County storm facts
Storm prep for Pima County residents
Pima County has had 584 flood insurance claims since 1978, 12 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1966, and 84 mapped wildfires that started here since 2021.
Sources:
Local data from official sources, updated weekly. This snapshot: September 29, 2026. Alerts load live from the National Weather Service when you open this page.
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Source: National Weather Service alerts.
Forecasts for this county (NWS county zone AZC019) come from:
Source: National Weather Service (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Help right now
Live from FEMA and the Red Cross shelter list. Check your address on the home page for what’s nearest you.
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FEMA assistance
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Recent burn areas
84 fires that started in Pima County since January 1, 2021 have a mapped perimeter, covering 47,435 acres in all.
Largest
| Fire | Year | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Contreras | 2022 | 29,482 |
| Oak | 2023 | 3,213 |
| Presumido Peak | 2022 | 2,591 |
Acres are each fire’s whole mapped area, which can reach past the county line.
Burned hillsides can’t soak up heavy rain, so mud and debris can rush downhill with little warning.
Source: NIFC WFIGS Interagency Fire Perimeters (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Flood history
584 flood insurance claims have been filed in Pima County since 1978. 80 of them were for floods from 2017 to 2026.
The years with the most claims: 1983 (77), 1993 (71), 2006 (43).
This is history, not a prediction. These are National Flood Insurance Program claims, so they only count insured buildings.
FEMA’s data runs through September 8, 2026.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Redacted Claims (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Federal disaster declarations
Pima County has been part of 12 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1966: 3 for fires and 9 for storms, floods or mudslides.
Most recent
- Big Horn FireJune 11, 2020 · FM-5312-AZ
- Severe Storms and FloodingSeptember 7, 2006 · DR-1660-AZ
- Aspen FireJuly 14, 2003 · DR-1477-AZ
FEMA’s ids start with DR for a major disaster, EM for an emergency and FM for fire management.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Landslide-prone ground
USGS maps about 34% of Pima County as ground susceptible to landslides. Its national inventory lists 1,515 documented landslides in the county.
This is a county-wide figure, not a rating for your spot. Steep slopes, road cuts and burned hillsides above you matter most in heavy rain.
From the USGS U.S. Landslide Inventory and Susceptibility data release (2024). Susceptible ground is terrain steep and high enough for landslides like those mapped in similar places. The inventory counts only slides someone mapped, and some states map few, so a low count doesn’t mean the ground is stable.
Source: USGS landslide susceptibility, county table (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Rain in past strong El Niño winters
October–March rainfall at the Tucson International Airport weather station in past strong El Niño winters, compared with its 1991–2020 normal.
Oct–Mar rainfall in past strong El Niño winters, as % of the 1991–2020 normal — Tucson International Airport
6 of the 7 strong El Niño winters on record at Tucson International Airport were wetter than normal. They ranged from 96% of normal (2015-16) to 209% (1972-73) — a tendency, not a guarantee.
| Winter | ONI (DJF) | Oct–Mar total | % of normal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-58 | 1.69 | 7.04 in | 143% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1972-73 | 1.55 | 10.28 in | 209% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1982-83 | 2.14 | 6.81 in | 138% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1991-92 | 1.54 | 8.10 in | 165% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1997-98 | 2.22 | 8.76 in | 178% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 2015-16 | 2.50 | 4.70 in | 96% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 2023-24 | 1.84 | 6.35 in | 129% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
Source: NOAA NCEI (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Local help
Help lines, alert sign-ups and official emergency pages for this county and state.
- County emergency officePima County Office of Emergency Management (opens in a new tab)
- 2112-1-1 Arizona (opens in a new tab)
- Wireless Emergency AlertsReady.gov: Emergency alerts (opens in a new tab)
- Federal disaster helpDisasterAssistance.gov (opens in a new tab)
- Open sheltersRed Cross open shelter finder (opens in a new tab)
- Road conditionsAZ511 (opens in a new tab)
Power and internet outages
Power
Main power companies in Arizona. Your bill names yours; check your address to see which may serve it.
Internet and phone
- Carrier statusAT&T outage map (opens in a new tab)
- Carrier statusSpectrum service status (opens in a new tab)
- Regional internet outagesCloudflare Radar: internet outages (opens in a new tab)
4 more we haven’t verified: search for them by name
- Carrier statusVerizon outage/status
- Carrier statusT-Mobile service status
- Carrier statusXfinity/Comcast support
- Carrier statusFrontier outage map
What about your street?
County numbers can’t tell you about your home. Check your address against the official flood, fire and landslide maps and live warnings.