Navajo County, Arizona severe weather history spans 340 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is flash flood, accounting for 33.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,555 nationally and #9 in Arizona.
340
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$157K
Property damage
The record
What the Navajo County, Arizona severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Navajo County, Arizona severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 17 events fall before 1990 and 323 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Navajo County, Arizona record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $75K 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 Navajo County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | 113 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Hail | 58 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1955–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 53 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 32 | 0 | $7K | 65 | 1962–2025 |
| Flood | 28 | 1 | $1K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 23 | 0 | $13K | F0 | 1960–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 22 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Wildfire | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Lightning | 5 | 2 | $60K | 0 | 2004–2013 |
Decade by decade
Navajo County, Arizona severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-10-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-07-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-09-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-06-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-07-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-07-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-09-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-10-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Navajo County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2009 | Lightning | CLAY SPGS | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Mar 22, 2023 | Flood | ZENIFF | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2013 | Lightning | SHOW LOW | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 13, 2004 | Lightning | SHOW LOW | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Highway 377 between Heber and Holbrook was closed due to flooding at mile post 13 around 900 AM on March 22. Seymour's Crossing was flooded the night of March 22. A vehicle was swept downstream for about an hour. The occupants were able to reach the bank but, were separated. The woman's body was found the next day.
Four motorcyclist stopped on the shoulder of a roadway because of the heavy rain. One of them hid in a near by culvert. While stopped, lightning hit the ground near the three cyclists knocking them on the ground. All three were air lifted to hospitals. The woman had badly burned feet. One man was very disoriented. The third man was unconscious. The current had entered his feet and exited his head in three places. He died two days later in the hospital.
Flash flooding was reported along Indian Reservation Route 60 just northwest of Dilkon. Strong thunderstorms with heavy rain 5 miles northeast of Dilkon, produced heavy runoff in Dilkon. Several washes and drainage ditches flooded sending up to 5 foot deep water through the Navajo Tribal Utilities Administration office and maintenance yard and flooding route 60. About 100 feet of chain link fence was destroyed and several vehicles suffered water damage. Twelve 30 foot long telephone poles that were stored in the maintenance yard were carried across the yard and into the fence.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
108,415
Population (ACS)
$202K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 13, 2021 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Jan 24, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 7, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Navajo County, Arizona?
340 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $157K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Navajo County?
Flash Flood, with 113 recorded events — 33.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Navajo County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Navajo County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Navajo County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Navajo County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Navajo County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Navajo 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
- Mohave County 1,138
- Pima County 1,714
- Maricopa County 2,748
- Pinal County 740
- La Paz County 252
- Greenlee County 55
Cite this page
“Navajo County, Arizona.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arizona/navajo-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.