Santa Cruz County

Every recorded tornado

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

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, 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.

2. 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.

3. Aug 24, 2007Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Portions of downtown Nogales experienced flash flooding. Extensive damage occurred to the Nogales Wash, which is a concrete wash that flows through the city of Nogales. City officials estimated damage at $10 million on the U.S. side of the border.

4. Feb 2, 2011Frost/Freeze, Upper San Pedro River Valley$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several communities across the Upper San Pedro River Valley suffered from frozen and burst water pipes as temperatures dropped into the single digits to low teens. In addition, 4500 Sierra Vista Southwest Gas customers lost their natural gas flow. Most of the damage was at Fort Huachuca where over 400 homes suffered from broken water pipes with more than 100 homes sustaining damage. About 40 outpost buildings had ceilings collapse due to broken water pipes. Sierra Vista Fire Department also responded to several fire calls related to space heaters and candles.||In Benson, the city received over 100 calls regarding burst water pipes. The San Pedro Terrace Apartments on Pearl Street…

5. Sep 2, 2018Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced 3 to 5 inches of rain along Sopori Wash and in Amado, which led to flash flooding in Amado. Water flowed at depths ranging from 2 to 5 feet deep through several commercial properties including a restaurant, feed store, automotive shop, and youth center, causing substantial damage to the buildings and their contents. Additionally, several RVs suffered water damage at a RV storage park. Minor damage also occurred to Arivaca Road and others in the area.

6. Jun 20, 2017Wildfire, Upper San Pedro River Valley$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The lightning caused Encino Fire ignited on June 20th south of Sonoita and spread rapidly north due to thunderstorm outflow winds. At least five homes and 30 power poles were destroyed by the fire. Many residents of Sonoita were evacuated and State Routes 82 and 83 were both closed temporarily. A firefighter was injured when he broke his ankle. The fire was fully contained by June 25th after burning 1289 acres.

7. Jul 12, 2008Flash Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall on the Mexican side of the border caused flash flooding in the city of Nogales, Arizona. This was caused by a damaged portion of the underground Nogales Wash. Local emergency management reported that water burst through the underground wash onto the surface just across the International Border. The border wall acted as a dam, keeping most of the flooding on the Mexican side. However, some water did flow through the port of entry into downtown Nogales, Arizona. Several businesses in the downtown business district experienced flooding and two illegal immigrants found two days later in the underground wash are also believed to have drowned due to this flooding. In…

8. May 5, 2009Wildfire, Santa Cruz County$560,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wildfire burned near 5,000 acres near Fort Huachuca in Santa Cruz County. The fire burned at least four homes and six private vehicles near the west gate entrance. One injury was reported due to burns from the fire.

9. Feb 2, 2011Frost/Freeze, Upper Santa Cruz River And Altar Valleys$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Upper Santa Cruz River Vally experienced numerous issues with broken water pipes as temperatures dipped into the upper single digits to mid teens. Robert Bracker Elementary School in Nogales was canceled due to broken pipes. An underground water line ruptured in the Monte Carlo neighborhood, where the road had to be dug up to replace the line. Also, an air release valve on a 16 inch pipeline that feeds the city water system from the Santa Cruz River burst, blasting water into the air. The Nogales Fire Department also responded to a two car collision caused by icy roads on Target Range Road. Four people were involved and two were injured and taken to the Holy Cross Hospital.…

10. Apr 3, 2023Wildfire, Upper San Pedro River Valley$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The human caused Williams Fire started on April 3 in the Hereford area in Cochise County. The wildfire was driven by wind gusts of 45 mph, spread northeast in dry grass, and destroyed two residences and three outbuildings near the intersection of Williams and Waters Rds. The fire caused evacuations of several residences and the closure of State Route 92. A total of 1320 acres were burned. Forward progression was stopped on April 4. Fire suppression costs tallied $90,000.

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

112°FJun 26, 1990

All-time low

−4°FDec 8, 1978

Warmest night

80°F3 times, most recently Jun 27, 1994

Coldest day

33°FFeb 4, 2011

Wettest day

3.75 inOct 9, 1977

Snowiest day

7.0 inDec 25, 1987

Hottest year

2025mean 64.5°F

Coldest year

1964mean 58.4°F

Wettest year

198331.84 in

Driest year

20117.95 in

Station Nogales 6 N (USC00025924), 3,461 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1952 to October 22, 2026; 92.9% 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 USC00025924.
• 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.