hour over the Finger Rock Canyon watershed with 2.29 recorded in 30 minutes at the Mt. Kimball gauge near the headwaters, which was in the severe burn area of the 2020 Bighorn Fire burn scar. Finger Rock Wash rose over 14 feet at a downstream gauge at the mouth of the canyon. Residents of seven homes and 12 people from another which was used as an assisted living facility were evacuated due to as much as 3 feet of water inside the structures. Most of the structures will be purchased by the county and torn down. Several of the roads in the area were washed out and the wash structure itself was damaged.

10. Oct 2, 2018Flood$3.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread heavy rain of 2 to 4 inches with isolated amounts of 5 to 8 inches fell mainly from the evening of October 1st through the morning hours of October 2nd. Runoff from this rainfall continued through the night of the 2nd, with the peak flows generally during the afternoon. Several roads, including Indian Routes 1, 15, 21, 23, 34, and 45, as well as sections of Highway 86 became, or continued to be, impassable on the Tohono O'odham Nation. Several of these roads sustained significant damage. Homes that were flooded earlier in the morning from flash flooding remained flooded or saw water levels rise. Additional homes were flooded by continued runoff during the afternoon. At…

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

117°FJun 26, 1990

All-time low

16°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1974

Warmest night

89°F2 times, most recently Jul 13, 2020

Coldest day

36°F2 times, most recently Jan 4, 1949

Wettest day

3.93 inJul 29, 1958

Snowiest day

6.8 inDec 8, 1971

Hottest year

2017mean 73.3°F

Coldest year

1964mean 66.1°F

Wettest year

198321.86 in

Driest year

20204.17 in

Snowiest season

6.8 in1971-72

Station Tucson International Airport (USW00023160), 2,551 ft elevation, 5.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1946 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00023160.
• 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.
• 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.