79
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$649K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Santa Cruz County, Arizona: 79 recorded events between 1985 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 80. That places the county #2,471 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Santa Cruz County, Arizona: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Santa Cruz County is the 2010s, when 25 of the county's 79 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 Santa Cruz County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 36.1% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,471 for this hazard and #11 within Arizona, putting it in the 21.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Santa Cruz County with 38 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 2025 | PATAGONIA | 72 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2024 | (OLS) NOGALES INTL ARPT | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 2024 | MADERA CANYON | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | (OLS) NOGALES INTL ARPT | 65 | $10K |
| Jul 22, 2024 | (OLS) NOGALES INTL ARPT | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 2024 | PATAGONIA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | MADERA CANYON | 68 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | CANELO | 61 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2023 | MADERA CANYON | 51 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2023 | PATAGONIA | 52 | $1K |
Other hazards here
More from Santa Cruz County
- Flash Flood 83
- Hail 40
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm microburst produced damaging winds in Rio Rico. A portion of a home's roof was blown off, and brought down a power line as it landed in Rio Rico Drive. Thunderstorm winds also blew down several dying trees between the Santa Cruz River bridge and the railroad tracks, and blew down a cyprus tree onto the roof of a home on East Rio Rico Drive. Winds were measured on a neighbor's anemometer at 75 mph.
A line of thunderstorms produced damaging winds that downed several trees in Amado. One of the trees downed a power line that caused a power outage to 200 customers for two hours. Winds also ripped a gate from its hinges at one residence. Additionally, a wind gust to 78 mph was recorded at the Hopkins RAWS station at 7100 feet MSL.
Severe thunderstorm winds impacted much of Santa Cruz County. Law enforcement reported a tree was downed by the winds near the intersection of State Highway 82 and Duquesne Road. A trained spotter measured a wind gust of 60 mph near Rio Rico, and another trained spotter measured a wind gust of 58 mph at Nogales.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Santa Cruz County, Arizona?
79 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Santa Cruz County between 1985 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Santa Cruz County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Santa Cruz County measured 80.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Santa Cruz 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Santa Cruz County, Arizona.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/arizona/santa-cruz-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.