Nevada natural disasters

What natural disasters happen in Nevada?

By NOAA's records, Nevada's most frequent hazards are high wind and dust records (3,232), winter storm records (2,084), severe thunderstorm wind events (1,061); the deadliest are heat records (890 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Nevada?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Nevada

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 7, 1964 (tornado, Clark County); August 20, 1975 (tornado, Clark County); August 19, 1979 (tornado, Elko County); August 7, 1987 (tornado, Lincoln County); September 17, 1989 (tornado, Clark County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Nevada have the most records?

1. Washoe County 2,176
2. Clark County 2,054
3. Douglas County 1,713
4. Carson City (city) 1,652
5. Elko County 1,437
6. Lyon County 1,322
7. Storey County 1,118
8. Nye County 1,073
9. White Pine County 811
10. Humboldt County 420
11. Eureka County 390
12. Lander County 371

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Nevada

• Carson City (city)1,652
• Churchill County292
• Clark County2,054
• Douglas County1,713
• Elko County1,437
• Esmeralda County214
• Eureka County390
• Humboldt County420
• Lander County371
• Lincoln County284
• Lyon County1,322
• Mineral County273
• Nye County1,073
• Pershing County259
• Storey County1,118
• Washoe County2,176
• White Pine County811

Billion-dollar disasters in Nevada

NOAA counted 27 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Nevada, led by drought (13). The most recent: Western/Central Drought and Heat Wave (2022); Western Wildfires (2021); Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave (2021).

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Nevada, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Nevada

FEMA has made 116 declarations for Nevada since 1954: 22 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 88 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are fire (90), flood (12), severe storm (7).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Nevada

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $47.4 million on 1,944 claims in 16 Nevada counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Nevada's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nevada's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

1. Very High 1
2. Relatively High 1
3. Relatively Moderate 2
4. Relatively Low 4
5. Very Low 9

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

Next

• Tornadoes in NevadaEvery recorded tornado in Nevada: by year, month and county
• Floods in NevadaEvery recorded flood in Nevada: by year, month and county
• Wildfires in NevadaEvery recorded wildfire record in Nevada: by year, month and county
• Winter storms in NevadaEvery recorded winter storm record in Nevada: by year, month and county
• Compare Nevada with another stateSide by side: storm records per square mile, deaths per million, declarations
• How Nevada ranks among the statesStates ranked by FEMA disaster declarations
• Look up a Nevada county's hazard riskFEMA's rating for each hazard beside the county's record
• Download Nevada's FEMA declarations (CSV)116 rows: every declaration in the state, for your own analysis