Top 5 Arizona weather events of 2025

It's been a big weather year for Arizona. From massive floods to dust storms, and one of the largest wildfires in the state's history.

FOX 10's Krystal Ortiz is counting down the top 5 weather events of 2025.

Number 5: The Drago Bravo Fire

Along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a lightning strike sparked the Dragon Bravo fire on July 4. It would eventually become the largest fire in the United States this year.

When it first ignited, the fire was deemed manageable, and officials decided to let it burn – a decision that has now come under scrutiny. One week later, on July 11, everything changed. It was hot and dry, and the region was under stress from amplifying drought. Add in erratic winds gusting to over 40 miles per hour, and it was a spell for disaster.

The fire exploded in size, burning buildings and triggering a chlorine gas leak at the North Rim water treatment facility. Hundreds of visitors scrambled to evacuate and National Park Service employees said goodbye to their homes.

"We ran home and started packing our Subaru with what we could, but I had such little time, I couldn’t get everything I wanted," said Lauren, an employee at the park.

The historic Grand Canyon Lodge, first built in 1928, burned to the ground. It was a beloved landmark along the North Rim.

"It’s just sad to see that it’s happening, and to see all this smoke," Lauren said. "The fire, seeing the smoke, seeing the pictures that we’ve seen from last night, it’s terrible."

Over the next month, firefighters struggled to battle the fire in rugged terrain along the surface of the rim and down into the canyon. By the beginning of August, the fire grew to over 110,000 acres. Growth slowed as containment increased through August, but the fire wasn’t considered 100% contained until Sept. 28.

The fire burned a total of 145,504 acres and destroyed a total of 106 buildings. The Dragon Bravo fire is now in the history books as one of Arizona’s largest wildfires.

Number 4: Mid-November storms

In just one week, three separate storm systems swept across the state, bringing rain, hail, snow, flooding, and even a tornado.

A few showers passed the state on the 15th and 16th, primarily in the West Valley. But this was just a hint of what was to come.

Between the 17th and 20th, a slow-moving area of low pressure passed over Arizona. It dumped a widespread 1 to 2.5 inches of rain in the valley. Severe thunderstorms produced hail several inches deep from Tolleson to Glendale. That hail, combined with rain, may have been the cause for a partial roof collapse at Desert Sky Mall. Ahwatukee and Tempe saw reports of golf ball-sized hail.

The storms came with funnel cloud sightings and, just west of Wickenburg, an EF-0 tornado was confirmed, flipping an RV as it touched down.

"I started feeling the porch lift and I screamed," one resident said. "My nephew came out and got me, so I wouldn't get hurt. I’m fine. I was shaken, but I’m fine."

Flooding in the same area swept vehicles away, prompting a dramatic rescue. In Yavapai County, flash flooding resulted in a water rescue and the death of one man.

A final storm system brought another round of wet weather to the state between the 22nd and 23rd. Over the eight-day period, snow buried the San Francisco Peaks. Nearly 5 feet of snow fell over Arizona Snowbowl and Flagstaff picked up 7 inches. A wide area of central Arizona ended the stormy stretch with between 2 and 5 inches of rain, with some spots seeing even more.

Number 3: The August dust storm

It had been a slow, mostly dry monsoon up until late August. Then, the Valley was hit with a dust storm that no one will forget.

The wall of dust originated near Tucson before running up Pinal County and slamming into the East Valley. But it didn't stop there. The storm tore through the Valley and right into Yavapai County before finally fizzling. As it crossed through the Phoenix metro, it seemed to swallow the city whole.

Video from Arizona State University showed the football field disappearing as the dust rolled in. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, shots showed the runway going dark. In fact, winds were so powerful that a portion of the roof was damaged at Terminal 4. Gusts were reported up to 70 mph and visibility dropped to zero, grounding flights.

Endless trees came down as the haboob moved through. Thousands lost power and buildings were damaged.

"It looked like a hurricane," one resident said. "I've never been in a hurricane, but from what I've seen on TV, the eucalyptus trees were bending over, the palm trees were bending over. It was crazy."

"I was driving, and I saw this huge wall of dust," another witness said. "The whole visibility – it just changed color to where you could barely even see that far, so that was shocking to me for sure."

Even our station felt the impact, losing power while on air. Behind the scenes, staff could be heard saying, "We're completely offline, everybody."

By the numbers, the storm was impressive – around 5,000 feet tall and 50 miles wide, it ran along a 100-mile stretch. Behind the wall of dust, a period of heavy rain followed, making a muddy mess in the Valley and leaving plenty to clean up.

