Yavapai County, Arizona

What hazards hit Yavapai County most?

The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 359 since 1996. 73% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in July and August. The rank column places the county among Arizona's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Yavapai County had?

NOAA records 29 tornadoes in Yavapai County from 1952 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 3rd of 15 Arizona counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 29 tornadoes whose track touched Yavapai County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 29, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Arizona.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Yavapai County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the November 18, 2025 flash flood (1 death).

Law enforcement reported a car with 2 men trapped in floodwaters in Big Bug Creek at Cordes Lakes. One man was rescued while the other was swept away. The vehicle was later found lodged against a tree about 2 miles from the point of entry into the water. The second occupant was found deceased two days later at the confluence of Big Bug Creek with the Agua Fria River, about 6 miles from where he and his vehicle were last seen.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1296586)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Yavapai County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

73% of its floods and flash floods since 1996 fell in July and August. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Yavapai County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Yavapai County: 10 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 13 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (13) and flood (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Yavapai County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 359 flood or flash flood records for Yavapai County from 1996 to 2026, on 223 days, with 6 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Yavapai County ranks 531st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.3 million on 470 claims filed in Yavapai County; the most in one year was 80 in 1993. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Yavapai County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yavapai County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $108 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Yavapai County

1. Maricopa County 4,461
2. Coconino County 1,792
3. Mohave County 1,526
4. Yavapai County 1,160
5. Gila County 780
6. La Paz County 430

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in ArizonaEvery Arizona tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Floods in ArizonaThe state's floods and flash floods, by county, year and month
• The Arizona recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Yavapai CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Yavapai County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis