National ranking · NOAA Storm Events

Deadliest U.S. states for severe weather

U.S. states and territories ranked by storm-related fatalities from NOAA-recorded severe weather, 2015–2025. Arizona has recorded the most.

Compiled by PlainHazard, Independent hazard-data publisher · August 25, 2026

Arizona
Most storm deaths: 2,810
Arizona fatalities: 10,622
Fatalities nationwide: 2015–2025
NOAA coverage

Arizona has recorded the most storm-related fatalities (2,810, 26% of the nationwide 10,622 from 2015–2025)

According to NOAA's Storm Events Database, PlainHazard ranks U.S. states and territories by storm-related fatalities for 2015–2025. Arizona leads the catalog; the top three states together account for 43% of all recorded storm deaths. Counts include direct and indirect fatalities attributed during NOAA damage surveys.

2,810 Arizona fatalities
26% of U.S. storm deaths
43% held by the top 3 states

How concentrated is the toll

Arizona accounts for 26% of all NOAA-recorded storm fatalities among the 56 states and territories in this ranking, and the top three states combined, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, account for 43%. NOAA's storm-related fatality count includes both direct deaths, such as drowning or debris strikes, and indirect deaths, such as heart attacks during cleanup, attributed during its damage-survey process.

26%
of nationwide storm fatalities are in Arizona alone: 43%
of fatalities concentrated in just the top 3 states: 56
states and territories covered in this ranking

A raw fatality count is not a per-capita risk measure; see 'What this ranking can't tell you' below.

Most Disasters Most Damage Deadliest Most Injuries Most Major

Top 12 states by NOAA storm fatalities

Each row links to the state profile, crawlable ranking, not an image-only chart

1

Arizona 2.8K fatalities
2

Texas 943 fatalities
3

Nevada 795 fatalities
4

California 690 fatalities
5

Florida 624 fatalities
6

North Carolina 301 fatalities
7

Oregon 294 fatalities
8

Kentucky 265 fatalities
9

Tennessee 228 fatalities
10

Missouri 197 fatalities
11

Wisconsin 196 fatalities
12

Louisiana 174 fatalities

Source NOAA Storm Events Database · 2026-08-25

The bar to make this top-12 list

Distribution of storm fatalities across all states and territories

174 Top 21% higher than 79% of 56 states

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NOAA Storm Events Database · 2026-08-25

The full ranking

Storm fatalities, injuries, and property damage by state, 2015–2025.

#	State	Fatalities	Share	Injuries	Storm Events	Property Damage
1	ArizonaAZ	2,810	26.5%	344	9,541	$361.6M
2	TexasTX	943	8.9%	3,680	53,309	$69.5B
3	NevadaNV	795	7.5%	160	4,534	$193.3M
4	CaliforniaCA	690	6.5%	1,394	23,694	$22.1B
5	FloridaFL	624	5.9%	656	12,838	$41.7B
6	North CarolinaNC	301	2.8%	240	16,367	$5.9B
7	OregonOR	294	2.8%	118	3,695	$4.0B
8	KentuckyKY	265	2.5%	960	19,947	$219.4M
9	TennesseeTN	228	2.1%	719	16,645	$2.6B
10	MissouriMO	197	1.9%	1,819	22,952	$2.9B
11	WisconsinWI	196	1.8%	431	13,807	$670.8M
12	LouisianaLA	174	1.6%	423	11,204	$37.4B
13	IllinoisIL	165	1.6%	495	22,088	$1.6B
14	Puerto RicoPR	163	1.5%	102	2,944	$19.1B
15	AlabamaAL	161	1.5%	533	14,583	$495.6M
16	New YorkNY	158	1.5%	168	21,653	$992.0M
17	PennsylvaniaPA	136	1.3%	514	19,427	$701.9M
18	GeorgiaGA	134	1.3%	614	16,676	$3.8B
19	HawaiiHI	134	1.3%	82	6,200	$5.7B
20	MississippiMS	130	1.2%	794	14,100	$1.0B
21	IndianaIN	127	1.2%	397	12,687	$312.4M
22	South CarolinaSC	127	1.2%	318	10,520	$912.7M
23	OklahomaOK	119	1.1%	1,299	23,896	$1.1B
24	ColoradoCO	105	1.0%	777	18,340	$5.5B
25	New JerseyNJ	100	0.9%	496	8,218	$304.9M
26	UtahUT	97	0.9%	227	4,578	$239.8M
27	WashingtonWA	96	0.9%	148	4,408	$3.3B
28	New MexicoNM	78	0.7%	350	10,974	$1.3B
29	MinnesotaMN	77	0.7%	230	19,109	$282.9M
30	MontanaMT	76	0.7%	122	13,576	$93.7M
31	MichiganMI	72	0.7%	187	9,052	$2.2B
32	OhioOH	71	0.7%	426	16,184	$966.5M
33	VirginiaVA	69	0.6%	242	23,584	$660.0M
34	South DakotaSD	67	0.6%	148	22,759	$262.5M
35	ArkansasAR	64	0.6%	603	13,637	$879.5M
36	West VirginiaWV	63	0.6%	47	12,026	$299.9M
37	IdahoID	62	0.6%	137	5,142	$458.6M
38	MarylandMD	61	0.6%	121	10,290	$258.6M
39	KansasKS	59	0.6%	269	25,115	$294.1M
40	IowaIA	57	0.5%	399	21,883	$922.0M
41	WyomingWY	39	0.4%	147	12,494	$90.7M
42	GuamGU	38	0.4%	320	258	$6.1B
43	AlaskaAK	33	0.3%	23	2,683	$147.2M
44	NebraskaNE	32	0.3%	192	20,136	$1.4B
45	VermontVT	22	0.2%	7	3,449	$228.0M
46	North DakotaND	21	0.2%	69	10,818	$329.7M
47	MassachusettsMA	17	0.2%	59	6,781	$84.1M
48	ConnecticutCT	16	0.2%	35	2,622	$81.2M
49	American SamoaAS	16	0.2%	7	292	$74.7M
50	MaineME	14	0.1%	67	4,781	$205.8M
51	New HampshireNH	13	0.1%	56	2,547	$91.2M
52	Rhode IslandRI	7	0.1%	13	924	$6.9M
53	DelawareDE	4	0.0%	143	1,475	$4.4M
54	District of ColumbiaDC	3	0.0%	11	452	$29.2M
55	U.S. Virgin IslandsVI	2	0.0%	0	88	$527.1K
56	Northern Mariana IslandsMP	0	0.0%	0	0	$0

