220
Recorded events
13
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$4.8M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Cochise County, Arizona: 220 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #35 nationally and #7 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Cochise County, Arizona: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Cochise County is the 2010s, when 71 of the county's 220 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cochise County archive, flash flood makes up 35.9% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #35 for this hazard and #7 within Arizona, putting it in the 98.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Cochise County with 98 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1997 | DOUGLAS | 0 | 6 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2006 | WILLCOX | 0 | 2 | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 26, 2003 | SIERRA VISTA | 0 | 1 | 1 | $80K |
| Sep 13, 2025 | BENSON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $2K |
| Aug 15, 2018 | DRAGOON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Sep 19, 2015 | LEWIS SPGS | 0 | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Sep 7, 2007 | LEWIS SPGS | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 2021 | POMERENE | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2025 | BOWIE | 0 | $2K |
| Sep 25, 2025 | GLEESON | 0 | $30K |
| Sep 13, 2025 | SAN SIMON | 0 | $2K |
| Sep 13, 2025 | BENSON | 0 | $2K |
| Sep 1, 2025 | SAN SIMON | 0 | $2K |
| Sep 1, 2025 | SAN SIMON | 0 | $2K |
| Aug 10, 2025 | TOMBSTONE | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 1, 2025 | ST DAVID | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2025 | (DUG)BISBEE DOUGLAS | 0 | $500 |
| Jul 23, 2025 | (DUG)BISBEE DOUGLAS | 0 | $500 |
Other hazards here
More from Cochise County
- Thunderstorm Wind 200
- Hail 125
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Cochise County, Arizona?
220 flash flood events are recorded in Cochise County between 1996 and 2025, causing 13 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Cochise County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Cochise County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Cochise County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Cochise County, Arizona.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arizona/cochise-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.