Number 2: September severe storms

The monsoon season came to a close with a devastating blow as a low-pressure system slowly dragged across the state from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27, bringing historic flash flooding and damaging severe storms.

The event began on Sept. 25 with major flooding in the Miami area, where 2 to 3 inches of rain fell, most of it in under an hour. On Sept. 26, conditions worsened as severe thunderstorms fired up across the Valley.

Large hail fell alongside damaging winds that downed trees at Sky Harbor International Airport, followed by intense rainfall that overtook the area. Video captured a Waymo vehicle stuck in floodwaters, a familiar scene as stranded cars dotted Valley highways. Many spots in the Valley picked up between 1 and 2.5 inches of rain.

"Seeing some crazy flooding. Rain coming down hard. I didn’t expect none of this to happen, we’re all stuck right here," said one resident.

Another witness added, "They got cars floating and people up past their hood. I'm not sure how we're getting out of here, but hopefully it drains somewhere."

The Indian Bend Wash flooded and claimed the life of one man when the current swept his car away. As the storms shifted out of the Valley, they sprouted back up over the Globe and Miami area. This time, 2 inches of rain fell in under 30 minutes around Globe.

Pinal Creek rose 6 feet in a half hour, swallowing roads, bridges, businesses, and homes. One family found themselves trapped by the rising water.

"I yelled at him. ‘I can’t get out.’ And so he was hitting the door. He broke a rib. Then he broke the window, and we got out," a survivor said.

Cars were washed away and hundreds of propane tanks floated downstream. Three more lives were claimed in the flooding, and a state of emergency was declared for Globe. Additional storms passed through the state on Sept. 27, bringing new rounds of damage and flooding around the Valley and the rest of the state.

In the aftermath, Globe and Miami were left coated in mud as residents began picking up the pieces of their communities.

Number 1: Remnants of Tropical Storms Priscilla and Raymond

On the heels of the September storms that soaked Arizona, another slow-moving low-pressure system combined with remnant moisture from two tropical storms. It was the perfect setup for long-duration flooding and damage.

Between Oct. 9 and Oct. 13, multiple rounds of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms impacted Arizona. Tapping into a tropical moisture supply, rain totals ranged between 1 and 2 inches in the West Valley to between 3 and 5 inches in the East Valley. The rainfall was enough to make October the third-wettest on record in Phoenix.

The system caused widespread flooding throughout the Phoenix metro area, with some of the heaviest rain falling on Oct. 12. It was a scene that played out over and over: flooded roads and water rescues.

"Hey listen to me, listen to me, you're going to go into some deep water, and it's going to be quickly moving, okay?" one rescuer told a victim. "I'm going to hold onto you, but I'm going to need you to hold onto me, okay?"

In one Mesa neighborhood, homeowners were left with a mess following the flooding.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," a resident said. "How I'm going to find a place to live? What it's going to cost to take, to clean, all the damage up from the inside, the outside. I mean, it's a disaster."

The storm turned fatal south of Buckeye, where a driver drowned after his vehicle was washed away along Waterman Wash. In the Globe and Miami area, a new round of flash flooding overtook the towns already ravaged by the September floods.

The rescues continued across the state. In Yavapai County, seven people stuck on canoes were rescued from floodwaters. In Pinal County, a father and his 5-year-old son were found clinging to the roof of their nearly submerged vehicle.

On Oct. 13, a final blow was dealt to the Valley as a supercell tracked south to north through Chandler, Guadalupe, Tempe, and Scottsdale. A line of straight-line winds peaking around 80 to 90 mph tore across the East Valley. Timelapses showed the skies turn black as rain swallowed neighborhoods.

The most intense damage spread over Tempe from U.S. 60 to Papago Peak. Large trees were ripped from the ground, roofs peeled off buildings, and cars were crushed. The Phoenix Zoo sustained $300,000 in damage, forcing it to shut down for days. Destruction at Highland Park in Tempe also forced families out of their homes.

"Super, super loud hail, rain, just winds like I've never seen before," said one witness.

Another resident added, "I've lived in Arizona my whole life. I've seen numerous microbursts. I've seen numerous storms, monsoons – I've never witnessed anything like this in my life."

For weeks to follow, crews were cleaning up the mess left behind, a stark reminder of the power of tropical storms.

What's next:

That concludes our number one weather event of the year. You can count on the weather experts to keep you informed when weather hits in 2026.

WeatherWildfiresArizonaNews