Nye County, Nevada severe weather history spans 245 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,137 nationally and #4 in Nevada.
245
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$4.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Nye County, Nevada severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nye County, Nevada severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 107 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 14 events fall before 1990 and 231 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Nye County, Nevada record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $4.1M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Nye County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 146 | 0 | $285K | 86 | 1959–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 68 | 0 | $4.1M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Lightning | 9 | 1 | $87K | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Hail | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1.5 | 1988–2016 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $0 | F0 | 1987–2019 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $501K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2018–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Nye County, Nevada severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
6 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-09-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-08-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-07-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-08-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Nye County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2006 | Lightning | TONOPAH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 6, 2025 | Flash Flood | PAHRUMP | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 16 year old boy was struck and killed by lightning when he and his dad got out of their pickup truck to check the tires. His father was thrown to the ground when the lightning struck. The father was taken to the hospital for treatment and released. The boy's mother and sister stayed in the truck and were unharmed.
SR-376 was washed out at mile marker 62 north of the city of Cavers, NV. Anywhere from 1-4 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Hilary fell across Nye County. Quima Peak Raws, located just 35 miles south of the washout, measured 3.96 inches of rain from the event. SR-376 from Cavers to US-50 has been closed as a result and remains closed indefinitely.
Flash flooding was observed in and around the town of Pahrump. Water was running over SR 160 from SR 372 to Dandelion. In the town of Pahrump, roads looked like rivers with a dumpster floating in the road blocking traffic. Mud was going through the Post Office and a trailer park. Basin Ave. and State Route 160 under one foot of water. Flooding extended half mile on Basin Ave. toward the west. Gas station, city park, and a shopping center parking lot were completely flooded.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
54,344
Population (ACS)
$291K
Median home value
5
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Feb 23, 2005 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Feb 17, 2005 | Snowstorm | RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nye County, Nevada?
245 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $4.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nye County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 146 recorded events — 59.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nye County?
6 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 6 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nye County?
5 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nye County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nye County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nye County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 78 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nye County, Nevada 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
- Mineral County 40
- Lyon County 102
- Pershing County 41
- Lincoln County 139
- Storey County 28
- Lander County 79
Cite this page
“Nye County, Nevada.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nevada/nye-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.