Mohave County, Arizona severe weather history spans 1,138 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 57.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #92 nationally and #3 in Arizona.
1,138
Recorded events
8
Direct deaths
148
Direct injuries
$34.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Mohave County, Arizona severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Mohave County, Arizona severe weather history averages 17.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 523 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 1,100 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Mohave County, Arizona record is flash flood, responsible for 8 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $15.2M 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 Mohave County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 656 | 8 | $15.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 285 | 0 | $13.0M | 88 | 1961–2025 |
| Hail | 87 | 0 | $12K | 1.75 | 1972–2025 |
| Flood | 41 | 0 | $5.1M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Lightning | 29 | 0 | $717K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $573K | F1 | 1972–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $207K | 0 | 2002–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2016 |
| Debris Flow | 3 | 0 | $9K | 0 | 2021–2022 |
| Dust Devil | 2 | 0 | $101K | 0 | 2011–2022 |
Decade by decade
Mohave County, Arizona severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-04-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-11-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-08-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-03-14 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-08-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-08-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-09-18 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-08-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-07-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Mohave County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2007 | Flash Flood | (IGM)MOJAVE CO ARPT | 2 | 0 | $20K |
| Aug 9, 1997 | Flash Flood | KINGMAN | 1 | 4 | $100K |
| Aug 4, 2022 | Flash Flood | KINGMAN ARPT | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Jul 31, 2022 | Flash Flood | SANTA CLAUS | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Oct 4, 2018 | Flash Flood | MC CONNICO | 1 | 0 | $25K |
| Sep 14, 2015 | Flash Flood | COLORADO CITY ARPT | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Jul 14, 2012 | Flash Flood | (LHU)LAKE HAVASU CIT | 1 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Aug 9, 1997 | Flash Flood | KINGMAN | 0 | 116 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Major flash flooding affected Lake Havasu City. One man drowned when a car was swept down a wash, and there were nine swift water rescues involving a total of 11 people. Rotary Park was filled with mud, and nearby sidewalks were undermined. A few homes flooded, and one roof collapsed from the rain.
Extremely heavy rain in the mountains above Hildale, UT resulted in major flash flooding on Short Creek in and downstream of Colorado City, AZ, as well as in other washes on the Arizona Strip. Several streets in Colorado Cit were flooded and impassable, and bridges were damaged. One man died on the back roads of the Arizona Strip when flood waters swept away his car.
The Beaver Dam Wash flooded the community of Beaver Dam. Six homes were washed away, 12 more were damaged, two mobile homes and a garage were destroyed, and a 300-400 foot stretch of Clark Gable Drive was washed out. The water flowed into the Virgin River, which then flooded Littlefield, damaging a sewer lift station.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
220,517
Population (ACS)
$281K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Aug 9, 2015 | Fire | WILLOW FIRE | FM |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Fire | DEAN PEAK FIRE | FM |
| Mar 18, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 12, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Dolan Spgs 288
- Kingman 179
- Golden Valley 170
- Wikieup 156
- Colorado City 155
- Meadview 122
- Cone Spgs 113
- Topock 110
- Willow Beach 110
- Kingman Arpt 107
- Mohave Valley 101
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Mohave County, Arizona?
1,138 events are on record between 1961 and 2025, causing 8 direct deaths and $34.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Mohave County?
Flash Flood, with 656 recorded events — 57.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Mohave County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Mohave County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Mohave County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Mohave County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mohave County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Mohave 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
- Maricopa County 2,748
- Navajo County 340
- La Paz County 252
- Greenlee County 55
- Pima County 1,714
- Graham County 180
Cite this page
“Mohave County, Arizona.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arizona/mohave-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.