Arizona, 1981

Tornadoes in Arizona, September 5, 1981

September 5, 1981 · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

3 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$750,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Pinal

When
September 5, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Pinal County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
40 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
32.700, -111.970

Tornado, Maricopa

When
September 5, 4:27 PM CST
Where
Maricopa County
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
40 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
32.950, -112.720

Tornado, Maricopa

When
September 5, 8:20 PM CST
Where
Maricopa County
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
33.670, -112.320

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

More

Every storm in Arizona in 1981Every state in 1981This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arizona, 1981

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9984016, 9984017, 9984018.