Nevada tornadoes
Every recorded tornado since 1950 · 15 counties with a record
Nevada has recorded 97 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 2.1 a year since 2000, with 0 rated F3/EF3 or stronger (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). The costliest was the September 11, 1998 tornado ($54,000 in 2025 dollars). Nevada ranks 45th of 52 states and territories by count and 50th of 51 per square mile.
Tornadoes in Nevada, 1950 to 2025
Tornadoes per year (SPC; a tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state it touched).
- 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
- 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
- Tornadoes
- 971950 to 2025
- A year since 2000
- 2.1average
- Deaths
- 02 injuries
- F3/EF3 or stronger
- 00% of tornadoes
- Busiest year
- 19878 tornadoes
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025 (state segments). SPC severe weather database.
Are tornadoes common in Nevada?
Nevada averages about 2.1 tornadoes a year since 2000, 45th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1987 (8). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Nevada records 8.8 tornadoes since 1950, 50th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA SPC, tornadoes 1950-2025, 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 Nevada have the most tornadoes?
Per square mile, Carson City (city) leads Nevada: 1 days with a tornado record since 1950, 6.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Elko County has the most tornado records (23 since 1950); 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 1950 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is tornado season in Nevada?
44% of its tornadoes since 1950 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (22 tornadoes).
The values, month by month
Jan 1 · Feb 3 · Mar 2 · Apr 5 · May 21 · Jun 22 · Jul 11 · Aug 19 · Sep 8 · Oct 4 · Nov 1 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments by the month they began, 1950-2025.
The strongest tornadoes in Nevada
| Date | Counties | Rating | Path in state | Width | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-11-03 | Washoe | F1 | 25.9 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 1987-05-27 | Elko | F1 | 6 mi | 100 yd | 0 |
| 1970-05-13 | Elko | F1 | 5.7 mi | 440 yd | 0 |
| 1964-05-26 | White Pine | F1 | 2 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 2015-06-05 | Mineral | EF1 | 1.54 mi | 40 yd | 0 |
| 1992-03-30 | Clark | F1 | 1.5 mi | 30 yd | 0 |
| 2023-05-24 | Elko | EF1 | 1.2 mi | 500 yd | 0 |
| 1973-07-16 | Washoe | F1 | 1 mi | 80 yd | 0 |
| 1994-05-05 | Lander | F1 | 1 mi | 20 yd | 0 |
| 2000-08-31 | Lincoln | F1 | 1 mi | – | 0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database; F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after.
The longest tornado paths in Nevada
| Date | Tornado and counties | Rating | Path in state | Width | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-11-03 | Washoe | F1 | 25.9 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 1987-05-27 | Elko | F0 | 8 mi | 50 yd | 0 |
| 1987-05-27 | Elko | F1 | 6 mi | 100 yd | 0 |
| 1970-05-13 | Elko | F1 | 5.7 mi | 440 yd | 0 |
| 1986-05-28 | Clark | F0 | 3 mi | 150 yd | 0 |
| 1987-05-17 | Churchill | F0 | 3 mi | 20 yd | 0 |
| 1988-10-06 | Lincoln | F0 | 3 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 2017-09-13 | Washoe | EF0 | 2.01 mi | 50 yd | 0 |
| 1964-05-26 | White Pine | F1 | 2 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 1998-07-30 | Washoe | F0 | 2 mi | 50 yd | 0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments: path length and width inside the state. SPC severe weather database.
Tornadoes in every Nevada county
All 15 counties: tornadoes whose track touched each, and the strongest
| County | Tornadoes | Strongest |
|---|---|---|
| Elko County | 23 | F/EF1 |
| Clark County | 13 | F/EF1 |
| Washoe County | 13 | F/EF1 |
| White Pine County | 9 | F/EF1 |
| Humboldt County | 8 | F/EF0 |
| Lincoln County | 7 | F/EF1 |
| Lyon County | 5 | F/EF0 |
| Nye County | 5 | F/EF0 |
| Churchill County | 4 | F/EF0 |
| Eureka County | 3 | F/EF0 |
| Lander County | 3 | F/EF1 |
| Carson City (city) | 1 | F/EF0 |
| Douglas County | 1 | F/EF0 |
| Esmeralda County | 1 | F/EF0 |
| Mineral County | 1 | F/EF1 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database: whole tornadoes whose track touched the county (any state segment listing it). SPC severe weather database.
