The U.S. state of Arizona experiences four tornadoes on average each year. Tornadoes in Arizona are usually weak, F0 to F1 range; EF0 and EF1 Enhanced Fujita scale range. However, Arizona exceptionally experiences rare significant events. Including an F2 tornado in Pima that killed two people in 1964, and another deadly tornado event in Pima in 1974 that killed a man; this tornado was rated F1, though meteorologist Thomas P. Grazulis believes it is F2. Arizona has experienced five (E)F3 tornadoes through out the years, and during October 6, 2010. A tornado outbreak produced two EF3 rated tornadoes and five other tornadoes. There have been over 200 tornadoes that were reported in Arizona and there are over 120 injuries related to tornadoes in the state.
Each year on average, four tornadoes touch down in Arizona. However, the state's most prolific year was in 1972 and 2010, when the state experienced 18 tornadoes. Tornadoes in Arizona are also more likely to happen during monsoon season, which is usually July, August or September, but tornadoes can still happen in any month in Arizona. Due to the many rural areas of Arizona, its possible that unreported tornadoes have appeared. The most likely tornado to happen in Arizona are non-supercell tornadoes, which is typically a landspout.[1][2]
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.
July 25, 1956 – Two tornadoes struck Maricopa County, the first being an unrated tornado causing $0.25 in property damage. The second being an F0 near Phoenix.[9][10]
August 29 , 1957 – An F0 tornado struck Maricopa County; filling station lost its roof and homes we're damaged.[15]
March 11, 1958 – An F0 tornado struck Maricopa County, the twister caused $25.000 in damage.[16]
March 12, 1958 – An F2 tornado damaged 18 homes North West of Tucson in Pima County; some lost their roofs. The tornado was described as an "inverted cone" with "all kinds of debris, sheet and garbage roaring outside".[17]
July 22, 1961 – An F1 tornado struck Maricopa County leaving $25k in damage.
July 27, 1961 – An F1 tornado struck Pima County, injuring one person. The tornado caused at least $250K in damage.[25]
September 8, 1961 – An F1 tornado struck Maricopa County injuring two people. The tornado caused at least $250.00K in damage.[26]
July 26, 1962 – An F0 tornado struck Yavapai County.[27]
October 17, 1962 – Two unrated tornadoes struck the state. The first was in Navajo County. The second was in Apache County.[28][29]
July 10, 1963 – An unrated tornado struck Cochise County.
August 27, 1964 – A short lived and small F2 tornado struck the San Xavier Mission in Pima County damaging an Indian village and destroyed homes, a mother and her baby were killed when they were crushed by debris, and nine people were injured. This was the first deadly tornado in Arizona.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]The tornado that killed two people in San Xavier.
July 4, 1968 – An F2 tornado struck Maricopa County injuring two people. The tornado caused at least $25.00K in damage.[50]
July 20, 1968 – Two tornadoes touched down across the state, the first was an unrated tornado struck Coconino County. The second was an F1 which injured 3 people in Maricopa County.[51]
October 3, 1968 – An F2 tornado struck Maricopa County. Injuring three people and leaving $250.00K in damage.[52]
August 1, 1969 – Two tornadoes touched down in the state, the first was a F1 that struck Maricopa County injuring 2 people. The second was a F0 that struck Pima County.[55][56]
August 16, 1969 – An F1 tornado struck Pima County. The tornado caused at least $250.00K in damage.[57]
September 9, 1970 – An F1 tornado struck Maricopa County causing $25.00K in property damage.[60]
July 16, 1971 – An F1 tornado struck Cochise County, injuring 2 people. The tornado caused $25.00K in damage.[61]
July 17, 1971 – An F1 tornado struck Cochise County, causing at least $25.00K in damage.[62]
August 30, 1971 – An F2 tornado struck Tempe in Maricopa County damaging roofs, homes and trees. The tornado also destroyed 25 trailers. 41 people we're injured due to flying glass. The tornado caused at least $3.000M in damage.[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]
September 1, 1971 – Two F1 tornadoes touched down in the state. The first struck Pima County. The second struck Pinal County, this tornado caused $250.00K in damage.[72][73]
