Arizona extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 15 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 110 extreme cold records in Arizona from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 6.4 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 2, 2011 cold/wind chill: 2 deaths, 3 injuries and $3.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 6 records. Arizona ranks 46th of 51 states and territories by count and 48th of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in Arizona, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 1101996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 6.4average
- Deaths
- 295 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $218Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 201328 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in Arizona?
Arizona averages about 6.4 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 46th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2013 (28). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arizona records 9.7 extreme cold records since 1996, 48th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Arizona have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Santa Cruz County leads Arizona: 8 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 6.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Pima County has the most cold records (27 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in Arizona?
67% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (49 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 49 · Feb 25 · Mar 1 · Apr 11 · May 2 · Jun 3 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 2 · Nov 1 · Dec 16 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Arizona?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-02-02 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. An unusually cold air mass had a significant impact on Southeast Arizona. | 2 | 3 | $3.0M | |
| 2026-01-18 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area Cold morning temperatures were 2 to 4 degrees below normal across Southeastern Arizona. Tucson International Airport ASOS reached a low temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit. The Pima County Medical Examiner confirmed that environmental cold exposure was the primary factor in the cause of death for two individuals, one ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-24 | Cold/Wind ChillGraham County and Greenlee County · forecast zone Upper Gila River And Aravaipa Valleys One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2025-01-24 to 2025-01-25; the totals are the episode's. Cold morning temperatures near normal across Southeastern Arizona. The Pima County Medical Examiner confirmed that cold was the primary factor in the cause of death for two individuals, one in Pima and one in Huachuca City. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-12-15 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County and Santa Cruz County · forecast zone Upper Santa Cruz River And Altar Valleys One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2024-12-15 to 2024-12-18; the totals are the episode's. Cold morning temperatures near normal across Southeastern Arizona. The Pima County Medical Examiner confirmed that cold was the primary factor in the cause of death for two individuals, one in Nogales and one in Tucson. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-01-23 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County and Santa Cruz County · forecast zone Upper Santa Cruz River And Altar Valleys Cold low temperatures in the high single digits to teens, or 15 to 25 degrees below normal, occurred in Patagonia with the lowest temperature of 9 degrees recorded the morning of January 24. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that hypothermia was the primary cause of death for two individuals in Patagonia. ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-02-16 | Cold/Wind ChillCochise County and 2 more · forecast zone Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca And Santa Rita Mountains Temperatures fell into the teens during the morning of February 16 with wind chills in the single digits. While air temperatures were not as cold for the next 24 hours, winds increased to 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 50 to 60 mph and created wind chills as cold as the teens into the morning of February 17. The Pima ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-02-02 | Cold/Wind ChillCochise County and Graham County · forecast zone Galiuro And Pinaleno Mountains One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Several inches of snow fell across the Pinaleno and Chiricahua mountains during the afternoon and evening hours of February 2. The snow was accompanied by wind chill temperatures around 10 degrees. After the snow ended, air temperatures dropped into the single digits with wind chills near 5 below zero by sunrise on ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-10-25 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCoconino County · forecast zone Western Mogollon Rim A strong cold front brought freezing temperatures, snow showers, and strong winds. The temperature remained below freezing between 4:00 AM and 10:30 AM the next day. The wind chill values dropped to near zero. Two men died due to the cold. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2013-01-16 | Cold/Wind ChillPinal County · forecast zone Southeast Pinal County Very cold temperatures in the teens affected eastern Pinal County for several consecutive nights. A death due to exposure occurred the morning of January 16th east of Dudleyville, in the southwest corner of the San Carlos Apache Reservation. The deceased was not a member of the tribe. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-17 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area Cool morning temperatures were 2 to 4 degrees above normal across Southeastern Arizona. Tucson International Airport ASOS reached a low temperature of 48 degrees Fahrenheit. The Pima County Medical Examiner confirmed that environmental cold exposure was a contributing factor in the cause of death for an individual in ... | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in Arizona
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-01-12 | Frost/FreezeMaricopa County · forecast zone Greater Phoenix Area One storm episode: 8 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $204M | |
| 2011-02-02 | Frost/FreezeMaricopa County · forecast zone Greater Phoenix Area One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $5.2M | |
| 2011-02-02 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 3 | $3.0M | |
| 2011-01-01 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCoconino County · forecast zone Western Mogollon Rim | 0 | 0 | $1.3M | |
| 2014-12-27 | Frost/FreezeMaricopa County · forecast zone Greater Phoenix Area | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 2015-01-01 | Frost/FreezeMaricopa County · forecast zone Greater Phoenix Area One storm episode: 3 records, 2015-01-01 to 2015-01-02; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 2013-01-12 | Frost/FreezeMohave County · forecast zone Northwest Deserts | 0 | 0 | $633K | |
| 2013-01-15 | Frost/FreezeMaricopa County · forecast zone Greater Phoenix Area | 0 | 1 | $190K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Arizona?
Arizona's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Arizona | United States | Arizona's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 0 | 5,539 | 0 |
| 2000s | 8 | 14,792 | 0.05% |
| 2010s | 64 | 18,162 | 0.35% |
| 2020-26 | 38 | 15,329 | 0.25% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in Arizona
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-17 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-18 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-28 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County and Pinal County · forecast zone Tohono O Odham Nation | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-04-01 | Cold/Wind ChillCochise County · forecast zone Eastern Cochise County Below 5000 Feet | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-19 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County and Santa Cruz County · forecast zone Upper Santa Cruz River And Altar Valleys | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-15 | Cold/Wind ChillCochise County and 3 more · forecast zone Upper San Pedro River Valley | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-25 | Cold/Wind ChillCochise County and 3 more · forecast zone Upper San Pedro River Valley | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-24 | Cold/Wind ChillGraham County and Greenlee County · forecast zone Upper Gila River And Aravaipa Valleys | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-01-14 | Cold/Wind ChillCochise County · forecast zone Eastern Cochise County Below 5000 Feet | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-12-26 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-12-18 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County · forecast zone Tucson Metro Area | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-12-15 | Cold/Wind ChillPima County and Santa Cruz County · forecast zone Upper Santa Cruz River And Altar Valleys | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Arizona
FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Arizona for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on March 5, 2013.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-03-05 | DR-4104 | Severe Freeze | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Santa Cruz County: the county's whole recordThe Arizona county with the most extreme cold records per square mile
- Extreme cold across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in ArizonaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Heat in Arizona2,676 records