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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willcox, AZ

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Willcox, Arizona since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was John in 1994. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
1

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
6

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Willcox

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Willcox, Arizona, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1994JohnSep 866 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 5
1992LesterAug 2444 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Willcox: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Willcox

By decade

  • 2010s2
  • 1990s1
  • 1970s2
  • 1960s1
Strongest tornadoes near Willcox, Arizona
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Sep 23, 2019EF15 mi1.71 mi0 / 5
Jul 17, 1971F18 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 15, 2014EF09 mi0.79 mi0 / 0
Aug 17, 1992F05 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 9, 1972F013 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 31, 1966F018 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Willcox while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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