The costliest tornadoes in Nevada
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-09-11 | TornadoHenderson, Clark County Severe thunderstorms pounded the Las Vegas Valley and Lake Mead for a few hours producing golfball size hail, a small tornado and widespread flash flooding. Large hail began falling shortly before 11 am PST and numerous hail reports came in for the next couple hours with some episodes causing damage to several ... | F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $54K |
| 2023-05-24 | TornadoHalleck, Elko County This tornado started around 1:40 PM PDT, south of Halleck, NV. At 2:00 PM PDT the first discernible damage path was observed at a nearby ranch southeast of Halleck. This tornado continued north and east, crossing SR-229 before dissipating around 2:10 PM PDT. | EF1 1.2 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | $19K |
| 1994-05-05 | TornadoLander County A tornado a few miles south of Battle Mountain destroyed several ranch buildings and blew out the windows of several vehicles at the ranch. The tornado had several witnesses and was also photographed. A few minutes later, severe thunderstorms produced golf ball-sized hail in Battle Mountain, and baseball-sized hail in ... | F1 1 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2014-05-21 | TornadoElko County The tornado touched down along Aspen Way near the Post Office. It uprooted a large tree and snapped off multiple branches along Aspen Way. The tornado then moved into the Smith's parking lot where it torn off a five by twenty foot section of shingles from the car wash. It also lifted shopping carts into the air. One ... | EF0 0.26 mi x 125 yd | 0 | 0 | $2K |
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, in 2025 dollars.
Are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Nevada?
Nevada's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. The Storm Prediction Center notes that tornado reports rose especially around the installation of the NEXRAD Doppler radar network in the mid-1990s, so a rising count is partly better detection; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Nevada | United States | Nevada's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 | 4,837 | 0 |
| 1960s | 7 | 6,863 | 0.10% |
| 1970s | 11 | 8,633 | 0.13% |
| 1980s | 20 | 8,250 | 0.24% |
| 1990s | 23 | 12,205 | 0.19% |
| 2000s | 16 | 12,892 | 0.12% |
| 2010s | 17 | 12,232 | 0.14% |
| 2020-25 | 3 | 8,234 | 0.04% |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments.
The most recent tornadoes in Nevada
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-05 | TornadoMoor, Elko County | EFU 0.5 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2023-05-24 | TornadoHalleck, Elko County | EF1 1.2 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | $19K |
| 2021-08-13 | TornadoSpring Creek, Elko County | EF0 0.1 mi x 15 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2019-05-22 | TornadoPahrump, Nye County | EF0 0.16 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2018-10-03 | TornadoAustin, Lander County | EF0 0.01 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2018-05-22 | TornadoPatsville, Elko County | EF0 0.01 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2018-05-11 | TornadoEglon Siding, Humboldt County | EF0 0.01 mi x 15 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2018-05-11 | TornadoIron Pt, Humboldt County | EF0 0.01 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2017-09-21 | TornadoZephyr Cove, Douglas County | EF0 0.44 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2017-09-13 | TornadoIncline Vlg, Washoe County | EF0 2.01 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-06-05 | TornadoHawthorne, Mineral County | EF1 1.54 mi x 40 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2014-09-20 | TornadoBelmont, Nye County | EF0 0.4 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 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.
Next
- Carson City (city): the county's whole recordThe Nevada county with the most tornadoes per square mile
- Tornadoes across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in NevadaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- High wind and dust storms in Nevada3,232 records
- Winter storms in Nevada2,084 records
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Nevada1,061 records