Cochise County, Arizona severe weather history spans 612 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 35.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #556 nationally and #7 in Arizona.
612
Recorded events
16
Direct deaths
27
Direct injuries
$12.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Cochise County, Arizona severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cochise County, Arizona severe weather history averages 8.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 206 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 570 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cochise County, Arizona record is flash flood, responsible for 13 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $4.8M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Cochise County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 220 | 13 | $4.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 200 | 0 | $4.5M | 87 | 1959–2025 |
| Hail | 125 | 0 | $105K | 2 | 1971–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $350K | F1 | 1956–2024 |
| Lightning | 15 | 3 | $249K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $2.4M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $226K | 0 | 2012–2026 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Dust Devil | 3 | 0 | $7K | 0 | 2017–2020 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2012–2012 |
Decade by decade
Cochise County, Arizona severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-09-23 | EF1 | 0 | 5 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-16 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-08-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-09-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-08-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-11-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-08-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cochise County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1997 | Flash Flood | DOUGLAS | 6 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2006 | Flash Flood | WILLCOX | 2 | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 26, 2003 | Flash Flood | SIERRA VISTA | 1 | 1 | $80K |
| Sep 13, 2025 | Flash Flood | BENSON | 1 | 0 | $2K |
| Aug 15, 2018 | Flash Flood | DRAGOON | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Sep 19, 2015 | Flash Flood | LEWIS SPGS | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 30, 2015 | Lightning | BENSON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2007 | Flash Flood | LEWIS SPGS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall near the Town of Cascabel and along Cascabel Road caused several locations of the road to be flooded and impassable. At 19:40 MST (7:40 pm MST) a 1997 Ford flatbed pick-up truck, driving on Cascabel Road near the town of Cascabel (at mile post 23), en route to the Town of St. David encountered flood waters that were deep and moving rapidly across the street. The vehicle become stuck in the flood water and the two passengers in the vehicle were swept out of the truck and downstream. Both passengers perished.
Heavy rain of 1.5 to 2 inches fell over a two hour period over and just east of the 2017 Lizard Fire Burn Scar. A motorist drown when his car became stuck in flood waters on Cochise Stronghold Road a mile south of Dragoon Road.
Two individuals attempted to cross a flooded wash and got swept away. Swift water rescues occurred with one person rescued and one fatality. An estimate of 0.75 to 1.0 inches of rainfall according to MRMS. This flash flooding closed Ocotillo Road from 9 PM on the 12th to roughly 6 AM on the 13th of September.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
125,566
Population (ACS)
$218K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 11, 2017 | Fire | LIZARD FIRE | FM |
| Jun 12, 2011 | Fire | MONUMENT FIRE | FM |
| May 9, 2011 | Fire | HORSESHOE TWO FIRE | FM |
| May 18, 2009 | Fire | MULE PASS FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cochise County, Arizona?
612 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 16 direct deaths and $12.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cochise County?
Flash Flood, with 220 recorded events — 35.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cochise County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cochise County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cochise County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cochise County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cochise County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 93 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cochise County, Arizona severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Apache County 234
- Coconino County 781
- Gila County 535
- Graham County 180
- Greenlee County 55
- La Paz County 252
Cite this page
“Cochise County, Arizona.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arizona/cochise-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.