What to do with this ranking

Arizona accounts for 26% of NOAA-recorded storm fatalities (2,810); the top three states hold 43% of the 10,622 catalog total.

Open Arizona's state profile for the hazard types behind that fatality total. Arizona profile
Compare injury totals on the companion ranking, fatalities and injuries can diverge by hazard mix. Most injuries ranking
Read how NOAA attributes direct vs indirect storm deaths before citing a figure. Disaster-data guide

NOAA fatality counts include direct and indirect storm-related deaths from damage surveys, not a forecast. For current threats follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (2015-2025) Fatality counts include both direct and indirect storm-related deaths

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this ranking is drawn from 10,622 recorded storm fatalities across 56 states and territories, refreshed as of 2026-08-25. Read our methodology for how this data is sourced and verified.

What this ranking shows

This is a raw count of NOAA-recorded storm-related deaths per state, 2015-2025, no per-capita or per-event-count adjustment. Arizona alone accounts for 26% of the 10,622 total fatalities across all 56 states and territories in this window, and the top 3 states combined (Arizona, Texas, Nevada) account for 43%. NOAA's "storm-related" fatality count includes both direct deaths (struck by debris, drowning in flash floods) and indirect deaths (heart attacks during cleanup, traffic accidents in storm conditions) that NOAA's damage-survey process attributes to the event.

What this ranking can't tell you

A raw fatality count is not a per-capita risk measure, larger and more populous states naturally accumulate more total storm events and more opportunities for a fatal outcome over any fixed window, independent of how dangerous a single storm is to any one resident. This ranking also covers only "storm-related" deaths in NOAA's own Storm Events taxonomy (severe weather like tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat/cold), it does not include wildfire, earthquake, or other FEMA-tracked disaster fatalities, which are counted separately elsewhere on this site. And the 2015-2025 window means a state with a single catastrophic pre-2015 event (a historic hurricane or flood) will not show that event's toll here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US state has the most storm-related deaths?

Arizona has the most NOAA-recorded storm-related fatalities of any state or territory, 2,810 between 2015-2025 -- 26% of the 10,622 total across all 56 states and territories tracked.

Does the highest death toll mean the most dangerous state?

Not necessarily. This is a raw fatality count, not adjusted for population -- larger, more populous states naturally accumulate more total storm events and more opportunities for a fatal outcome over any fixed window. It also covers only NOAA's "storm-related" taxonomy (tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat/cold), not wildfire, earthquake, or other FEMA-tracked disaster deaths.

What counts as a "storm-related" death in this ranking?

NOAA's storm-related fatality count includes both direct deaths (struck by debris, drowning in flash floods) and indirect deaths (heart attacks during cleanup, traffic accidents in storm conditions) that NOAA's damage-survey process attributes to the event.

Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.