Salt Lake County, Utah severe weather history spans 507 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 60.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #849 nationally and #2 in Utah.
507
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
106
Direct injuries
$214.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Salt Lake County, Utah severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Salt Lake County, Utah severe weather history averages 7.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 158 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 87 events fall before 1990 and 420 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Salt Lake County, Utah record is lightning, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $170.2M 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 Salt Lake County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 306 | 0 | $5.0M | 83 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 117 | 0 | $5.5M | 1.75 | 1958–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $28.7M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 14 | 1 | $170.2M | F2 | 1965–2001 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Lightning | 11 | 4 | $351K | 0 | 1997–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2019–2023 |
Decade by decade
Salt Lake County, Utah severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-08-11 | EF2 | 1 | 80 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-02-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-01-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-03-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-07-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-08-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-08-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-09-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-11-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Salt Lake County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2002 | Lightning | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 1999 | Tornado | SALT LAKE CITY | 1 | 80 | $170.0M |
| May 24, 2000 | Lightning | MIDVALE | 1 | 6 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 1998 | Lightning | DRAPER | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | (SLC)SALT LAKE CITY | 0 | 8 | $50K |
| Aug 8, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | GARFIELD | 0 | 2 | $5K |
| Jul 26, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | SALT LAKE CITY | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| Apr 13, 2023 | Debris Flow | SUGAR HOUSE | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
One 28-year-old male and one 23-year-old female, a husband and wife, were struck and killed by lightning near the summit of Lone Peak in the Wasatch Mountain Range just southeast of Salt Lake City. The experienced climbers saw the storm coming and were moving toward a more sheltered location when they were struck. A third climber was stunned but not injured, and climbed down for help.
Around lunch time, a tornado touched down in the southwest portions of Salt Lake City. The tornado intensified to an F2 on the Fujita scale, and moved northeast through the metropolitan area of Salt Lake City. It caused widespread damage at the Delta Center, then ripped across an outdoor retailers convention tent, where the lone fatality occurred along with many of the injuries. After blowing out many windows in the Wyndam Hotel, the tornado continued its northeast track, knocking down scaffolding and shearing off a crane at the LDS Assembly Hall construction site. Next it skirted the Capitol Building, ripping out several large trees there and in historic Memory Grove. It then moved into the residential area known as The Avenues, damaging hundreds of trees and ripping the roofs off of several homes, before finally lifting back into the clouds. All told, there was 1 fatality, 80 injured, 300 buildings and homes sustained damage, with 34 homes deemed uninhabitable. At least 500 trees were totally destroyed, with 300 more damaged. Many vehicles were damaged or totalled as well.
Late on August 3, the city of Draper declared a state of emergency as flash flooding and mudslides led to road closures on Highland Drive, Bangerter Parkway, and Minuteman Drive. A portion of Bangerter Parkway, near 14200 South, was damaged on the uphill lanes. A number of homes sustained water damage. According to the City of Draper, there were 428 residential damage report forms submitted, with estimated damages of $11,255,765. There were 11 business damage report forms submitted, with estimated damages of $844,235. City infrastructure estimated damage totaled $4,000,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,196,523
Population (ACS)
$526K
Median home value
12
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2021 | Fire | PARLEYS CANYON FIRE | FM |
| Jan 12, 2021 | Severe Storm | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 9, 2020 | Earthquake | EARTHQUAKE AND AFTERSHOCKS | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 29, 2012 | Fire | ROSE CREST FIRE | FM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Salt Lake County, Utah?
507 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $214.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Salt Lake County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 306 recorded events — 60.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Salt Lake County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Salt Lake County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Salt Lake County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Salt Lake County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Salt Lake County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Salt Lake County, Utah 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
Cite this page
“Salt Lake County, Utah.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/utah/salt-lake-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.