September 14, 1971 – An F2 tornado struck Maricopa County. The tornado caused $25.00K in damage.[74]
October 18, 1971 – An F1 tornado struck Maricopa County. The tornado caused $25.00K in damage.[75]
June 13, 1972 – An F0 struck Maricopa County. The tornado caused $25.00K in damage.[76]
June 21, 1972 – Seven tornadoes touched down across the state. The first tornado was an F1 that struck Pinal County injuring eight people and leaving $2.5M in damage. The second was an F0 that struck Pinal County. The third was an F1 that struck Pinal County injuring five people, the tornado damaged house trailers, trees, businesses and leaving $205k in damage. The fourth was an F0 that struck Pinal County. The fifth was an F0 that struck Maricopa County. The sixth tornado was an F3 that struck Eloy in Pinal County, injuring 18 people, including five that were hospitalized. The twister completely destroyed two homes and severely damaged other buildings. The seventh tornado was an F2 that struck Maricopa County injuring three people. The tornado damaged at least 100 homes and some mobile homes. This was the first damaging and significant tornado outbreak in Arizona.[77][78][79][80][81][82][83]
September 10, 1972 – An F1 tornado touched down in Maricopa County; three homes lost their roofs entirely and many more were damaged. A young girl was cut by flying glass and caused $2.500M in damage.[89] While the tornado is officially rated as an F1, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis rated the tornado as an F2.[90]
September 18, 1972 – Two tornadoes hit the state, the first was a F1 tornado that struck Mohave County, injuring one person and leaving $250.00K in damage. The second was a F1 that struck Yuma County leaving $25.00K in damage.[91][92]
August 2, 1973 – An F0 tornado struck near Prescott in Yavapai County, the tornado moved across a lake shortly becoming a waterspout and quickly dissipated after making landfall.[96]
June 23, 1974 – Two tornadoes touched down in the state, the first was an F1 that struck Tucson in Pima County. The tornado struck a trailer park destroying 19 mobile homes and damaging 33 more severely. A man was killed and 40 people were injured. While the tornado is officially rated as an F1, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis rated the tornado as an F2. The second tornado was an F0 that struck Tucson in Pima County.[97][98][99]
May 4, 1976 – There was a outbreak of three tornadoes and all three struck Maricopa County. The first was a F0 that struck Scottsdale, the tornado had a length of 2 miles (3.2km). Shortly after the tornado dissipated, an F1 tornado struck the desert in Mesa, the twister was covered in dust and quickly dissipated when it entered a citrus grove. Approximately 48 minutes later, an F0 tornado briefly touched down in Fountain Hills.[108][109][110]
August 12, 1976 – An F1 tornado struck Colorado City in Mohave County. The tornado unroofed a hay shelter and lifted a house under construction. The tornado caused approximately $2.5K in damage.[112]
May 1, 1980 – Two tornadoes struck the state. The first being a F1 that touched down in Yavapai County and taking a 7.7 miles (12.4km) path and then traveled into Coconino County and dissipated shortly after. Approximately 15 minutes later, another F1 tornado struck Coconino County.[120][121]
September 5, 1981 – An outbreak of three tornadoes hit Arizona. The first was a F1 that struck Pinal County, causing at least $250K in damage. Two minutes later, another F1 tornado struck Maricopa County, knocking down several power lines, damaging trees, houses and mobile homes. Leaving at least $250K in damage. Around 4 hours later, another F1 tornado struck Sun City West in Maricopa County. Leaving at least $250k in damage.[122][123][124]
August 12, 1982 – An F0 tornado struck Gila Bend in Maricopa County. The tornado caused slight damage to a building and dissipated shortly after.[125]
July 31, 1983 – A small and short lived F1 tornado struck Quartzsite in Yuma County; thousand pound chicken coop was destroyed. The tornado caused at least $2.5K in damage.[126]
August 6, 1983 – A short lived F1 tornado struck Colorado City near the Utah border.[127]
August 8, 1983 – A small F1 tornado struck Phoenix destroying a barn.[128]
August 16, 1983 – A violent thunderstorm produced a small F1 tornado in Phoenix. The tornado damaged powerlines which resulted in vehicles also being damaged in parking lots.[129]
