Garfield County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Garfield 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 UT GRC (1,813), 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. Jun 19, 2025Wildfire, Southern Mountains$35.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Forsyth Fire started on Thursday, June 19th, 2025. Initial reports from fire officials state the fire is suspected to have originated as a holdover from lightning in the Pine Valley Mountains. A long stretch of hot, dry, and windy conditions prevailed ahead of the fire's discovery on the 19th. A nearby RAWS station in Pine Valley (TT900) observed Red Flag conditions (wind gusts >25 mph and RH <15%) for about 16 hours from the afternoon of the 19th to the early morning hours on the 20th. A mandatory evacuation order for the Pine Valley community was issued at 9:21 PM on the 19th. Red Flag conditions redeveloped late morning on the 20th, with strong southwest winds eventually…

2. Oct 8, 2011Debris Flow, Southern Mountains$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A landslide occurred 8 miles east of Cedar City, along Utah State Route 14. The landslide occurred sometime before 5 a.m. on the morning of October 8th, when the slide was discovered and the road was closed by the Utah Department of Transportation. The landslide was 1,700 feet in length, and destroyed an 800 foot section of State Route 14. The dirt on the road was as much as 100 feet deep in some places, and it was estimated that the slide consisted of 1.5 million cubic yards of dirt, rock, and debris. This led to the closing of a 12-mile stretch of State Route 14, which is a widely used road in southern Utah, particularly for tourists trying to get to Cedar Breaks National…

3. Jul 1, 2017Wildfire, Southern Mountains$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Brianhead Fire started on June 17, when a man used a weed torch at his Brian Head area cabin, and the fire became out of control. The fire burned 71,672 acres, with most of the growth in the first two weeks of the fire. The Brianhead Fire destroyed 13 homes and 13 minor structures. A priority sage grouse habitat was also impacted east of the fire perimeter in the Panguitch watershed area. Costs associated with the fire were approximately $36.6 million, with rehabilitation efforts projected to cost double or triple that amount. At the height of the fire, approximately 1,831 personnel were fighting to contain the wildfire, and 1,562 people were evacuated from 11 communities in…

4. Jun 17, 2017Wildfire, Southern Mountains$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Brianhead Fire started on June 17, when a man used a weed torch at his Brian Head area cabin, and the fire became out of control. The fire burned 71,675 acres, with most of the growth in the first two weeks of the fire. The Brianhead Fire destroyed 13 homes and 13 minor structures. A priority sage grouse habitat was also impacted east of the fire perimeter in the Panguitch watershed area. Costs associated with the fire were approximately $36.6 million, with rehabilitation efforts projected to cost double or triple that amount. At the height of the fire, approximately 1,831 personnel were fighting to contain the wildfire, and 1,562 people were evacuated from 11 communities in…

5. Aug 23, 2003Flash Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The worst flash flooding in the town of Tropic in 40 years occurred as over 2 inches of rain fell over the area in 90 minutes, sending torrents of mud and water down the center of town and into houses and basements. The floods also tore large propane tanks loose and swept them away. About 30 structures sustained damage, most of them residential homes. No deaths or major injuries were reported.

6. Sep 10, 2013Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall fell over a wide area, resulting in flash flooding over most of the washes and drainages within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. There was also damage near the town of Escalante, as flood waters deposited rocks and mud on State Route 12, and some larger boulders also helped to damage the road.||Most local roads were closed for more than a day, and many of these roads sustained damage from flood waters, including significant damage to Hole-in-the-Rock Road. At least three culverts along Hole-in-the-Rock Road were damaged, and at least five culverts required extensive debris removal. By the end of September, road damage across all of Garfield County…

7. Sep 22, 2016Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Panguitch, producing an intermittent damage path|which included EF1 damage to a business in town and EF0 damage to several homes and numerous trees. The most significant damage occurred to a business located at 609 North Main Street, where the tornado took off the roof of a building. The tornado also caused significant damage to numerous vehicles in the area and knocked down multiple power lines, leaving much of the community without power. No injuries were reported across the area.

8. Mar 21, 2022High Wind, South Central Utah$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The roof of Water Canyon Elementary School in Hildale, UT was partially ripped off. The time and wind magnitude were estimated based on a media report and surrounding weather station data.

9. Jul 1, 2012Wildfire, Southern Mountains$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Shingle Fire began on July 1st, five miles east of Duck Creek, Utah and 4 miles south of State Route 14. The fire was caused by sparks from an ATV. In total, the Shingle Fire burned 8,061 acres before it was 100% contained on July 11th. Four firefighters were injured while fighting the blaze. The fire caused the evacuation of approximately 500 structures, and ultimately destroyed one residence and one non-residential building. In addition to these property damages, fire suppression costs totaled $7.1 million.

10. Aug 26, 1996Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorms brought heavy downpours to Garfield county as well. Flash flooding occurred on the Escalante River in several places. The bridge leading into the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park was damaged by flood waters. Logs and debris were washed across the road in Main Canyon. In the Alvey Wash drainage just south of Escalante, two women in a pick-up truck were nearly drowned. Their pick-up truck stalled on the bridge and they were forced to climb out of the vehicle. By-standers formed a human-chain and rescued the trapped women. Minutes later the pick-up was washed away. They found the vehicle a half-mile downstream filled with mud, a total loss.

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

95°FJul 10, 2021

All-time low

−32°FJan 13, 1963

Warmest night

61°F4 times, most recently Jul 17, 2022

Coldest day

4°FJan 12, 1963

Wettest day

2.32 inSep 21, 2022

Snowiest day

18.0 inFeb 12, 1978

Hottest year

2017mean 43.9°F

Coldest year

1949mean 37.8°F

Wettest year

197821.10 in

Driest year

20204.95 in

Station Bryce Canyon Airport (USW00023159), 7,578 ft elevation, 5.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 85.9% 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 USW00023159.
• 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.