Wayne County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (261), 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. Oct 6, 2006Flash Flood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   HWY 24 undercut and one lane washed out. Flooding in Grand Wash. Bus with 29 passengers washed off road...no injuries reported. A mobile home was washed into a flooded creek. 2.78 of rain reported at Capitol Reef NP. Damage estimate collected from media reports. Official estimate not available.

4. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant flash flood occurred in the town of Hanksville, with nearly every structure in town impacted by flooding. Floodwaters were reportedly as deep as 6 feet in places. Rainfall totals were 1.2 inches in Hanksville, and were as high as 1.7 inches in the Henry Mountains. In Capitol Reef National Park, 1.66 inches fell.

5. 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…

6. 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…

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

   Significant long duration rainfall caused widespread flooding across Wayne County. State Route 24 was closed in several locations over the two day period, including between Caineville and Hanksville, as well as near Capitol Reef National Park, where the road was eroded due to the overflowing Fremont River. In addition, State Route 95 was damaged by flood waters and closed near Hanksville. Damage also occurred at Fish Creek Cove, where the road was cut off; this left about a dozen homes inaccessible, some of which were primary residences.||In Capitol Reef National Park, all of the streams and slot canyons were running high; the Scenic Drive was closed for an extended period of…

8. 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.

9. Jun 23, 2022Flash Flood$110,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Capitol Reef National Park reported SR-24 was impassable near milepost 83 due to flood waters from grand wash. Scenic drive was also closed, and the parking lot at the Grand Wash trailhead flooded. The flooding stranded nearly 60 people, and trapped or washed away several vehicles. Numerous water rescues were conducted by Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter operations to bring people to safety.

10. Aug 23, 2003Flash Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe flash flooding occurred at Capitol Reef National Park, with water up to Silver Creek bridge. Highway 24 was reported under water with boulders rolling across the highway. Park visitors were being evacuated, and the Fremont river was 5 feet over flood stage.

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

97°FJun 16, 2021

All-time low

−17°FFeb 6, 1989

Warmest night

78°FJul 9, 2021

Coldest day

7°FJan 12, 1963

Wettest day

2.88 inOct 6, 2006

Snowiest day

20.0 inJan 22, 2010

Hottest year

2025mean 53.0°F

Coldest year

1975mean 46.7°F

Wettest year

195719.98 in

Driest year

20205.54 in

Snowiest season

157.0 in2009-10

Station Boulder (USC00420849), 6,650 ft elevation, 31.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1954 to October 5, 2026; 98.1% 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 USC00420849.
• 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.