Churchill County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Churchill 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 NV NBMG (12), 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. Dec 25, 2008Strong Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts to 82 knots (94 mph) were recorded on the summit of Virginia Peak (elev. 8299 ft), the location of the NWS Reno WSR-88D weather radar which was damaged by strong winds on December 19th. The wind gusted to 94 mph during a one-and-a-half-hour period from approximately 215 am PST to 330 am PST Christmas morning. These strong winds further damaged the radome and the now-exposed radar transmitter. Most of the fiberglass radome was torn from the radar pedestal and fell to the ground. Exposed to the force of the wind, the radar transmitter was damaged beyond repair.

2. Jan 21, 2002High Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several reports of high wind all day in the Silver Springs area. A spotter reported estimated winds gusting between 60 and 70 mph. Several homes lost roof shingles and other minor damage estimated at 10,000. The newspaper reported that considerable damage was done to the new Silver Springs High School that is under construction. The high winds blew down several sections of wall at an estimated $250,000 in damage. No injuries were reported.

3. Nov 7, 2002High Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong wind gusts estimated at 70 mph caused near zero visibility from blowing dust on U.S Highway 95 Alternate just south of Silver Springs in Lyon County. An 11 vehicle pile-up, including one semi-trailer rig , resulted from the reduced visibility. One person was killed in the accident and five others were injured.

4. Dec 14, 2002High Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$180,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front moving through northern California on December 14 brought near-record nigh winds to northeast California and western Nevada. Wind gusts reports in the 60-80 mph range were common throughout the day across the entire region, with a few gusts near 100 mph. Remote wind sensors along the Sierra Crest measured wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. Strongest winds occurred just before the cold front moved into the area at about 5:30 p.m. Literally hundreds of trees and thousands of tree limbs were blown down across the region. In addition, there was widespread damage to roofs, fences, commercial billboards and signs, and power lines. Numerous power outages occurred, some…

5. Dec 14, 2002High Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$180,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front moving through northern California on December 14 brought near-record nigh winds to northeast California and western Nevada. Wind gusts reports in the 60-80 mph range were common throughout the day across the entire region, with a few gusts near 100 mph. Remote wind sensors along the Sierra Crest measured wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. Strongest winds occurred just before the cold front moved into the area at about 5:30 p.m. Literally hundreds of trees and thousands of tree limbs were blown down across the region. In addition, there was widespread damage to roofs, fences, commercial billboards and signs, and power lines. Numerous power outages occurred, some…

6. Dec 12, 1996Flood, Western Nevada Basin And Range$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Truckee Canal that failed in Fernley caused damage to homes and county roads.

7. Dec 19, 2008Strong Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong synoptic-scale winds moving across the Sierra Nevada spread into western Nevada the evening of December 18th. The strongest wind gusts occurred after midnight and through the morning hours of the 19th. From approximately 230 am PST and 245 am PST wind gusts to 123 knots (142 mph) were recorded at the summit of Virginia Peak (elev. 8299 ft). The NWS Reno WSR-88D weather radar sits atop Virginia Peak. The radome (which protects the radar transmitter from the elements) was buckled inward by the strong wind gusts. This caused the radar transmitter to stop rotating, thus shutting down the radar.

8. Feb 18, 1999High Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds in Dayton and Stagecoach caused damage to large signs, knocked down trees and blew roofs off of structures. A historic barn built in the 1860's collapsed under the fierce windstorm. Highest wind speed recorded in the immediate area was 69 mph at Stagecoach.

9. Nov 20, 2009Dust Storm, Western Nevada Basin And Range$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Nevada Highway Patrol reported that, at 1218PST, near zero visibility caused a large accident on westbound Interstate 80 about 20 miles east of Fernley. The accident involved 4 tractor trailer rigs, 3 pickups, and an SUV and caused one fatality along with 7 injuries. Elsewhere, there were numerous trees and power lines down as well as major damage to one house in Fernley (due to fallen tree).||Here are some high wind gusts which contributed to the dust storm: Pyramid Lake Fisheries with 60 mph at 1045PST, Silver Springs AWOS with 70 mph at 1315PST, and the Fallon ASOS with 59 mph at 1344PST.

10. Jun 4, 2012High Wind, Western Nevada Basin And Range$35,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Silver Springs AWOS and Stagecoach NDOT site indicated winds sustained between 40 and 55 mph with gusts 66 to 69 mph on the afternoon of the 4th. Dead Camel RAWS (18 miles SW of Fallon) had winds sustained up to 42 mph with gusts to 60 mph. Several trees were down on roads with a total of 16-20 trees downed around Fernley. Also, some fences were downed and power out along with visibility down to 1/2 mile in Fernley.

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

108°F2 times, most recently Jul 23, 2003

All-time low

−27°FFeb 6, 1989

Warmest night

73°F2 times, most recently Jul 20, 2026

Coldest day

6°F2 times, most recently Dec 22, 1990

Wettest day

1.69 in2 times, most recently May 28, 1913

Snowiest day

10.5 inFeb 3, 1989

Hottest year

2024mean 55.3°F

Coldest year

1949mean 48.3°F

Wettest year

20159.24 in

Driest year

20201.21 in

Snowiest season

26.6 in1988-89

Station Fallon Experiment Station (USC00262780), 3,965 ft elevation, 1.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1903 to September 30, 2026; 90.5% 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 USC00262780.
• 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.