Gila County, Arizona severe weather history spans 535 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 43.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #767 nationally and #8 in Arizona.
535
Recorded events
28
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$79.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Gila County, Arizona severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Gila County, Arizona severe weather history averages 7.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 162 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 21 events fall before 1990 and 514 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Gila County, Arizona record is flash flood, responsible for 15 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $78.1M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Gila County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 231 | 15 | $78.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 91 | 6 | $562K | 87 | 1961–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 88 | 0 | $25K | 2.3 | 1998–2025 |
| Hail | 74 | 0 | $21K | 3 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 22 | 6 | $346K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 9 | 1 | $127K | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Wildfire | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $25K | F1 | 1966–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 3 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2020–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2018 |
| Dust Devil | 3 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
Decade by decade
Gila County, Arizona severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 9 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Gila County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 2017 | Flash Flood | WASHINGTON PARK | 10 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 6 | 0 | $0 | |
| Sep 27, 2025 | Flash Flood | PINAL | 3 | 0 | $25.0M |
| Nov 29, 2019 | Flood | PUNKIN CENTER | 3 | 0 | $50K |
| Mar 21, 2023 | Flood | WHISPERING PINES | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 12, 2000 | Lightning | PAYSON | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2019 | Flash Flood | RADIUM | 1 | 1 | $20K |
| Feb 22, 2020 | Flash Flood | ROOSEVELT GRPVN ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Very heavy rain over the Highland Fire scar and surrounding areas produced flash flooding in Ellison Creek which flows into the East Verde River. This is a very popular swimming area during the summer. Ten people were killed by the flooding (ages 2 to 57). Four people were rescued by helicopter after they were trapped in trees.
A powerful Pacific low pressure system moving slowly east across Arizona interacted with deep moisture to produce widespread moderate to heavy rain across the higher terrain areas to the north and east of Phoenix during the morning hours on November 29th. Initially the heavy rain led to flash flooding and caused area washes and creeks to flow heavily. Water rose above action stage in Tonto Creek by mid morning, and continued to rise into the afternoon hours. According to local law enforcement, at about 1600MST a large vehicle drove around barriers and attempted to cross flooded Tonto Creek about 3 miles to the southeast of Punkin Center. The vehicle contained at least 2 adults and 7 children. The vehicle was swept away by rapidly flowing flood waters; the 2 adults were rescued along with 4 of the children. However, 3 of the children did not survive. 2 were rescued rather quickly but the third, a 6 year old girl, was not found until at least 2 weeks later after extensive search and rescue efforts. An Areal Flood Warning was in effect at the time the vehicle was swept away.
Tonto Creek near Roosevelt started to rise from a level of 3.7 feet (630 CFS) at around 1100 AM on March 21. The flooding started earlier upstream. The first peak flow of 12.2 feet (23,300 CFS) was at 800 PM on March 21. A second peak of 12.5 feet (25,500 CFS) was observed at 800 AM on March 22. The gauge dropped back down to action level at (4.35 feet) on March 25 at 800 AM. An elderly couple and their dog were killed in the Bear Flat area when they cross the flooded Tonto Creek in their truck.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
53,795
Population (ACS)
$269K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2021 | Fire | TELEGRAPH FIRE | FM |
| Aug 26, 2020 | Fire | GRIFFIN FIRE | FM |
| Jun 20, 2020 | Fire | BUSH FIRE | FM |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 18, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Globe 184
- Miami 113
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Gila County, Arizona?
535 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 28 direct deaths and $79.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Gila County?
Flash Flood, with 231 recorded events — 43.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Gila County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Gila County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Gila County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Gila County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gila County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 90 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Gila 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
- Coconino County 781
- Graham County 180
- Cochise County 612
- Greenlee County 55
- La Paz County 252
- Apache County 234
Cite this page
“Gila County, Arizona.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arizona/gila-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.