December 27, 1983 – A violent thunderstorm produced a short lived F1 tornado. The tornado struck Colorado City near the Utah border. Houses sustained roof and glass damage, large trees were also damaged and power poles were knocked down.[127]
July 16, 1984 – Two F1 tornadoes struck Pima County. The first hit Tucson damaging three telephone poles. The second hit Tucson in the center of town.[130][131]
August 9, 1984 – A short lived F1 tornado touched down in Phoenix damaging several houses. The tornado caused at least $250K in damage.[133]
March 15, 1985 – An outbreak of three tornadoes touched down in Arizona and all three hit Pinal County. The first two were F0's that struck Pinal. The last tornado was a short lived F1 that struck Coolidge causing roof damage too a tavern and caused other damage.[134][135][136]
November 18, 1986 – Two tornadoes hit the state and in Pinal County. The first was an F0 that struck Eloy in a very rural area. The second was an F1 that caused damage to at least 60 mobile homes in Apache Junction; some were torn from their foundations. The tornado caused $250K in damage.[137][138]
August 29, 1987 – A short lived F0 tornado destroyed two sheds in Phoenix.[139]
September 22, 1987 – Two tornadoes hit Yuma County, the first being a short lived F0 near the California border. The second was an F1 that damaged a shed and nearby power poles and wheels were thrown against a fence. The tornado caused at least 2.5K in damage.[140][141]
July 20, 1988 – An F1 tornado caused roof damage to a storage building in Eloy.[142]
January 4, 1989 – An F0 struck Maricopa County causing some roof damage to homes. This was Arizona's first winter tornado.[143]
January 6, 1992 – A large pacific low pressure system spawned two tornadoes in Maricopa County. The first, being an F1; it touched down in Phoenix causing roof damage to a apartment complex. The second was a F0 that struck Mesa.[149][150]
February 13, 1992 – Three F0 tornadoes hit Maricopa County. The first hit Phoenix; roofs and fences were damaged; the tornado left $2.5K in damage. The second tornado hit Tempe. The third tornado hit Apache Junction damaging 15 mobiles homes, including four that were seriously damaged.[151][152][153]
May 23, 1992 – Two tornadoes struck Maricopa County. The first was a F0 in Scottsdale damaging a fence and a small shed. The second was a F1; a carnival was damaged; glass and a stores front door was damaged.[154][155]
July 6, 1992 – Thunderstorms developed in Pima County, which spawned a F1 tornado. 58 power poles were downed; a mobile home was lifted and thrown onto another car. One aircraft was damaged at Tucson International Airport. Many other buildings were damaged or destroyed. Narrative public lists one person was killed and six were injured. While National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists one person was injured. The tornado caused roughly $2.500M in damage.[156]
August 17, 1992 – A small F0 destroyed three mobile homes in Cochise County.[157]
October 24, 1992 – Three tornadoes struck the state Coconino County. The first was a F2 tornado that snapped or uprooted at least 700 pine trees in Flagstaff. The last two were F0's that struck Coconino County.[159][160][161]
January 17, 1993 – An F2 tornado struck Maricopa County; 18 houses were damaged, including four that had major damaged in Phoenix. The tornado caused at least $5M in damage which is the highest record for amount of property damage for a tornado in Arizona prior to 2010.[162]
January 18, 1993 – Two tornadoes hit Maricopa County, the first was an F1 tornado that was reported by a Sheriff's Office in open land. The second was a weak F0 that residents spotted moving north of Phoenix.[163]
February 8, 1993 – A weak F0 was first spotted by a sheriff's deputy in Maricopa County. Then residents in New River described the tornado "as similar to a freight train" as it made loud sounds, the tornado caused roof damage to one home; it also caused $5K in damage.[164]
August 5, 1993 – A sheriff's office reported roof damage on homes, this concluded a possible F0 tornado that struck Pinal County.[165]
August 24, 1993 – A short lived F0 tornado was observed by a storm chaser in Pinal County as it touched down and lifted several times, it was also carrying desert debris.[166]
August 29, 1993 – A short lived F0 touched down briefly over open land in Cochise County.[167]
February 8, 1994 – A strong winter storm moved across the state spawning an F0 that struck Maricopa County; it struck the small town of El Mirage causing roof damage and moved a pickup truck about six feet and damaged a metal shed.[168]
March 7, 1994 – Two weak F0's hit the state, the first was observed by a pilot; this was a weak F0 tornado that was spotted in foothill golfs course in Maricopa County; a large building had some roof damage. The tornado caused at least $5.000K in damage. The second struck Pima County briefly touching down while ripping some portions of a roof, trash cans and a trampoline were also lifted.[169][170]
April 26, 1994 – An F0 tornado was observed for 10 minutes in a rural area in Mohave County.[171]
July 28, 1994 – An F2 tornado struck northwest of Tucson in Pima County. The tornado unroofed a home and destroyed one roof from another house, two coolers were thrown into a backyard and two large trees were uprooted; cars were damaged; glass was shattered, and a brick all was flattened. The tornado caused $500K in damage.[172]
February 13, 1995 – A weak F1 tornado struck northeast of Phoenix in Maricopa County. The tornado damaged the General Motors Desert Proving Grounds facility; it had some roof damage and some cars were also damaged, including one that was lifted and moved several feet. The tornado caused $200,000 in damage.[173]
July 13, 1995 – A strong thunderstorm produced heavy rain in Mohave County, this also resulted in a weak F0 tornado in a rural area.[175]
July 14, 1995 – A flight service employee spotted a funnel cloud that briefly touched down in a rural area of Maricopa County; this tornado was rated as a F0.[176]
October 6, 2010– A strong low pressure system over California spawned 11 tornadoes in the state, this resulted in the largest tornado outbreak in Arizona. The first tornado struck Blue Ridge in Coconino County, the tornado took a track of 14.8 miles (23.8km) and lots of pine trees were either snapped or uprooted, this tornado gained an EF2 rating, this tornado was previously rated as an EF1. The second was an EF2 that struck Coconino County; it began in a heavily forested area south of Bellemont taking a track of 4.9 miles (4.9mi) causing damage in the forest, this resulted in two local roads being blocked. The third was a long-tracked EF2 taking a path of 26 miles (42km) east of Bellemont in Coconino County, this tornado destroyed around 30 or 40 RVs; some were tossed onto interstate 40; several power poles were also damaged. The tornado also struck the Flagstaff Meadows neighborhood. Over 100 homes were damaged, including 21 that were either heavily damaged or destroyed. Seven people were injured; these injuries were non-serious. The fourth was an EF3 that struck west of Bellemont taking a track of 30.06 miles (48.38km) causing severe forest damage; about 100% of trees were blew down. The tornado then crossed Bellemont derailing 28 train cars, it also crossed interstate 40 and flipping several semi-trucks and trailers, it then traveled through a forest and blew down thousands of trees. This tornado was previously rated as an EF2 but was recently upgraded as an EF3 due to the forest damage. This was Arizona's longest tracked tornado. The fifth was an EF2 that struck Garjon Tank in Coconino County causing heavy forest damage. The sixth was an EF1 that struck Chalender in Coconino County; several trees were damaged. The seventh was an EF1 that struck Rattlesnake Tank in Coconino County; several trees were either snapped or uprooted. This tornado was previously rated as an EF2 but downgraded to EF1 based on the tree damage. The Eighth was an EF0 that struck Bumble Bee in Yavapai County; it was spotted by several residents as it traveled through interstate 17. The Ninth was an EF3 in a very rural area of Tuba City in Coconino County. The tornado had a width of 1,100 yards (1,000m) and destroyed three 500 KV electrical towers; one was ripped from its anchoring. The NWS of flagstaff says "the winds may have been as high as 165 mph". The tenth was a weak EF0 that struck Munds Park in Coconino County causing minor damage. The eleventh was an EF0 that struck Flagstaff; residents from the Country Club Neighborhood spotted it. This was Arizona's costliest weather event on record.[1][177][178][179][180]The supercells that produced 11 tornadoes in the state.
